Relief & Rehabilitation for Pakistan Flood Victims

Pakistan's "Never Before Seen" floods drowned 1/3rd of the country last year. The cruel water mainly hit the agricultural lands of this agriculturally rich country. It was as if the water was pouring in from all directions. People literally saved their lives by climbing trees and spending days there waiting in hopes of being rescued.

Rescue and Relief Activities By Al-Mustafa

In the past reports, we have elaborated on how Al-Mustafa, with the help of its partners, has helped the afflicted communities in different ways and served 1.7 Million flood victims. 

Rehabilitation of Flood Victims

When the flood water receded from different areas and the IDPs returned to their native regions/communities, we started working on their rehabilitation. The biggest irony of this disaster was that it took away their loved ones and claimed their means to carry on with their own lives. The communities massively hit by floods belonged to highly deprived areas of Pakistan. The majority relied upon farming and agriculture, and the water flushed their homes and engulfed their crops and livestock, leaving them bare feet and hands. In the first rehabilitation phase, we decided to provide sustainable and cost-effective bamboo houses and brick and mud houses to as many families as our resources allow.

Building 200 Homes for 200 Families

According to the estimates of NDMA, these floods have destroyed more than 2.2 million houses, out of which around 0.9 million houses were utterly destroyed. So, in the first phase of rehabilitation, Al-Mustafa's Core Strategy Team decided to build cost-effective homes for the most deserving families of the victims. So far, we have built 200 homes for 200 afflicted families.

Collaboration with GlobalGiving

The GlobalGiving Disaster Response Team contacted Al-Mustafa to learn what's happening in the field and how they can help. Apart from supporting Al-Mustafa in raising donations online, they also endorsed Al-Mustafa and various other non-profits working for disaster relief with grants.

1. Surveys:

While serving in the afflicted areas, Al-Mustafa's teams also surveyed different areas of Sindh and Balochistan to assess the situation. We also called for applications from families who have lost their homes due to the disaster.

2. Budget Estimations and Quotations:

We took budget estimations and quotations of material from different sources and finalized different contractors available in different areas.

3. Finalization of the Project Site:

With the available resources, our Core Strategy Team decided to build houses in different flood-afflicted areas of Sindh and Balochistan. These areas included the following:

1. Joohi
2. Mehar
3. Sohbatpur
4. Qamber 
5. Naseerabad
6. Shahpurchakar
7. Bella

4. Selection of the Beneficiaries

The filtration and selection of beneficiaries were tough because almost everyone needed assistance. We filtered the most deserving families who had no means to build their homes back. Following is a brief detail of the beneficiaries of the project:

•  Ethnic background:

1. Sindhi
2. Balochi
3. Saraiki
4. Brohi
5. Lasi

• Gender:

           20% of the houses were given to families run by single women.

• Occupation

1. Farmers
2. Labourers

• Economic Status

           All the beneficiaries of this project belonged to impoverished economic backgrounds. Most were either daily wagers or poor farmers and had nothing to rely upon.

5. Building of Homes:

Though Al-Mustafa's team was responsible for the overall supervision of the construction of these homes, we aimed to involve and support the local economy in the process. All the materials were acquired locally, and labourers were hired from within the project's beneficiaries.

6. Handing-Over

As soon as a house was constructed, the property was handed over to the family.