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.
 

Working with the Community

Our work with the local community prior to the earthquake meant we were able to take the lead in the initial relief operation and distribute aid within hours of the disaster. Islamic Relief has been working with communities in Pakistan-administered Kashmir for almost a decade. We have helped set up local groups, known as Community Organisations (COs) to bring people together, discuss their problems and find ways of solving them. Our work has focused on empowering communities by showing them how they can use their own skills and resources to meet their needs. Before the earthquake, these local groups had managed to build roads, bring running water to their homes, improve their sanitation facilities and access to health care. Earthquake When the earthquake struck, we mobilised these community organisations and supported them in rising to the challenge of rebuilding their lives. We provided skills training, essential resources and where necessary, financial support. From training people in how to construct temporary shelters to helping them restart their businesses, we worked through local COs to help many people get back on their feet after the disaster. Arshad Bibi from Segaam village in Neelum Valley, said life in her community was transformed when the COs were set up. “After the COs were established Islamic Relief organised a water scheme in our village. Now we have water at our doorstep, which is a great relief for us. We are now being trained in skills like first aid and agriculture. We also have an emergency medical centre in the middle of our village. Our lives have changed since Islamic Relief came.”

Providing Shelter

In the first three days after the disaster, Islamic Relief distributed 1,000 tents to families who had been made homeless. These distributions continued over the following days and weeks, reaching over 200,000 people. As winter began to approach, we distributed winterised shelters that ensured better protection from the freezing temperatures. Since December 2005, over 24,000 earthquake-resistant shelters have been provided for families in Muzaffarabad, Rawalakot, Bagh, Dhirkot, Forward Kahuta and Neelum Valley. Working with the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, we have also agreed to support the reconstruction of 4,500 houses in earthquake affected areas. Damage-assessment surveys have already been carried out in four areas and over 1,900 local carpenters, plumbers, masons and electricians are being trained in how to build earthquake-resistant houses. Ten mobile training teams, each with a female community development officer have been delivering this reconstruction training in preparation for the start of the house building process.

Access to Health Care

Over 120,000 people were injured in the disaster, many of whom were in desperate need of emergency medical assistance. However with many hospitals destroyed and roads blocked by debris, getting medical care was extremely difficult. Islamic Relief worked with Response International to fund two mobile health clinics in Bagh District, providing health care to over 23,000 people in isolated rural areas. To help hospitals cope with the huge influx of patients, we worked with International Health Partners (IHP) UK and the World Health Organisation to provide over £8 million of life-saving medicines and vaccines to health clinics and hospitals. Throughout the past year, Islamic Relief has been providing health care for earthquake-affected communities in the remote Neelum Valley region. Established in 2001, the Neelum Valley Health Clinic played a critical role after the earthquake when hundreds of people in need of urgent assistance were treated at IR’s clinic. Most of these patients had no other access to health care as landslides had cut the region off from the outside world.

Access to clean water facilities

For thousands of families living in tents, access to clean water and sanitation facilities was very limited. We worked with our partners to ensure as many people as possible had access to these essential facilities and were not at risk from waterborne diseases. Thousands of jerry cans and hygiene kits were distributed immediately after the disaster. Other essential items such as soap, washing powder, buckets and dust bins were also provided. To ensure access to clean water, we installed 50 water tanks, 16 water bladders and created 43 water and washing points. We also provided anti-bacterial water filters for 37,000 families and water purification sachets for another 18,000 families. Working in partnership with Concern Worldwide and UNICEF, we provided sanitation facilities for 120,000 people living in tents in rural areas. As well as constructing latrines, we provided health and hygiene training to local communities.

Supporting livelihoods

The earthquake has had a devastating effect on people’s livelihoods. Shops were destroyed, farmland ruined and offices damaged. For many months after the quake, people were unable to work on their land or rebuild their businesses. With no source of income, they have struggled to provide for their families. One year on, Islamic Relief has been helping people return to work by providing training, cash-for-work schemes and materials. Cash-for-Work In Rawalakot and Muzaffarabad, our cash-for work schemes have benefited over 2,800 people, enabling them to restart their businesses or earn a living whilst contributing to the reconstruction of their area. In villages throughout Azad Jammu & Kashmir, we have been training farmers in agricultural techniques, saffron cultivation and olive grafting, as well as distributing maize, rice, vegetable and fodder seeds to over 65,000 people. We have also vaccinated and de-wormed more than 30,000 animals to improve livestock health and productivity. New Skills Since the earthquake, Islamic Relief has been delivering skills-training to help people restart or set up new businesses. Teacher training, tailoring, construction techniques and handicrafts are some of the skills that have been taught. Many of the training sessions provided by Islamic Relief were exclusively for women and were conducted through female community organisations.

