Thursday, September 29, 2011

DIY flood relief in Pakistan


"Pakistan over the last month has again been plunged into a very dismal state.

I along with a few friends have been involved in raising aid online and distributing it by hand all over this region.

We have visited the Badin area three times in the last month.

On our last trip we drove into Badin from Karachi, amidst reports of violent looting on the roads as well as relief trucks being mobbed.

Past the halfway point, at Thatta, the area became almost surreal, with water at road level stretching into the horizon as far as the eye could see.

Water-logged
As we drove closer to Badin the road was littered on both sides with makeshift tents and people sitting with their families in the awful heat.

They drink from the water around them and use the same water for washing and toilets.

We drove into Nindo, Khoski and beyond to distribute 2,000 'ready-to-eat' meals we had brought with us.

Everywhere we went we saw appalling conditions.

One can see relief organizations putting up camps and road-side kitchens all along the way to help feed the needy but clearly the throngs surrounding them are beyond their capacity.

The water is 3-4 feet deep in many areas.

In one place we saw people crossing their motor-bikes on a donkey cart from a marooned, water-logged village

I saw a snake almost as long as a car swimming lazily through this water, as people waded through it.

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