Local charity gives victims a voice in Pakistan
An international aid organisation based in Bradford handed over control of its social media accounts to flood victims in Pakistan last month as part of World Humanitarian Day.
The Human Relief Foundation opened up their online accounts to victims of recent natural disasters, enabling them to share their stories with the wider world.
Amongst those to take part in the project was retired Army personnel, Sultan Mohammed. After seeing his house destroyed in the floods, he took to Twitter to account his experiences.
Describing the damage to his house, he wrote: “The flood water was flowing so fast that it entered into our house. My house was full of water.
“The moment I left the room to protect my valuables, the roof of that room fell down immediately.
“I rushed back from the other room to the one where the roof fell down to inspect the damage, this time the room I left also fell down.”
Further updates showed the extent of the damage caused by the floods, which affected more than 800,000 people in over 2,000 villages in various parts of Pakistan.
Wazira Bibi is a mother from Pakistan who also used the social media account.
She added: “Floods have destroyed everything, even our food stocks. Water entered into the drum in which we stored our grains for the year; destroying our food stocks completely.
“Neither do we have anything to eat, nor anything to wear.”
Earlier this month, Human Relief Foundation launched its Pakistan Floods Appeal to help aid flood victims by providing medical camps and evacuation services, tents, food and much-needed essentials.
Aid workers are working on the ground and have carried out need assessments.
A spokesperson from the HRF office in Pakistan said: “People are still suffering from the aftermath of the floods.
“Our recent needs assessment report indicates several people are battling for their hunger needs. We have visited over 100 villages in Isakhel, Mianwali, and found many that have been completely destroyed.
“There are people who are engulfed with diseases, some of them being life threatening. At HRF, we have started to provide primary and secondary services to flood victims.
“Moreover, we are also in the process of rehabilitating the water distribution systems.”