The Year at a Glance

October 2005 - September 2006 Within hours of the earthquake, Islamic Relief (IRW) was distributing life-saving relief items including food, water, tents and clothes. Emergency relief teams also provided medical assistance and helped clear the roads of debris. In the weeks and months that followed, we ensured people had better shelter to protect them from the freezing temperatures. More recently, our work with local communities has focused on getting people back to work and helping them rebuild their lives. October - December 2005 Teams of IRW aid workers distribute food, water, bedding, warm clothes & tents to thousands of people in Bagh, Muzaffarabad, Neelum Valley and Rawalakot. In partnership with Concern Worldwide and UNICEF, we provide clean water, sanitation facilities and hygiene education to 120,000 people in Muzaffarabad, Bagh and Dhirkot. Hundreds of injured people are treated at IRW’s Neelum Valley Health Clinic. Also, medical supplies worth millions of US dollars donated by the LDS Church are delivered to affected communities. IRW and the UN World Food Programme (WFP) team up to supply 145,000 people with monthly food rations for six months. Local staff and volunteer engineers from the UK clear roads to reach remote villages cut off from aid using hired earth-moving vehicles. Working with the Frontier Works Organisation IRW re-opens 95% of all roads by November. This project cleared one third of all the debris on the roads in AJK and NWFP, allowing aid to reach 1.7million people. That’s approximately 1400 km of road in AJK and 990km in the NWFP. 287 large tents are set up as temporary schools in Muzaffarabad and Bagh Thousands of latrines are installed and clean water is distributed to families in tent camps in Muzaffarabad. January - March 2006 More supplies of tents, medicine and blankets are distributed in Muzaffarabad, Bagh and Rawalakot. IRW funds 3 health clinics. Two clinics are mobile and can reach remote villages. Transitional shelters for over 123,000 people are constructed and 6,000 more shelter kits are distributed to people whose homes have been destroyed or severely damaged. IRW begins to shift focus from relief work towards recovery and reconstruction, including designing water and sanitation projects, social mobilisation projects, healthcare, education, disaster preparedness and livelihood support. April - June 2006 IRW carries out damage assessment surveys of homes in four regions, Hill Surang, Swanj, Nar Sher Ali Khan and Sangal. We provide construction skills training to 1,900 masons, carpenters, plumbers and electricians who will help rebuild the area. Many displaced people begin moving out of tent camps back to their original towns and villages. However, some still remain so the camp water and sanitation facilities are rehabilitated for their use. July - September 2006 IRW staff are trained in building earthquake-resistant houses and carrying out damage assessments. IRW increases its work in Muzaffarabad, Bagh, Rawalakot and Neelum Valley to provide clean drinking water, sanitation facilities and hygiene education to thousands of people. 5,000 latrines are constructed and more work is planned. Our work focuses on helping communities recover their livelihoods in Neelum Valley, Forward Kahuta, Dhirkot, Rawalakot, Bagh and Muzaffarabad. Cash-for-work schemes are set up, benefiting over 2,500 people and agricultural workers and farmers receive training. Seeds, maize, fodder and tools are provided for 65,000 people and over 30,000 livestock animals are de-wormed and vaccinated. IRW is working with the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO) on a 14-month disaster-preparedness programme that will include training communities in first aid techniques. With its partners, Islamic Relief has constructed over 24,000 transitional shelters in Muzaffarabad, Rawalakot, Bagh, Dhirkot, Forward Kahuta and Neelum Valley. One year on, our focus is on getting people back to work so that they are self-sufficient once more.

Young Survivors

Many victims of the earthquake were children. Many died in their classrooms, whilst others lost one or both of their parents. Over the past year, children have had to adapt to a new life in which their homes, families, friends, schools and almost everything else has changed forever. Islamic Relief has been caring for orphans in Pakistan-administered Kashmir for years. This support was extended to many more children who lost one or both of their parents in the earthquake. Through our one-to-one orphan sponsorship programme, individual donors are able to sponsor a child and meet his or her living costs including school fees and medical care. The child’s mother or guardian is also supported to ensure the child’s welfare is not compromised due to their vulnerable circumstances. Islamic Relief donors around the world are now sponsoring 1,300 children in earthquake affected areas.

Our Donors

Islamic Relief would like to thank all its donors and partners for their support and contributions towards our earthquake projects over the last year. Particular thanks are extended to the following organisations

Al Eslah Society, Bahrain AmeriCares, USA Arab Medical Union British Airways CAFOD Christian Aid Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Concern Worldwide Conrad N Hilton Foundation, USA UK Department for International Development Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Emirates Airlines Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr Fund, USA German Agro-Action German Foreign Ministry Stiftung Stern Globus Integrated Development and Relief Fund Indian Muslim Welfare Society International Health Partners International Relief Teams International Organisation for Migration Islamic Development Bank The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, USA Operation USA Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund Response International Shakur Aid Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) United Nations World Food Programme (UN WFP)