Disaster
 On the morning of 8th October 2005 a powerful earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale hit northern Pakistan, Afghanistan and India.
Muzaffarabad and surrounding areas in Pakistan-administered Kashmir were the worst-affected. Entire towns and villages were wiped out and the earthquake caused massive landslides, cutting communities off from the outside world.
Tent Camps
In mountain villages, scattered over huge distances and across difficult terrain, people could not be reached for many days. Those who could escape sought shelter and help in larger cities like Muzaffarabad, which struggled to cope with the influx.

The displaced people lived in makeshift tent camps, and urgently needed food, clean water, medical assistance and sanitation facilities.
Huge Response
Islamic Relief was one of the first aid agencies to respond, providing emergency relief to people in Azad Jammu & Kashmir and the North West Frontier Province.

Our work in response to the earthquake was our largest relief operation to date and one year on, we are still helping communities to rebuild their lives
In Action
Over the past year we have provided more than £28 million worth of relief and development aid to thousands of people. We have constructed transitional shelters so that people no longer have to live in tents, helped restore lost livelihoods, and empowered communities to become self-reliant.

It will take many years to rebuild all that was lost in a disaster of such an enormous scale but Islamic Relief remains committed to working with the people of Pakistan and Kashmir.
 

CASE STUDIES

Story of Little Yasmeen

Life could take such a nasty turn in a blink of an eye for little Yasmeen, one can hardly imagine. Yasmeen was living amidst the love and care of her 10 member’s family in one of the remote hilly areas of District Mansehra. Though not very resourceful, yet Yasmeen’s life was away from troubles and hardships. Life was hustling and bustling in her village and no one had any idea about a horrible disaster that was on its way to this unfortunate village called Baggar. On the fateful morning of October 8, 2005 a massive earthquake measuring 7.6 on rector scale struck Northern Areas of Pakistan killing over 72,000 people and made millions homeless. Yasmeen’s family was not an exception, the whole village of Baggar literally turned upside down. Since Yasmeen’s house was on a hilly slope, a huge landslide rolled it down hundreds of meter. The whole bunch of houses disappeared from the face of earth as if there was none ever. Yasmeen was washing dish pots on roof top and her four sisters were inside the house playing hide and seek. Nature’s mysterious hand made their presence felt and Yasmeen was found alive from thousands of tons of rubble. Yasmeen’s four young sisters; Kalsoom, Ambreen, Nusrat and Dil Jaan all under 14 breathed their last; their dead bodies have never been recovered from the rubble till the day. The other three members of Yasmeen’s family; her father, mother and eldest sister were cutting grass for their livestock in the nearby forest. Soon as the earthquake struck the area all of a sudden a huge rolling stone hit three of them at different places consequently the ten member family reduced to three only, homeless, support less and without kith and kin. Yasmeen’s two brothers Zahoor 13 and Sajjad 3 were outside their home, therefore, they survived. The whole village of Baggar consisting of around 500 households disappeared from the face of earth and the only survivors were those who were away from their homes. Even toady, Yasmeen’s village presents a deserted look and there are not enough survivors to inhabit it sufficiently again. Yasmeen and her siblings, maimed and bruised all over, were taken to the Helipad by some passerby, either to be airlifted for treatment or to be handed over to relative/ guardian if any survived after identification. Gulzar Bibi, an aunt of Yasmeen, who lives away from the affected zone, managed to reach the helipad and got them in her custody. “I will never forget the frenzied moment when I found Yasmeen and her brother Sajjad, all maimed, bruised, and dumbstruck; I embraced them and took them to my home.” Yasmeen had to stop schooling as she was not only injured but also passing through very traumatic conditions. “She used to wake up screaming as nightmares often visited her after midnight and she asked a lot about her dead siblings and parents. Yasmeen had become so absent minded that she could not even recall whether she had taken meal or not”, claimed Gulzar Bibi. As Gulzar Bibi was not stable enough financially to bear the burden of three children in the long run, especially the medical expenses, therefore, she was much worried about their future and proper upbringing. But the day when Gulzar Bibi was approached by Islamic Relief’s team and inquired about her orphan nephew and niece, was the time when life was going to take a positive turn. As they were among the most deserving in their community Yasmeen was initially selected for the sponsorship. Her data was processed and sent for approval and luckily she got sponsorship. Her aunt said “I could not believe it till I got intimation letter for receiving sponsorship money for Yasmeen. As one of her legs was fractured so first thing I did was to get her admitted in to hospital. Doctor carried out successful operation of and she was back on her feet after a few months”. She was readmitted in school; however, as Yasmeen was passing through post traumatic stress disorders, therefore she was finding it difficult to pick up studies. “I give extra care and love to Yasmeen which she needs right now and my daughter gives her daily tuition, Yasmeen is now improving in her studies” said her aunt. Smile is back on this little girl’s face, she is once again getting on with normal life. “It’s the sponsorship money that has turned around the life of Yasmeen otherwise poor woman like me could not have done this alone. My heart prays for the people, who feel the pain of orphans without any interest, who are thousands of miles away from them; life is beautiful because of such noble souls. May Allah bless them and shower them with all the happiness of this world and the hereafter” Gulzar Bibi expressed her feelings. There are hundreds of thousands of such children who otherwise would have dark future if timely support is not given to them. Islamic Relief is striving to help these children particularly orphans to come out of their miserable life and enjoy life as any other child.

