Missions on the Frontline
a ministry of WorldVenture
Pakistan Update #20
Pakistan Bible Correspondence Institute (PCBI)
The PBCI guys recently traveled to the Dadu and Khairpur Nathan Shah areas, which they found overwhelming. The destruction was huge and in some low-lying areas, there is still up to 8 feet of water. They distributed a total of 250-300 ration packs to families in these areas, including about 150 in Khairpur Nathan Shah. In one place, after distributing packets, two of them were nearly attacked by an older man wielding a heavy club. He was angry about not receiving a pack, while some of his relatives did. Others were able to persuade him not to attack. The desperation there is great. For some reason (probably due partly to the incredible lawlessness), no relief organizations are working in the city. A number of men nearly cried as they told the guys stories of destruction to their homes and lives, and shared how they had received little or no help. One group of families was provided a hand pump and given money for boring. The man who received the pump was so touched by the provision of clean drinking water that he called the guys “angels sent by God.” The need for tents/tarps, rations, mosquito nets and other NFI’s (non-food items such as kitchen sets, water coolers, blankets, etc.) is huge ere and they will continue to focus on providing relief in this area.
On a subsequent distribution at Khairpur Nathan Shah, ration packs were distributed to 233 families and mosquito nets to 200 families (three nets per family), along with 83 tarps. At one point, the guys were accosted by a group of 12 mute men. They were asking for rations but had not been registered, and so were not getting anything. One of our men was trying to get them to understand that only those who had been registered ahead of time could get the packets. This was all happening as the distribution was going on and amid a great press of people. Two of the heftiest mutes literally picked our man up and carried him off to one side. He thought was going to be beaten or at least robbed! However, after setting him down, they communicated that they wanted his phone number, which he gladly gave them! They just wanted to be in line the next time the guys came with rations. Later on, he got a call from someone phoning for them to make sure the guys were going to bring help the next time they come.
Sukkur
After N’s team asked Sindhi and Punjabi believers and seekers to help the flood victims, a group of 30 men and women worked day and night supplying relief goods to internally displaced people (IDPs) around Gohtki and Sukkur, who come from different parts of Sindh. They supplied food packages for over two weeks, on three occasions cooking meals for 3000 families. They also gave out clothes and pairs of sandals to 300 people, crockery, blankets and carpets to 100 families, undergarments to 115 ladies, special Eid food gift packages to 1000 families, nutrition supplements to 100 pregnant and maternal mothers, and medical aid to untold individuals by arranging 39 medical camps. They are also surveying two villages where fields should be ready for the wheat crop, in order to provide 150 acres worth of seed and fertilizers to families in November so the people will have something to look forward to (up to a maximum of two acres per family). In addition, they will be surveying other villages to reconstruct 200 flooding-damage homes.
Thatta
A partnering group distributed 500 ration packs to IDP’s around Thatta. One of our coworkers was contacted by a native relief organization and asked to provide logistical support (survey and help with distribution) to affectees in the Thatta area. That relief organization had received a huge shipment (35 tons) of goods from Australia, including sugar, flour, lentils, bottled water and other packaged/prepared items. The bags were packed in Karachi (about 35 kg per sack), and we helped guide the large team from the relief organization in their distribution.
Our people distributed 515 ration packs there and another 375 in the Makli area. They also plan to distribute 185 bags in Dadu. In one location 100 miles away from Thatta, the people, who still have flood water in their homes, told them, “You guys are the first people to bring aid to us.” In the Sajjaval area, they provided assistance to over 100 Hindus who had received no help to date. In addition, they installed 27 hand pumps (nine additional bores hit bitter water and the bore had to be redone).
The Hospital (SCH)
We have now finalized our "catchment area" at 15 villages with 396 families and 3,168 people (average size of 8 per family), mostly in the Lodra area, which is a sustainable number for outreach through the next harvest in April/May. Our plan has been to give a bag of food to each family every two weeks. However, in light of recent calculations, we are seriously looking at changing to a three-week delivery. The village leaders are quite accepting of this change. Seed has been a main focus of late, going to nine locations where the land is ready for sowing wheat. Our five-man team did a fine job of deciding how to apportion the available funds. We believe these distributions are definitely helping people become self-sufficient much sooner.
