Pakistan Floods: 20th November 2010
Prem Fellowship Report No 10
I returned from Pakistan yesterday after an extremely busy month visiting many of the areas affected by the floods in the Punjab and upper Sindh, where we have been involved in relief work over the past months. I have also had a comprehensive tour of areas where we have continuing gospel ministry but report of this will be given separately in a special prayer letter. If you do not receive our quarterly letter and would like to receive this do let me know.
The first visit to a flood affected area was to the Muzaffarghar district on 23rd October. Much of the water has now gone but many tent camps are still set up to provide for the thousands who have lost their homes. Many camps are being run by Government and relief agencies. There are however many poor Muslim people who have lost their homes and possessions, who are not receiving aid from these agencies. Liaqat took me to a village called Rure Wali and I saw and photographed this destruction. We plan to provide help to widows and families where there are no ‘breadwinners.’ The greatest need is for materials including bricks and roof materials for one room homes to be rebuilt. The needs that exist far outweigh our resources to meet the demands of all that cries out to be done.
On 2nd November we came to the various Hindu communities who are surviving in primitive conditions near the main highway in the Kot Bulla area south of Pano Akil. Liaqat had on various occasions provided rations to the Sansi, Marwari and Bagri settlements in this place. I was shown the basic reed and mud houses that had been destroyed, or as in some instances, still standing in several feet of water. Some of the Sansi community profess to be Christians and we heard of how they had received the gospel some years ago by Rajan Victor, a Marwari evangelist, known to us, who used to visit them. We made note of the families in most need and plan to give help to 40 families from these three groups. We will also most certainly be seeking to share the gospel with them and encourage those who seem to have a simple faith in Christ.
We went on to Shikarpur and met friends at the Christian hospital there, where we used to live. They are doing a great work of helping sick children, who have been admitted from flood areas around. Our friends also have a relief programme in an area called Khanghar which is located some 12-15 miles out of the city. Several village areas have been identified as severely affected by the floods and regular help and aid is being given by the team from the Shikarpur Christian Hospital. Several miles beyond Khanghar we have been seeking to help families in a large Sansi community in the Sultankot area. We walked around this large settlement and observed the dozens of homes that have been destroyed. In a Government school next to the Sansi community we observed trucks supplying aid to local Muslim residents but certainly none of the poor Hindu (Sansi) people were able to get help from this supply and with few exceptions, none of these people have been able to obtain a ‘Watan’ card, that was to provide aid to flood affected victims. It seems that without the right kind of ‘influence’ such help is not being given to many of those in the greatest need and this card system is being used as a political tool by corrupt politicians to secure votes at the up-coming local elections! A couple of miles further on, we came to a community living in tents at Hamao. In this place I took photos of reed houses still standing in 4 to 5 feet of water. Although tents had been provided, no other aid had been given and here we also received lists of poor Muslim people who had received no help at all. This area has only recently been made accessible and is located on the road to Jacobabad.
In another direction out of Shikarpur the large Sansi community in the settlement known as College Goth are living. This is the group where we have a school and there is a growing community of Christian believers. Flood waters came here and for several weeks the total community fled to other places. Now the waters have gone but damage and destruction remain. Many of the houses are made of baked brick and have withstood the waters but serious damage has affected many homes and we hope to help at least 20 families with repair work to walls and roofs. Relatives of this community live in the Nadir Shah on the outskirts of the town of Rato Dero, some 40 miles south west of Shikarpur. Liaqat and I together with Jaro visited the two communities in this place. They escaped flooding but the monsoon rains did much damage and appropriate help is being given.
Like Rato Dero many places, did escape the floods but were devastated by incessant rains over many days. The end result was the often the same – destruction! We visited Fatah Masih in his home near Ranipur and found that some roofs had collapsed and others were so badly damaged that major repairs are needed. This is true in the Uch Sharif area out from Bahawalpur, where our Christian colleague, Fakira Markus lives. In two village settlements we identified 14 homes either destroyed or in urgent need of roof rebuilding.
The most heart rending account was given by Jannet, the sister of our Marwari lady teacher (Ruzia). Jannat and her husband Bhojo with their three small daughters were living on the flood plain to the west of Ghotki. One morning in late August they woke up before dawn to find water coming into their simple home. They got up and found that the water was rising by the minute. Soon it was up to their knees. Bhojo grabbed their two older daughters and Jannat took the baby and they fled their home just as they were. Water was soon up to their waist and then their chests. The ground under their feet was mud. They slipped and stumbled and feared for their lives. They had no hope of their little ones surviving and they scrambled on in search of higher ground. Others around them were in a similar plight. Somehow they managed to reach a road, which was submerged but the firm ground under their feet helped them move on and eventually to higher ground above the waters. I visited them (Liaqat was attending to clutch repairs to the car) at dusk on 13th November. They and another family in similar condition are presently living, in a village near Pano Akil. They had some palm branches for a shelter and only sheets for bedding. As it is the cotton picking season they are working in the fields to earn some money picking cotton. I gave some money for bedding with the promise of help to build new shelters. These two families hope soon to return to the Ghotki area where we will make good our promises to them.
In the last days of my month-long visit to Pakistan Liaqat and I spent time assessing the needs that we had seen. Eleven areas have been identified with priority for help being given to the poorest families, who otherwise have not received help. The remaining help we hope to give will focus mainly on the reconstruction and repair of homes destroyed or damaged. In one or two places some food help will be given and some will receive a supply of wheat to replace their year’s supply lost in the floods. Some families will be helped with beds and cooking utensils.
The remaining money on hand in Pakistan and some yet to be sent from the U.K. amounts to £31,482. Estimates of the urgent needs in our target areas come to just over £45,500. This means that as things stand at present there will be a shortfall and we will reduce the help being given to balance our accounts and hope to complete this work before the end of the year. Except in very few instances (an example of which I mentioned above), we do not give help in the form of cash but arrange for materials to be supplied to the site where building repairs are to be made. In the estimate made above I have not included the cost of transport for building materials and with the likely shortfall it seems best to make a 3% cut in materials supplied to cover for these costs.
I have been most impressed by the way Liaqat has overseen this whole work to date. He has recruited local leaders and in places where there are Christians, he has used believers to help with the many tasks that have made this whole relief work possible. In the Multan and Muzaffarghar areas his own family have given their help and his own home has been like a factory assembling ration packs. There have been instances where Muslims have risen to the challenge and been good helpers. We know of two such people who have come to faith as a result of this ministry. Other communities have been greatly affected for good. For example Muslim and Hindu peoples, helped with flood relief aid have been coming to Christian worship services. The congregation at the Shikarpur Baptist Church, where I preached, was double the normal size of such people. Many are deeply grateful and there are on-going opportunities for continuing regular ministry to such communities.
Please continue to pray for this concluding phase of this work. Pray that wisdom will be given in making decisions, where there will be a shortfall in available funds and pray that those who genuinely need help will not be overlooked. Pray for protection for Liaqat and helpers overseeing this last stage and for safety in all the travelling involved. I will send another final report or possibly two more with information of the help that has been given with a final accounting. We could still receive gifts if any would like to make a further contribution and the previous channels are still available.
Thanks you so much for your prayers over these past weeks. The Lord has answered abundantly.
Sincerely in the Lord’s service,
Roger Pomeroy
