Winter bears down on earthquake survivors
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A UMNS photo by Paul Jeffrey, ACT Women clean dishes at a tent city outside Balakot, Pakistan.
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Women
clean dishes at a tent city outside Balakot, Pakistan. Hundreds of
survivors of the Oct. 8 earthquake that killed an estimated 80,000
people live in the camp, which is supported by Church World Service/ACT.
The United Methodist Committee on Relief is working with CWS to
continue to assist earthquake survivors. A UMNS photo by Paul Jeffrey,
Action by Churches Together. Photo #06073. Accompanies UMNS story #044.
1/25/06 |
Jan. 25, 2006
A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom*
As predicted, winter weather has made life more difficult for the survivors
of the Oct. 8 South Asia earthquake.
Church World Service, Action by Churches Together, Norwegian Church Aid and
other nongovernmental organizations continue to work with survivors,
particularly in hard-hit northern Pakistan and Kashmir. The United Methodist
Committee on Relief has assisted through CWS, International Blue Crescent,
Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action and other groups.
Usman Adam, who works in the information department at CWS Pakistan, reported
in mid-January that distribution of relief supplies is continuing, along with
the psychosocial ministries and training programs.
“Teams are also out to monitor and assess needs of remote populations,” he
told United Methodist News Service.
The earthquake is believed to have killed at least 73,000 — some estimates
are higher — and displaced about 3 million people.
Health problems are expected to increase because of the weather, Adam said.
In addition, “the overwhelming majority of the shelter is still not winterized,
and rain and snow are causing further road blockages and landslides.”
In a Jan. 6 situation report, the three agencies noted that “among the
roughly 2.2 million people still living in tents or in makeshift shelters,
several hundred thousand found themselves completely isolated again, lacking
food and material to resist the winter and the abundant snow. The U.N. estimates
that as many as 400,000 people are in higher areas where it is feared that snow
and rain will make it harder for helicopters and trucks to reach them.”
Inclement weather prevented former President George H.W. Bush, serving as the
U.N. special envoy for the South Asian Earthquake Disaster, from traveling by
helicopter to Muzzafarabad on Jan. 16.
Instead, after spending the night at a camp for survivors in Islamabad, Bush
expressed admiration for the spirit of the survivors and stressed the need to
keep supply lines open during the harsh winter, according to U.N. reports.
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A UMNS photo by Paul Jeffrey, ACT Children huddle together in a tent city sponsored by Church World Service/Action by Churches Together.
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Children
huddle together in a tent city outside Balakot, Pakistan, sponsored by
Church World Service/Action by Churches Together. Relief teams had
noticed that children were lacking hats, shoes and socks, particularly
in remote areas. Norwegian Church Aid has sent funds for CWS to purchase
and distribute some of these items. CWS, ACT, Norwegian Church Aid and
other nongovernmental organizations continue to work with survivors,
particularly in hard-hit northern Pakistan and Kashmir. The United
Methodist Committee on Relief has assisted through CWS, International
Blue Crescent, Church's Auxiliary for Social Action and other groups. A
UMNS photo by Paul Jeffrey, Action by Churches Together. Photo #06074.
Accompanies UMNS story #044. 1/25/06 |
A Jan. 20 situation report from CWS/ACT/NCA showed that 839,997 winterized
tents had been distributed, along with plastic sheeting and blankets. A total of
115,883 shelters had been built above 5,000 feet, with another 158,076 shelters
built in lower elevations.
“The major challenge with regards to camp management at this time is the
service and food delivery to spontaneous camps,” the report said.
The Pakistan Army also has built shelters and is “working round the clock in
affected areas of Mansehra, Battagram, Kohistan and Shangla districts to save
quake survivors from severe cold.” More than two feet of snow in higher
elevations and drenching rains in the foothills have made the work more
difficult and disrupted helicopter flights.
CWS itself has distributed 19,000 tents and 6,130 sheets in the past three
months, along with nearly 43,000 sweaters and blankets recently received from
ACT members.