A total of 25 hand pumps to provide clean water have been completed (including bases), with three more pending. We have also supplied some charpais and a sewing machine to a widow with five children to support. At this time we have no plans to rebuild houses, but were encouraged today to see the first house being built by one owner himself in one of "our" villages, all mud with a roof of wood salvaged from the flood.
Medical camps were held daily over past month in villages and IDP camps with a doctor from Holland, seeing between 40-60 patients a day at each. For two of those weeks we were assisted by two women from the USA. The most critical need coming up is for someone to replace one of our coordinators, who leaves in December, or much of the relief work we are doing will come to a halt.
The kids that have remained for the duration in our Nutritional Support Program have done well—the death rate for such programs is usually 3-5%, but to date, SCH has had none. We have discharged 47 children (upon completing the recommend duration of treatment), after a few left early in the beginning of the program most are staying now. It helps to have the “old” mothers teaching the “new” ones. The mothers have been very receptive to our nutritional training. A high percentage of our patients are on TB treatment, a number are sick like this because of previous disease. They all treat for malaria, parasites, etc., and there are a lot of two-three year olds that can’t walk. Many seem to enjoy our worship times. Several have come down to the clinic worship on their own and listen, and
the parents are very receptive to prayer. Two children whose mothers said were demon-affected were prayed for.
Hyderabad
We have also continued to provide our families with rations about every two weeks and to see people medically about twice a week, usually about 40 cases each time. One encouraging thing lately is that a number of more serious problems have largely subsided, and we’re mostly providing treatment for colds/flu and malaria. The Plumpy Nut nutritional supplement for children has arrived at the camp now, and the malnourished children we’ve been particularly concerned about are finally getting it! Others are eating it, too, and love it! We encourage the adults to save it for their kids, but don’t think we’ve gained an audience.
Six of the 41 families we have been distribution rations to departed for their homelands in Garhi Khairo. While their lands are still under several feet of water, this groups’ homes (unlike most of the others) were not totally destroyed by the flooding as they were on high ground. However, it will still be very difficult for them, and they’ll remain dependant on local NGO’s for food, and wells are only now being rehabilitated. One perk is that fish is so plentiful in the area that it’s selling for about 16-18 cents a pound. The other families are planning to leave shortly after Eid (the week of November 22) to return there, as well.
So far, we've given out 22 roof kits and have surveyed for a total of 44 families. The kits are made up of 15 bamboo poles 16' feet long (originally we were giving 12, but the spacing between poles was too wide we so we increased the number to 15), three girders 15' long and reed mats (chics). We've also started including a 1/2 kg roll of wire for binding the poles together. A family then needs to provide wooden structural poles and leaves and branches for the sides. These kits cost around 8,000rupees, or just under $100.
We are excited about a team of three young men joining us at the end of this month to help with flood relief. Their major project will focus on rehabilitating the homes of our families in Garhi Khairo. While in many cases houses destroyed by flooding were pillaged of beams, windows, doors and other things, theirs were not, because an armed man from the area patrolled in a boat and was bent on shooting anyone foolish enough to try to rob them! This is a project that we wanted to do but did not see how. The men coming are a true answer to prayer! It’s been rather overwhelming for us to keep up with the needs of such a large group of people (on top of everything else we’re doing). We’re running out of steam and need God’s grace and wisdom for how to keep moving ahead.
OTHER NEWS
A few significant points from a recent aid report:
• It is around three months since heavy flooding devastated Pakistan.
• Sindh continues to host over 1 million people displaced by the floods in 3,100 collective facilities and camps.
• Flood-affected families are beginning to leave government buildings, including schools. Secondary displacements are occurring as people leave, but cannot return to their place of origin due to destroyed housing and infrastructure, contaminated water and lack of basic services.
• Seven million people are still without shelter, disease is spreading and winter is approaching.
• Aid agencies are warning that the crisis is now entering a critical new phase.
For an excellent update on the continuing sad state of the Sindh by BBC reporter, Orla Guerin, reporting from Dadu, Sindh, go to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11642688. For another from the same reporter, Despair of Pakistan's Forgotten Flood Victims, go to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11648701.