Khushal’s story

When we first met Khushal he had just buried his 17-year-old daughter, Shazia. She was killed when the family home collapsed in the earthquake. Holding back his tears he told us, “My children were in the house when it collapsed. My eldest died. I asked people for help and we managed to recover her body. I just wanted to get my daughter’s body out.” Khushal lives in a village in the mountains of Bagh, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. “The first night we stayed out under the open sky as we had nothing to use as shelter. It was cold and wet,” he said. “On the second day Islamic Relief gave us a tent. They also gave us food, kitchen utensils and blankets. This reduced our misery and saved our lives.” Protection Islamic Relief was the first aid agency to provide tents and emergency relief for the people of Bagh. Over the past year, we have continued to meet the needs of those affected by the earthquake. To date, we have distributed 24,000 transitional shelters for those who lost their homes. Almost a year later, Islamic Relief visited Khushal once again. “Since you set up a proper shelter for us, my children have been able to sleep comfortably,” he told us. “We spent last winter in a tent which was extremely difficult. This time we have a proper shelter to protect us from the harsh winter.”

“My brother had to drop out of school and work”

Uzma is the manager of the women’s community organisation in her village in Bagh. She and her family were made homeless by the earthquake. “When the earthquake jolted the area it was so powerful that my brother and I got scared and had no idea what to do. Our house collapsed in front of my eyes, it was total chaos, I could hear women and children crying and shouting for help. My family and I had no place to go, we spent the whole night in a nearby field with no shelter except just one sheet, under which we spent the whole night.” Relief Aid Uzma’s family received food, blankets and a tent from Islamic Relief. A few weeks later, they received a more comfortable shelter that would protect them from the cold. Since the earthquake, the residents of Uzma’s village have been struggling to make a living. “There is extreme poverty in my village,” she said. “My father is paralyzed which makes it impossible for him to work, and my brother had to drop out of school and start working as a labourer.” Since the earthquake, Islamic Relief has provided the women in Uzma’s community organisation with training in tailoring and farming so that they can start earning their livelihoods once again

“Now we are able to discuss our problems, needs and solutions within our community”

Mohammad lives in one of the poorest villages of Bagh. “The earthquake has increased our miseries. We lost our loved ones, our houses and businesses,” he told Islamic Relief. Mohammad’s village received tents, food and other emergency relief items from Islamic Relief immediately after the disaster. We also set up two successful community organisations (COs) - one for men and the other for women. “Now we are able to discuss our problems, needs and solutions within our community. CO members contribute every month to the saving account, for which we have two signatories, and the money is spent only after the community’s consensus,” explained Mohammad. “Our female CO has been able to save 22,000 rupees. Recently our CO members took out an interest-free loan and we are all contributing to repayments. This has helped us overcome our financial problems. Now our children are following their elders and have formed a CO too! They have saved 2500 rupees.” As well as providing loans to help people restart their businesses, Islamic Relief has worked with Mohammad’s community to set up an education centre that provides children with free part-time schooling. We have also used the COs to deliver hygiene awareness training to prevent the spread of disease.