Marvin Parvez, director of CWS Pakistan/Afghanistan, told ACT that relief
teams had noticed children were lacking hats, shoes and socks, particularly in
remote areas. Norwegian Church Aid has sent funds for CWS to purchase and
distribute some of these items.
UMCOR has helped fund the work of the International Blue Crescent in four
mountain villages of the Bagh district, according to David Sadoo, international
field staff with UMCOR. The agency is providing winterized shelter and latrines
for 150 families in 10 small tented settlements. It also is establishing and
equipping 10 tented schools/children’s centers and 10 tented basic health
centers in the settlements.
Although the earthquake survivors are still preoccupied with the harsh
weather, some are beginning to look ahead. According to Parvez, the CWS/NCA
psychosocial team is starting to talk with camp residents about home
reconstruction and moving back to their villages.
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A UMNS photo by Paul Jeffrey, ACT A
Pakistan Army helicopter is used to ferry supplies provided by Church
World Service/Action by Churches Together to the village of Gantar.
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A
Pakistan Army helicopter is used to ferry relief supplies provided by
Church World Service/Action by Churches Together to the remote village
of Gantar. Following the Oct. 8 earthquake in northern Pakistan, CWS/ACT
responded quickly to the needs of thousands of affected families. The
United Methodist Committee on Relief has assisted through CWS,
International Blue Crescent, Church's Auxiliary for Social Action and
other groups. A UMNS photo by Paul Jeffrey, Action by Churches Together.
Photo #06075. Accompanies UMNS story #044. 1/25/06 |
The psychosocial team has provided support to survivors on a wide range of
issues. Recently, the team conducted meetings in the Shohal Najaf and Hassa
camps. “During these meetings, the main focus of discussion was problems faced
by people residing in the tents due to the recent wave of cold weather,” the
Jan. 20 report said.
A health and hygiene team also met with young women and adolescent girls in
Shohal Najaf to address specific hygiene issues.
CWS/NCA teams have assessed damages to camp latrines and drainage systems
caused by recent snow; are assessing needs for additional capacity in the Maira
camp; and introduced the hygiene program to residents of the Kund camp.
In Kashmir, Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action, supported by UMCOR,
targeted 6,575 of the most affected families in the Uri and Tangdhar
sector, with 2,900 of those families to be covered by partner churches or NGOs.
These areas had villages that were either completely or partially damaged.
Initial relief went to 1,000 families in the form of blankets, woolen clothing,
tarpaulins and utensil sets. Tin sheets for shelters and coal/wood-burning
heaters called “bukharis” were distributed later.
According to CASA, beneficiaries “belong to rural areas and pursue diverse
livelihood activities, including agriculture, agrarian activities, petty trade,
artisanship, labor (mainly agriculture) etc. Women and children are a priority
concern for CASA, and we feel that the provision of individual family shelters
would go a long way in reducing their vulnerability.”
UMCOR also assisted Ludhiana Christian Medical College with medical relief
work in Kashmir. As of Dec. 20, the college reported, outreach teams had treated
4,308 patients in 22 villages. In addition to numerous orthopedic injuries,
earthquake survivors complained of head and body aches, upper and lower
respiratory tract infections and fevers, acid peptic diseases, diarrhea and worm
infestations, and skin and eye diseases.
The relief agency is encouraging United Methodists to continue contributing
to the relief effort. As of the end of November, UMCOR had received $373,355 for
earthquake relief. Year-end totals are not yet available from the United
Methodist Board of Global Ministries, UMCOR’s parent agency.
Donations to the United Methodist relief effort can be marked for “UMCOR
Advance #232000, Pakistan Earthquake,” and placed in church offering plates or
sent to UMCOR, P.O. Box 9068, New York, N.Y. 10087-9068. Contributions also can
be made by phone at (800) 554-8583 or online at
http://www.methodistrelief.org.
If funds are intended for recovery in a specific region, that should be noted.
More information is available at
http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/emergency/earthquake/.
*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.
News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or
newsdesk@umcom.org.
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Resources
UMCOR: Pakistan Earthquake
Church World Service
Earthquake Relief
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