ACT Alliance

A man, Shermuhammed, waits for assistance from ACT following the floods.
Photo: ACT/ICCO/Saskia Bolt

by Saskia Bolt, ICCO

In the Lower Dir district in the Khyber Pakhtun Khwa (KPK) province, close to the Afghan border, a large number of people were already homeless before the July 2010 floods.

A government military operation against the Taliban in April 2009 created a major stream of refugees. Then the Swat River burst its banks six months ago, flooding the fields and lush pastures, and washing away houses, bridges and electric installations. After three weeks, the water disappeared.

The floods had very few public buildings to wash away - KPK had hardly any healthcare and education. Illiteracy here is the highest in the country.

Janirsat receives visitors with open arms from her new, concrete three-roomed house equipped with beds, pots and pans. She is eager to tell her story. Janirsat is in her 40s and surrounded by nine daughters, sister-in-law Goladan and grandchildren. Until recently, they lived in a tent supplied by ACT Alliance member Norwegian Church Aid. Their new house came just as the nights become increasingly colder, relief for the children suffering chronic colds.

During the floods, Janirsat and her family lived in the mountains for weeks, high enough to be away from the water. Although they fled in time but weren’t able to take anything. During a week they lived on fruit alone. Then, helicopters started to deliver biscuits and other dry food. They cooked in the open air.

When they went home in September, they found no trace of their 10 cows and 40 goats, an immense loss to the family which used to live off the milk and meat. A cow costs US$ 400 on the market nowadays.

A key concern of Janirsat’s is the wedding of her daughters. “How can I afford that?” Girls marry from the age of 15 or 16 in Pakistan. Besides nine daughters, she also has five sons. Her husband is not at home but is earning money helping others to build their houses.

The family is fortunate to have a new house. Lower down, closer to the crevice, the old family house was located. There is no trace of it any more.