The PBCI guys recently traveled to the Dadu and Khairpur Nathan Shah areas, which they found overwhelming. The destruction was huge and in some low-lying areas, there is still up to 8 feet of water. They distributed a total of 250-300 ration packs to families in these areas, including about 150 in Khairpur Nathan Shah. In one place, after distributing packets, two of them were nearly attacked by an older man wielding a heavy club. He was angry about not receiving a pack, while some of his relatives did. Others were able to persuade him not to attack. The desperation there is great. For some reason (probably due partly to the incredible lawlessness), no relief organizations are working in the city. A number of men nearly cried as they told the guys stories of destruction to their homes and lives, and shared how they had received little or no help. One group of families was provided a hand pump and given money for boring. The man who received the pump was so touched by the provision of clean drinking water that he called the guys “angels sent by God.” The need for tents/tarps, rations, mosquito nets and other NFI’s (non-food items such as kitchen sets, water coolers, blankets, etc.) is huge ere and they will continue to focus on providing relief in this area.
On a subsequent distribution at Khairpur Nathan Shah, ration packs were distributed to 233 families and mosquito nets to 200 families (three nets per family), along with 83 tarps. At one point, the guys were accosted by a group of 12 mute men. They were asking for rations but had not been registered, and so were not getting anything. One of our men was trying to get them to understand that only those who had been registered ahead of time could get the packets. This was all happening as the distribution was going on and amid a great press of people. Two of the heftiest mutes literally picked our man up and carried him off to one side. He thought was going to be beaten or at least robbed! However, after setting him down, they communicated that they wanted his phone number, which he gladly gave them! They just wanted to be in line the next time the guys came with rations. Later on, he got a call from someone phoning for them to make sure the guys were going to bring help the next time they come.
Sukkur
After N’s team asked Sindhi and Punjabi believers and seekers to help the flood victims, a group of 30 men and women worked day and night supplying relief goods to internally displaced people (IDPs) around Gohtki and Sukkur, who come from different parts of Sindh. They supplied food packages for over two weeks, on three occasions cooking meals for 3000 families. They also gave out clothes and pairs of sandals to 300 people, crockery, blankets and carpets to 100 families, undergarments to 115 ladies, special Eid food gift packages to 1000 families, nutrition supplements to 100 pregnant and maternal mothers, and medical aid to untold individuals by arranging 39 medical camps. They are also surveying two villages where fields should be ready for the wheat crop, in order to provide 150 acres worth of seed and fertilizers to families in November so the people will have something to look forward to (up to a maximum of two acres per family). In addition, they will be surveying other villages to reconstruct 200 flooding-damage homes.
Thatta
A partnering group distributed 500 ration packs to IDP’s around Thatta. One of our coworkers was contacted by a native relief organization and asked to provide logistical support (survey and help with distribution) to affectees in the Thatta area. That relief organization had received a huge shipment (35 tons) of goods from Australia, including sugar, flour, lentils, bottled water and other packaged/prepared items. The bags were packed in Karachi (about 35 kg per sack), and we helped guide the large team from the relief organization in their distribution.
Our people distributed 515 ration packs there and another 375 in the Makli area. They also plan to distribute 185 bags in Dadu. In one location 100 miles away from Thatta, the people, who still have flood water in their homes, told them, “You guys are the first people to bring aid to us.” In the Sajjaval area, they provided assistance to over 100 Hindus who had received no help to date. In addition, they installed 27 hand pumps (nine additional bores hit bitter water and the bore had to be redone).
The Hospital (SCH)
We have now finalized our "catchment area" at 15 villages with 396 families and 3,168 people (average size of 8 per family), mostly in the Lodra area, which is a sustainable number for outreach through the next harvest in April/May. Our plan has been to give a bag of food to each family every two weeks. However, in light of recent calculations, we are seriously looking at changing to a three-week delivery. The village leaders are quite accepting of this change. Seed has been a main focus of late, going to nine locations where the land is ready for sowing wheat. Our five-man team did a fine job of deciding how to apportion the available funds. We believe these distributions are definitely helping people become self-sufficient much sooner.
