Rising from the Rubble: Communities lead the earthquake response

Submitted by crinadmin on

Save the Children Sweden recently released a report on progress made to assist victims of last year's earthquake in Pakistan. The powerful earthquake (7.6 on the Richter Scale) struck South Asia on 8th October 2005, causing widespread damage in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. Northern districts of Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) were worst hit. Entire towns and villages turned into rubble, killing over 70,000 men, women and children. Approximately the same number was injured and more than three million rendered homeless.

As in most disasters, children were severely affected. When the earthquake struck at
8.52am, schools were in morning session. More than 17,000 children died when their
school buildings collapsed. Many died in their homes. Those who survived were under
psychological stress; they had lost friends and family members, including primary caregivers. In some cases, caregivers abandoned children to seek assistance in big towns.

The earthquake has been the most devastating natural disaster in the history of Pakistan. The force of the initial quake, the precipitous terrain, unstable slopes and the onset of winter overwhelmed the country’s capacity to cope. Despite this, enormous effort was made by the people and Government of Pakistan to coordinate an effective humanitarian response. International community stood in support. Save the Children Alliance was part of the international response. Three Save the Children Alliance members – Save the Children Sweden, Save the Children UK and Save the Children US – have a strong organisational base in Pakistan since 1980, through which the Alliance launched its largest earthquake relief, reconstruction and protection programme covering severely hit areas in NWFP and AJK.

This report gives a glimpse of progress the project has made over the last year with
support from communities. To sum it up a significant progress has been made in terms
of meeting emergency shelter, food, health, education and child protection needs of
children and their families. Yet a lot needs to be done. The affected population need
continued support from the Government and international community to rebuild their
lives; “rebuild it better”.

Further information

pdf: http://www.crin.org/docs/save_sw_com_earth.pdf

Organisation: 
Save the Children Sweden - Pakistan
Attachment Link: 
http://www.crin.org/docs/save_sw_com_earth.pdf

Countries

Please note that these reports are hosted by CRIN as a resource for Child Rights campaigners, researchers and other interested parties. Unless otherwise stated, they are not the work of CRIN and their inclusion in our database does not necessarily signify endorsement or agreement with their content by CRIN.