Six months after epic flooding swept away farmland, homes and livelihoods across a huge area of Pakistan, AmeriCares continues to reach remote villages still in desperate need of relief supplies and basic health services.
Most recently, AmeriCares emergency response manager Riaz Khalil set to work with the leaders of the village and a bank employee who volunteers in the area to begin an initial relief effort. To assess immediate needs, they met with families whose homes had been damaged or destroyed when the Swat River overflowed its banks.
In direct response to the priorities expressed by the villagers, AmeriCares and its local partner in the region returned later in the month to distribute quilts, cooking sets, hygiene kits and jackets for more than 3,000 people in the village (510 families).
Impact on the Village
A local government representative for the Lower Dir district said that many aid organizations had come to this village and made promises to the people. AmeriCares was the first organization to actually bring the promised aid along the winding, rough access roads to Tauda Cheena.
Along with the first delivery of relief supplies, AmeriCares also considered the longer term re-building needs for the village, agreeing to work with a local partner to rehabilitate the flood-damaged clinic, which serves seven area villages. A site assessment was conducted and construction plans for the rural health center are in development, part of AmeriCares commitment to help communities rebuild sustainable health care following a disaster. The three to four-month project will include supplying basic equipment as well as some improvements for the facility.
Since 1990, AmeriCares has delivered nearly $57 million in assistance to Pakistan including relief supplies ranging from medicines, medical supplies, equipment, health care facilities and nutritional support.
