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Church World Service Delegation to Pakistan Sees Quake Recovery Focus on Livelihood Training, Healthcare
Agency Issues Second U.S. Appeal: $20 Million for Pak Rehabilitation
ISLAMABAD / NEW YORK * Wed May 10 * Just returning from a two-week tour of earthquake damaged northern Pakistan, an American team from humanitarian agency Church World Service is reporting that, six months after the devastating quake, survivors are returning to the sites of their homes, awaiting government funding to rebuild, and sometimes being asked to move again to sites the government has deemed preferable.
The October 2005 earthquake left over three million people homeless. Church World Service's Pakistan regional offices began responding and delivering aid to survivors almost immediately after the quake.
Arriving in Islamabad April 18, the Church World Service U.S. team visited earthquake response sites in Kashmir and the Northwest Frontier Provinces, where, six months later, they saw a growing stream of survivors returning to their damaged homesites.
The CWS team reports seeing industrious recovery work everywhere, by individuals, families, teams of men, aid and government workers. But they also saw daunting devastation still remaining and healthcare needs desperate to be met.
In a meeting with Pakistan's Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA), part of the Prime Minister's Secretariat, a senior ERRA team member told the visiting Church World Service group that the goal was to "build back better" and that grants for reconstruction were to be disbursed in the coming days to homeowners.
"Church World Service's Pakistan staff has a hardworking and dedicated team that cuts across gender and religious lines - a much needed witness=20 in a country like Pakistan. They deserve our support and frequent prayers," says Johnny Wray, a CWS Board member who traveled with four of the agency's colleagues to view the response projects, which include mobile health units and a basic health unit in Rawalakot and livelihood training located in the earthquake's epicenter town of Balakot.
Health Clinics Needed
The drive to Rawalakot winds through mountain roads cleared daily of landslides. Church World Service Pakistan staff travel regularly to quake-stricken areas to deliver material and to assess work. A trip of roughly 70 miles took five hours, the U.S. team reported. Footpaths * seemingly from nowhere * descend to open onto the road.
In Rawalakot the delegation discovered that the town's only hospital had been destroyed, leaving a void of any type of healthcare and a five-hour=20 drive to the nearest center in Islamabad. To help fill that void, Church World Service operates a Basic Health Unit (BHU) and two mobile health units consisting of a traveling team of a doctor, two nurses and related=20 staff that visit isolated communities, filling needs in remote communities that otherwise look to be abandoned.
"The scope of health and medical needs that persists is troubling," says Church World Service Communications Director and delegation member Ann Walle. "The two mobile health unit teams and the Basic Health Unit typically see daily more than 100 patients each, mostly women and children," she said.
A second Church World Service fundraising appeal recently launched in the U.S. aims to collect $20 million to fund continuing health and recovery needs in the region.
In the North West Frontier Province, the city of Balakot was mostly destroyed and about half the population killed. The Pakistan government intends to relocate the city.
The effects of the earthquake are still all too apparent in Balakot, says CWS' Walle. "Many of the survivors of the disaster remain in tents, and numerous signs of destruction are still visible."
There are signs of recovery, however. The city's market is slowly coming back to life. A cornerstone of Church World Service work in the region is bustling: In conjunction with Dosti Pakistan, a local partner, Church World Service is helping train young men in masonry, electricity, welding, plumbing and carpentry. The training will allow the men to not only build new homes for their families but also enable them to assist reconstruction efforts throughout the region.
At one of the training centers, the Bissian Construction Trade Training Center, just outside of Balakot City, several dozen young men* who once worked as day laborers or agricultural workers*energetically practice their newly acquired skills, whether laying brick, cutting wood, or fixing wiring.
"We're providing them a skill as tradesmen and to help their communities=20 rebuild," said Ali Awais, 25, the administrator of the center. "It becomes a project not only for themselves but for their families and communities, too."
CWS is working to develop these centers in four hard-hit districts. A model straw house uses a simple technology of pressed straw and plaster as basic building material. Such homes are quake resistant, environmentally friendly, and well-insulated against the harsh mountain winters. "We thank America!" cried out an older man who came to talk with the visitors.
The Largest Camp Still Holds the Vulnerable
Camp Maira in the North West Frontier Province is located on the Indus River at the foot of the Himalayas. Until recently, when Pakistan's army disbanded the post-quake tent villages, this was the largest camp in the country for displaced quake families * more than 21,000 people.
When the American team visited Camp Maira, they found fewer than 100 families remain. People whose homes and lands were lost in slides are waiting for word from the government on where to relocate. The camp was featured in a CNN report and a number of U.S. senators and other dignitaries had visited here, including Church World Service Executive Director and CEO Rev. John L. McCullough, in the early weeks after the earthquake.
CWS provided the first 1,000 tents at Camp Maira, courtesy of Finn Church Aid* highly prized because of their size, shape and insulation, and because they were accompanied by kerosene heaters. Church World Service also provided water, sanitation facilities, food, clothing and other basic items to Camp Maira following the quake.
A walk across the vast field surrounding Camp Maira reveals the outlines of tents and the fire circles that were within them. A tuft of pink stuck out from the rust-colored, dry, dusty earth, a bit of fabric.
Returning from Pakistan, CWS board member Wray, who is Director of Week of Compassion with the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, said, "it was most impressive to see the partnerships Church World Service has forged with local partners like Dosti and also international partners like Norwegian Church Aid, with whom CWS is carrying out major water and sanitation projects.
"We heard from local people, other partners and even a government official," said Wray, "that Church World Service has been one of the leaders here in relief and recovery efforts. The agency's Pakistan country director Marvin Parvez," said Wray, "is a courageous and dedicated leader."
Second CWS Fundraising Appeal Addresses Rehabilitation Needs in Population Resettlement
Church World Service's new $20 million fundraiser will help fund reconstruction in quake damaged areas of Pakistan; restore livelihoods;=20 recover livestock; supply water and sanitation; and support psychosocial=20 activities, including counseling groups and a children's theater group offering stage play and puppet shows.
CWS' Walle says "We had enormous success with similar children's theater programs in our work in Iraq, as part of the 'All Our Children' campaign." In Pakistan, many children in worst-hit areas do not have schools to attend.
Walle says in Pakistan's recovery and in all of the agency's rehabilitation programs, "The capacity of local communities is key. Leaders from within each community are identified and are part of the CWS teams in each locale."
Church World Service Pakistan is now sending its recovery assessment and monitoring teams on a regular basis to survey remote communities. The most recent efforts include collecting village and household profiles, which are fed through the country's Statistical Package for Social Sciences system in order to best plan each locale's needs. "The thoroughness is astounding and to be roundly commended," noted Walle.
Media Contacts
Lesley Crosson, (212) 870-2676, lcrosson@churchworldservice.org Jan Dragin - 24/7 - (781) 925-1526, jdragin@gis.net
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