Villagers on Pakistan's coast lost everything; World Vision is helping them, and thousands of others, to rebuild.

July 19, 2007

By Dana Palade, World Vision Pakistan Communications, and Janet Root, Assistant Web Editor

"Did you see 'Twister,' the thriller?" asks Mahboob Ali, a Pakistani journalist who recently experienced the terrifying power of Cyclone Yemyin. "That's how it felt that day!"

Ali, referring to the Hollywood film of the same name, describes the aftermath of the 'twister' for residents of Kati Bandar, a dilapidated village on Pakistan's Arabian seashore. "These people are so very poor, they had close to nothing; the storms took even that 'nothing' away from them."

'Selling Snakes'

Indeed, before the three days of violent storms preceding Cyclone Yemyin's touchdown on June 26, Keti Bandar's 3,500 residents survived hand-to-mouth. Many are elderly, and most depend upon fishing as their sole source of income — a dying vocation due to the area's diminished fish supply. Before the storm, an average day's catch earned a mere $1.60.

Now, flooded areas of mangrove in the Indus River delta — near the village at the southernmost tip of Pakistan's Sindh province — have further diminished the local fish population.

"A fisherman recently told me, 'If it continues like this, we'll end up selling snakes!'" says Fayyaz Qureshi, a local resident.

Eighty Percent of Homes Destroyed

Moreover, most villagers now have no place to live. Cyclone Yemyin destroyed some 360 of the village's 450 homes. Among them was the new cement-block house Anwar Khaskhili had been working on, using the meager savings from her husband's trade as a fisherman.

When the storms hit, she saw her new house destroyed — the roof was snatched by the 80-mph cyclonic winds that then smashed and scattered most of her few household items.

"The metal sheeting we had as the roof of the house was flying in the air, and the boundary wall of our compound is completely destroyed," says Anwar.

'It Will Be Very Hard to Start Again'

Still, she is happy to have her five children safe. Thankfully, the nine-member family has found refuge in a thatched shelter.

"We are very poor people," she says. "All the money we get comes from selling the fish for markets in Karachi. It will be very hard for us to start again."

Other areas in southern parts of Pakistan were also severely affected by the storms.

Traveling 125 miles south from Karachi to Keti Bandar, one can see utility poles ripped out like uprooted weeds; power lines are strewn across the ground.

Much of this region in southern Sindh province used to be a productive agricultural area — supporting healthy crops of rice, vegetables, maize, and banana trees — but is now bare, depleted of minerals and whitened by a covering of sea salt. Moreover, underground aquifers in the region are now infiltrated with seawater, so sources for safe drinking water are limited.

What is World Vision Doing?

World Vision Pakistan is continuing its efforts to respond to the needs of storm survivors in Pakistan's hard-hit southern provinces of Sindh and Balochistan. Latest assessments from the ground now reveal that up to 2.5 million may have been affected by the storms, and more than 370,000 are homeless. Our nine-month planned response is focusing on the most critical needs, including interventions in health, education, water, sanitation, shelter, and supply distributions.

Since children suffer the most when disasters hit, our aid efforts are particularly focused on their needs.

"Our initial funds will be allocated to the provision of child psychosocial support, through Child-Friendly Spaces," says Graham Strong, World Vision's country director in Pakistan. "We will also provide emergency shelter and non-food items."