Press Releases 2007
$ 390,000 USAID Emergency Relief Initiative Brings Succor To Cyclone Affected People In Sindh, Balochistan
07/16/2007Islamabad - Humanitarian assistance efforts under the USAID-funded $390,000 emergency relief initiative continue to bring relief to communities affected by Cyclone Yemyin that hit Balochistan and Sindh provinces earlier this month.
Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and the U.S. Ambassador’s Emergency Fund, emergency kits are being provided by international non-governmental organization, Mercy Corps, to over 11,000 households in districts Bolan, Lasbela, Jhal Magsi, Jaffarabad and Naseerabad of Balochistan.
“It was important for the U.S. to have made this grant to Mercy Corps soon after Cyclone Yemyin hit Pakistan to ease the suffering of those who had lost family members, property, and livelihoods and to provide some hope,” said Anne Aarnes, USAID/Pakistan Mission Director.
More than 3,470 family kits containing food and non-food items had been distributed in Balochistan assisting 25,000 people. An estimated 7,530 more kits will be distributed through this week.
“This is, in many cases, the first assistance some remote communities have seen,” said Dee Goluba, Operations Manager of Mercy Corps’ Global Response Team. “This assistance along with other programs is providing tools and supplies that will help restore a sense of normality to the families,” she added.
Family kits were designed with suggestions from the affected families in Balochistan. Each kit is valued at approximately $30 and includes basic supplies such as rice, oil, daal, salt, spices, gram, gur, sugar, medicines, and water. The kits also contain basic hygiene items such as soap.
Meanwhile, relief workers have noted hundreds of communities still living on roadsides and in public spaces on higher ground. In some cases, rapid surveys have shown that some communities lost over 80% of their livestock and crops to the flooding.
“They will need to rebuild their livelihoods from scratch, most probably by borrowing money and thus incurring debt,” said Goluba, adding that her organization expected to move on from relief work and get involved in recovery efforts in the next few months.