Amir Mai and her family have camped under the trees on this sand dune for more than a week in order to let their surviving livestock access water and fodder. Photo credit: World Vision
PAKISTAN – Evacuation is not easy for the poor. Amir Mai, a young mother of four children, walked miles with her seven-year-old daughter in tow, trying to find food for her family of eight after the floods destroyed her family home.
Everyone in Amir Mai’s town had been aware of the flood risk, but they thought the canal embankment would hold.
As the waters started to rise, volunteers strengthened dykes with sand bags and stone. But additional flood waters from the Ghazi Ghat area finally breached the canal.
The town’s residents had barely 15 minutes to run for their lives.
“There was no time to think of valuables. We had livestock and a lot of household goods but no money to pay for transportation,” said Amir Mai’s husband Muneer. “Everyone left everything behind. We just hoped that the disaster would spare us.”
For Amir Mai and Munner, their cattle were the only possession they were able to save as they fled raging flood waters more than 14 feet high. The couple has four children and they owned two cows, six sheep and two goats. Amir Mai’s most prized possessions were her five chickens and 11 chicks.
Fortunately, Amir Mai had taken her children to stay with her cousins in Muzaffargarrh before the floods ravaged her town so Muneer was able to collect the animals and evacuate the area as fast as the livestock would move. The whole town ran in tandem with animals and children in tow and the water following on their heels.
They headed to a building owned by one of their relatives some eight kilometres away. Amir Mai also joined her family there. The place was quickly over-crowded as more and more people came seeking refuge.
Eventually Amir Mai and Muneer decided to move to an abandoned building situated on sand dunes, which is now ‘home’ for her family. Amir Mai has been responsible for finding relief supplies, and her husband looks after the cattle.
World Vision has carried out a rapid needs assessment in the area. Food distributions will begin shortly to provide relief to the victims of the biggest flood disaster in Pakistan’s history. Longer-term interventions for rehabilitation and livelihood support are also being planned.
Depending on need and access issues across flood-affected areas of the country, World Vision also aims to provide cash-for-work activities to 1,000 people, open health posts, set up 20 child-friendly spaces and 20 women-friendly spaces to provide a safe and comfortable environment for children and women in which they can interact with peers and receive support.
By Khalid Hussain
For those wanting to donate to World Vision’s Pakistan flood response:
•Call 1-800-268-5528 (English) or 1-800-363-5021 (French)
•Text the word WORLD to 45678 to make a $5 donation
