CHURCH WORLD SERVICE HELPING PAKISTAN QUAKE SURVIVORS LEARN NEW TRADES, REBUILD, RETURN TO VILLAGES
Humanitarian Agency Still Serving Basic Needs Alongside Accelerated Recovery Push
ISLAMABAD - Tues March 7 - As Pakistan begins to focus on helping uprooted earthquake survivors return to their villages, humanitarian agency Church World Service is helping young men learn how to rebuild and gain new livelihood skills in a new construction trade training center in Mansehra. At the center, young men - who have been living in tent villages following the devastating quake- are learning masonry, electrical work, plumbing, carpentry and welding as part of Church World Service's comprehensive recovery and rehabilitation program in the region.
The Pakistan office of Church World Service reports that Pakistan's Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) is at work on a comprehensive plan focusing on housing policies and restoration of health and education facilities so that construction in earthquake affected areas can begin immediately.
The government of Pakistan will provide one month's rations to survivors who have lived in temporary shelter and tent villages since last October. The Pakistan government also will give them resources to build their own quake-resistant houses.
The provincial governments have been asked to expedite the delivery of funds for reconstruction of damaged houses, and the Pakistan government is conducting surveys to ascertain that designs comply with building codes requiring new houses to be earthquake resistant.
The North West Frontier Province relief commissioner reported each earthquake-affected business person of the province would receive funds to enable them to restart their businesses.
CWS communications officer Shama Mall says attention to livelihoods is "a major part of our recovery strategy. The earthquake has affected the agriculture and livestock, both main sources of people's livelihoods. Due to landslides a lot of people have not only lost their homes but also their farmland."
Trauma and Basic Needs Still Being Addressed
Even as some groups prepare to face the future, others still need basic support. Over the last four months, a CWS psychosocial program team has worked to restore the confidence of survivors. CWS Pakistan says, with encouragement from the Church World Service psychosocial team, women who were traumatized and stigmatized in the initial days after the quake have now become more self-reliant and are ready to share personal stories and concerns more openly. The program held individual counseling sessions at the Shohal Najaf, Hassa and United tent villages.
CWS's psychosocial team also has been assisting quake-displaced women with income generation projects, including a February handicraft exhibition in the Shohal Najaf tent village at which women exhibited and sold embroidery items, hand-made clothing and decorative pieces. Church World Service presented prizes for creativity and craftsmanship and distributed hygiene kits and warm clothes to participants. The team also distributed chairs to teachers in Shohal Najaf tent village and 800 kits containing clothes, jackets and shoes. 100 sleeping bags were distributed at United camp.
In the Hassa tent village, Church World Service organized a men's group meeting to discuss relocation and recovery plans, as residents are anxious about resettling in the villages. The psychosocial team provided two large tents for community meetings at Hassa camp to facilitate the registration process for camp families. The team continues to meet with individual households and to provide information.
In Maira tent village, the Church World Service team reports that women residents have begun to apply the hygiene education they've received and are becoming more comfortable and open with aid workers.
Even while supporting the region's psychosocial, reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts, CWS continues to provide basic needs assistance, including water and sanitation projects. Because of the massive damage caused by the earthquake, Church World Service is continuing its U.S. fundraising campaign to support long term recovery in the affected areas.
EDITORS, PLEASE NOTE: As you may continue to include listings of agencies accepting donations for the Pakistan earthquake, please include the following:
Contributions to support earthquake survivors can be sent to:
Church World Service Southern Asia Earthquake --#6979 P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN 46515.
Contributions can also be made online or by calling 800.297.1516, ext. 222.
Media Contacts
Lesley Crosson, (212) 870-2676, lcrosson@churchworldservice.org Jan Dragin - 24/7 - (781) 925-1526, jdragin@gis.net
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