Relief Effort Straining – PWRDF Partners Continue to Deliver Aid

South Asia: Earthquake Update #6

Source: Action By Churches Together

Pakistan: General situation

UN officials say that the helicopters ferrying food and supplies to the affected areas of the Himalayas may have to be grounded in just days if donors fail to increase emergency relief contributions, while relief organisations are scrambling to assist the many people with no access to food, water, shelter or medicine in the freezing temperatures of the Himalayas. Some aid workers have resorted to hauling relief items to people with pack mules. However costly, helicopters, is still the quickest and most effective way to reach people in remote areas.
UN data show that key emergency aid operations for the earthquake survivors are still greatly under-funded. While 316,000 tents have been provided or are on their way to the devastated region, the UN estimates that another 210,000 need to be sent to the region before bad weather closes in.
Authorities in Battagram say that they are still awaiting orders from the North Western Frontier Province (NWFP) government to evacuate an estimated 100,000 people. A second team of geologists reached Allai to look into reports of volcanic activity in the area. A senior police official in the Northern Frontier district has said that they had submitted an evacuation plan to the provincial government and were awaiting orders. But government officials say that they want the evacuation to be voluntary and not to force people to leave the area.

Action By Churches Together Response

ACT members continue to provide food and shelter to people affected by the earthquake. Another 100 tents were airdropped into one of the villages in Balakot on October 30. However, staff are deeply concerned at the possibility of the government helicopters being grounded due to a lack of funds needed to keep them in the air. Meanwhile, new relief parcels, including hygiene kits, kitchen sets and utensils have been prepared for distribution tomorrow (November 1). These packages are to be distributed among families of the tent village that has been set up by Church World Service/ACT.
 
The tent village is growing as people are still arriving. The number of families in the tent village currently stands at 100, with an average of eight members per family. A major development in the tent village is that the camp now has its own supply of clean drinking water. Plans have been put in place to provide a separate place for cooking, once the cookers arrive, with CWS-ACT also discussing the possibility of providing specially cooked food for the upcoming Eid celebration.
Eight latrines have been built, with another 42 to be in place over the next few days.
In an interview with Ecumenical News International, the Church World Service Pakistan director, Marvin Parvez said that little international aid coming into the country in this hour of need, which could lead to the helicopter service being halted.
CWS-ACT has so far distributed 3,881shelter kits (27,167 individuals assisted) and 2,955 food packages (20,685 individuals assisted) in the areas of Battagram, Shangla and Balakot. Along with ACT member Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), seven water and sanitation programs in Battagram, Abbottabad, Shumlai and Battal are being implemented. These programs consist of constructing water supply systems (boreholes, bladder tanks & tap stands) and latrines. In Shumlai-Battagram town in collaboration with UNICEF a main pipeline is also under repair.
Water is now being trucked three times a day to the camp. The medical service out-patients facility started on October 31 and some 50 patients were seen. This team is pioneering the initiative, which will be supported by a larger hospital, run by the Diocese of Peshawar. A mosque is also functioning within the tent village.
 
The Pakistan Humanitarian Forum shared that people affected by the earthquake have asked for tin sheets to help them construct their own shelters based on their individual needs. Using pieces of wood and tin sheets, people will build shelters that would keep them warm and protect them from the snow and rain. The people of Battagram are loath to come down to the shelter tent villages, as they are afraid that their livestock and the remains of their homes will be looted. Some of the people, currently in the tent villages, want to return to their original villages and seem reluctant to stay longer in the tent villages. One of the major concerns remains the urgent need for winterised tents.

India General Situation

A team of ACT member Churches Auxilliary for Social Action (CASA) reached Srinagar on October 14, liasing with senior officials of the army and the government responsible for relief management and distribution, and to collect village information and necessary permissions and passes to enter the area.

Action By Churches Together Response

The initial intervention, through local partners, was aimed at providing 1,000 families with blankets, woollen clothing material, tarpaulins and utensils sets.
The partners include a coalition of 25 NGO’s working in Kashmir since 1977, women’s associations, housing organizations, the Hindustani Covenant Church,  a human rights action network and an adult education NGO.  
The team travelled to the Tangdhar area on October 25, taking part in the distribution of blankets and materials for shleter, assisting in total 400 families.
ACT aims to distribute 16 tin sheets to 1,500 families for roofing. Insulation of these beneficiary constructed shelters will be done using planks and field stone salvaged from the ruined houses. 1,500 stoves and blankets will also go to the families. The needs of women and children are a priority for CASA-ACT and the provision of individual family shelters will go a long way to reducing their vulnerability and anxiety. 50,000 additional blankets will be distributed to 5,000 families. Distribution of materials is hampered by security concerns in the remote region as well as dangers from snow and landslides. With the harsh winter about to set in, it is imperative that strong temporary shelters be provided, especially in the high snow fall areas.
Based on ACT Situation Report Pakistan 08/05 Geneva, November 1, 2005.
ACT is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide. The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF)  in Switzerland.