Emergency aid to flood victims in Pakistan

According to UN estimates, the unprecedented flooding that happened this autumn cost the lives of more than 1,100 people, affecting at least 33 million—one-seventh of the country’s population. With more than 700,000 heads of livestock swept away and 3.6 million acres of crops wiped out, Pakistan faced food shortages and soaring prices.

In the Tehsil Taunsa of the Dera Ghazi Khan District in Punjab, eight mauzas (villages) were severely hit by the disaster. The flood destroyed up to 8,000 houses, submerging the area under 5–6 feet of water. The locals and the government evacuated people from the district and provided them shelter in the nearby schools and government camps.

To combat the devastating effects of the flooding, we joined forces with the Association for Women’s Awareness and Rural Development (AWARD), a non-governmental, non-profit, and non-political organisation based in Faisalabad in the province of Punjab, Pakistan.

Together we prepared an emergency aid plan for distributing food packages to 250 families, or approximately 1,500 people from the eight affected villages. The packages included essential food items such as rice, flour, tea, biscuits, sugar, cooking oil, grains, and clean drinking water.