Habib’s story

50 year old Habib Ullah is a blacksmith who lives in the village of Uchhar who lives in Neelum Valley. He told us what happened on the day of the earthquake. “It was Ramadan so we woke up early in the morning for fasting. We prayed and then started getting ready for the day. Then a massive earthquake jolted the earth.” Habib lost five of his family members that day, as well as his home. Two of his daughters died, one of whom was pregnant. He also lost his 14-year old son and two of his grandchildren. “I had no one to help me get their bodies out of the rubble. I had to do it on my own. It took me hours to get them out. By that time it was too late. My daughters and grandchildren were dead. My son was still alive but severely injured. He could not survive and died a couple of hours later. “We had nothing to eat and no shelter. We spent days out on the road under the open sky. It was raining and cold. It was hard to cope, but somehow we survived.” Islamic Relief provided Habib and his family with a tent and food. Before the winter, he was also given transitional shelter. “Most of the help came from Islamic Relief, even though it was very difficult to reach this area. The roads were blocked because of the landslides, but once Islamic Relief arrived we did not face any problems in receiving aid.”

“This health clinic is a blessing”

The Neelum Valley Health Clinic specialises in mother and child health care as there are no other female doctors in the region, making it very difficult for pregnant women to access medical care. When Sajjad brought his wife to the clinic he waited anxiously outside as she gave birth to their baby. Sajjad explained that if he had taken his wife to the hospital in Muzaffarabad, it would have cost him many thousands of rupees and also taken many hours. Holding his newborn baby son in his arms he said, “This is wonderful, I am so thankful to God and to Islamic Relief for making it happen. This is a great blessing; it would not have happened if the health centre was not here. There is no lady doctor in this whole area except for at this centre which is no less than a blessing for our women. Services provided here at the centre are the best. The staff are very cooperative and doctors are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”

Tabassum’s Health Mission

Since the earthquake Islamic Relief has been conducting health and hygiene sessions in villages throughout Azad Jammu & Kashmir. The sessions aim to promote good personal and environmental hygiene in order to protect health and prevent the spread of disease. Tabassum is one of Islamic Relief’s Community Health Workers. She delivers health and hygiene training to communities in Neelum Valley and provides basic health care to around 1,000 people in her area. Tabassum’s work means people no longer have to travel on foot for many hours to get treatment for simple ailments. She is trained to examine patients, diagnose and treat basic illnesses and dispense medication. If she suspects her patient has a serious health condition Tabassum refers them to hospital for treatment, potentially saving lives.

“I’m growing my vegetables again”

Khawaja lives in a village near Bagh. He was familiar with Islamic Relief’s work even before the earthquake. Islamic Relief had provided agricultural training for him and fellow villagers. Khawaja had put the training to good use and was growing enough vegetables on his land to feed his family and sell to others. He had set up his own vegetable shop in the village. Then the earthquake struck. Sorrow “The earthquake shattered our lives,” said Khawaja. “For the first few months I could not pay any attention to my land because I was mourning the loss of my relatives, my house and the miseries that we were going through. During this time, the vegetables in the field were eaten by the cattle in the area as no one could pay any attention to them.” Immediately after the earthquake Islamic Relief provided Khawaja and hisfamily with essential relief items such as food and tents. A few weeks later he received a transitional shelter. Seeds for the Future When Khawaja was ready to start working on his land once more, Islamic Relief provided him with seeds so he could start growing vegetables. “With the constant support of Islamic Relief I have been able to re-start my vegetable shop. By selling vegetables that I grow on a small piece of land I am making around 100 - 200 rupees per day. This at least fulfils our basic needs.”

“I was all alone holding my child”

Nayab was only four months old when her father was killed in the earthquake. Her mother told us, “I felt that somebody had snatched my heart from my chest and I was all alone holding my poor child.” Mother and daughter had nowhere to go as their house had been completely destroyed. They had no choice but to live in a tent. Soon after, they were contacted by Islamic Relief who assessed their situation and arranged for Nayab to be sponsored. Nayab is now just over a year old. She has problems with her arm and feet as her bones have not grown normally, so she cannot walk properly. However since the start of the sponsorship, her general health has improved considerably. Her mother can now afford to buy more fresh fruit and nutritious food for her daughter. Nayab’s mother is very happy with the regular support she receives. She now has peace of mind knowing that she will be able to provide for her young daughter and take good care of her.