A total of 25 hand pumps to provide clean water have been completed (including bases), with three more pending. We have also supplied some charpais and a sewing machine to a widow with five children to support. At this time we have no plans to rebuild houses, but were encouraged today to see the first house being built by one owner himself in one of "our" villages, all mud with a roof of wood salvaged from the flood.
Medical camps were held daily over past month in villages and IDP camps with a doctor from Holland, seeing between 40-60 patients a day at each. For two of those weeks we were assisted by two women from the USA. The most critical need coming up is for someone to replace one of our coordinators, who leaves in December, or much of the relief work we are doing will come to a halt.
The kids that have remained for the duration in our Nutritional Support Program have done well—the death rate for such programs is usually 3-5%, but to date, SCH has had none. We have discharged 47 children (upon completing the recommend duration of treatment), after a few left early in the beginning of the program most are staying now. It helps to have the “old” mothers teaching the “new” ones. The mothers have been very receptive to our nutritional training. A high percentage of our patients are on TB treatment, a number are sick like this because of previous disease. They all treat for malaria, parasites, etc., and there are a lot of two-three year olds that can’t walk. Many seem to enjoy our worship times. Several have come down to the clinic worship on their own and listen, and
the parents are very receptive to prayer. Two children whose mothers said were demon-affected were prayed for.
Hyderabad
We have also continued to provide our families with rations about every two weeks and to see people medically about twice a week, usually about 40 cases each time. One encouraging thing lately is that a number of more serious problems have largely subsided, and we’re mostly providing treatment for colds/flu and malaria. The Plumpy Nut nutritional supplement for children has arrived at the camp now, and the malnourished children we’ve been particularly concerned about are finally getting it! Others are eating it, too, and love it! We encourage the adults to save it for their kids, but don’t think we’ve gained an audience.
Six of the 41 families we have been distribution rations to departed for their homelands in Garhi Khairo. While their lands are still under several feet of water, this groups’ homes (unlike most of the others) were not totally destroyed by the flooding as they were on high ground. However, it will still be very difficult for them, and they’ll remain dependant on local NGO’s for food, and wells are only now being rehabilitated. One perk is that fish is so plentiful in the area that it’s selling for about 16-18 cents a pound. The other families are planning to leave shortly after Eid (the week of November 22) to return there, as well.
So far, we've given out 22 roof kits and have surveyed for a total of 44 families. The kits are made up of 15 bamboo poles 16' feet long (originally we were giving 12, but the spacing between poles was too wide we so we increased the number to 15), three girders 15' long and reed mats (chics). We've also started including a 1/2 kg roll of wire for binding the poles together. A family then needs to provide wooden structural poles and leaves and branches for the sides. These kits cost around 8,000rupees, or just under $100.
We are excited about a team of three young men joining us at the end of this month to help with flood relief. Their major project will focus on rehabilitating the homes of our families in Garhi Khairo. While in many cases houses destroyed by flooding were pillaged of beams, windows, doors and other things, theirs were not, because an armed man from the area patrolled in a boat and was bent on shooting anyone foolish enough to try to rob them! This is a project that we wanted to do but did not see how. The men coming are a true answer to prayer! It’s been rather overwhelming for us to keep up with the needs of such a large group of people (on top of everything else we’re doing). We’re running out of steam and need God’s grace and wisdom for how to keep moving ahead.
OTHER NEWS
A few significant points from a recent aid report:
• It is around three months since heavy flooding devastated Pakistan.
• Sindh continues to host over 1 million people displaced by the floods in 3,100 collective facilities and camps.
• Flood-affected families are beginning to leave government buildings, including schools. Secondary displacements are occurring as people leave, but cannot return to their place of origin due to destroyed housing and infrastructure, contaminated water and lack of basic services.
• Seven million people are still without shelter, disease is spreading and winter is approaching.
• Aid agencies are warning that the crisis is now entering a critical new phase.
For an excellent update on the continuing sad state of the Sindh by BBC reporter, Orla Guerin, reporting from Dadu, Sindh, go to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11642688. For another from the same reporter, Despair of Pakistan's Forgotten Flood Victims, go to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11648701.
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