Pakistan suffered one of its most severe monsoon seasons in 2022, which saw the southern and central regions of the country suffering the worst of the impact; particularly Balochistan and Sindh provinces. Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were also significantly affected. Approximately 33 million people across the country have been affected and more than 421,000 refugees are at risk living in disaster-declared districts.
The floods killed over 1,350 people and 700,000 animals whilst destroying 550,000 houses and approximately 2 million acres of cropland in Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Yet amidst all this destruction, our 25-km embankment project built on the Chenab River built after the devastating floods of 2010, kept the river back. Its construction saved lives, homes and livelihoods in Basti Emaan Village. Built 6 feet above the ground and 10 feet above river level, this 5km-long mud structure remained strong, preventing floodwater from reaching homes, fields and crops, thus preventing an entire community from being washed away.
Considering the breadth and severity of this climatic shock allied to long-standing poverty in the region, several projects have been necessary to provide lifesaving assistance and critical support for starving and displaced families. Our comprehensive flood emergency assistance provided timely food aid and financial assistance when it was needed most.
Your mercy lives on
Human Appeal ensures that your mercy has both immediate and enduring impact to sustainably overcome problems; so they don’t reoccur. While we implemented new relief projects for the 2022 floods, our response more than 10 years ago to flooding in 2011 has protected those entire communities from the catastrophic floods in the past season. That flood mitigation project in Basti Emaan Village in District Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab province, involved building a river embankment 25 km long and 8 to 10 feet high as well as 140 new elevated homes. These homes are 600 sq ft; with two bedrooms, plus a kitchen and bathroom. The embankment on the Chenab River along with the construction of the elevated homes ensured the residents of Basti Emaan village did not succumb to the terrible flooding that devastated other communities.
To date, approximately 400,000 people have received flood assistance, in the form of food aid or cash assistance. Moreover, the embankment has withstood flooding every year for since it was built. Nearly 1000 residents have benefited from the rebuilt homes, whist approximately 50,000 families have been saved by the embankment. Despite the unprecedented flooding in 2022 that submerged fully one-third of the country, the flood water did not reach the height of the embankment, protecting those elevated homes and saving the village’s fields. In fact, the embankment did not just save Basti Emaan but a further 70 to 80 other villages, protecting over 1,000 lives and livelihoods.
We’re on the ground in hard-to-reach places to identify and serve the needs of vulnerable people. When we built the 25 km embankment in District Rahim Yar Khan, no other charity worked on construction in this district. Moreover, Human Appeal was the only charity providing food aid and financial assistance in the districts where we provided flood relief; yet we managed to provide total coverage for all villages we worked in.
We’re hands-on when we deliver and administer aid so that we can validate that your mercy gets precisely where it’s intended, exactly as intended. Our operational expertise gives us a global advantage in using our experienced teams to bring relief where it’s most needed. We can hire specialists in emergency response, food distribution, handling, warehousing and engineering. For these river embankment project, we did more than build an elevation; we constructed residential homes that are built to last for years to come. These are permanent, elevated homes complete with multiple bedrooms, a kitchen and toilet. Residents of this village received more than temporary relief; they have achieved a level of flood resilience that’s lasted for the last 12 years.
We’re careful stewards of your mercy to ensure our operations are efficient, accountable and transparent. We monitor the progress of every flood project, continuously evaluate our teams and implement quality improvements; all feedback is transparently reported back to our donors and advisors. We also safeguard the vulnerable children and communities we support with rigorous protection policies and procedures. We train our staff to protect those we support from gender-based violence, child abuse and exploitation. We also ensure training for our staff to identify any local corruption and to facilitate whistleblowing. We are always innovating so that your mercy endures for generations to come.
Human Appeal ensures that your mercy brings immediate relief and endures into the long term to help break the cycle of poverty.
You’ve entrusted us with your donation so that we can make the most of your mercy. Let’s hear from Abrar, Human Appeal Pakistan’s Project Coordinator for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) and Community Physical Infrastructure on how your mercy is enduring 11 years on via our embankment project.
It has been more than a decade (11 years) since I have been working at Human Appeal.
We took on a massive reconstruction project in District Rahim Yar Khan after the 2010 devastating floods. The 2010 floods swept away everything from these people: their homes and their sources of livelihood including farms, farming tools and livestock.
Human Appeal Pakistan put together a team of expert civil engineers and architects from its staff for the construction and architectural designs of the houses and the embankment. Our engineers constructed the homes to be disaster-resilient, long lasting and durable. I prepared the architectural design of the homes to be technically sound keeping in mind the risk of future catastrophes. Moreover, a number of local labourers skilled in construction were hired to assist the engineers on this project. Ten years on, the homes and the embankment we built, with the help of our expert team, remained strong and firm against the devastating 2022 floods and prevented any destruction of the village.
We built 114 homes in Tehsil Liaquatpur, complete with decent toilets, ensuring good hygiene and sanitation for the better health of the people.
Human Appeal also built a 25 km long embankment with the help of the locals to protect more than 70 surrounding villages and over 1000 homes. For this project, our criteria was to select the most deserving families, whose houses were demolished by the floods. Our field teams identified the beneficiaries by carrying out thorough surveys and need assessments in the village according to our organizational policies and code of conduct.
The houses we built for the community meant they did not have to spend money on rebuilding their houses. Instead, they were able to start afresh with their work free of any debts or expenses. We also hired skilled and unskilled labour from the community itself to provide short-term employment and to support their future labour opportunities.
Aside from the houses and the embankment, we also built an elementary school for girls and a health clinic in the village; which continue to serve the entire community.
Our staff are well trained & sensitive to important safeguarding measures; ensuring the protection and wellbeing of the communities we work with. Upon hiring, each staff member signs a code of conduct that ensures none of their actions can cause any harm or possible risk to the communities’ protection. This requirement also extends to the vendors and contractors we work with.
We used the best materials for building the homes and the embankment and that is why they have lasted for over a decade and will be able to withstand any future disasters. This shows the money we spent provided real value for the community.
“Those who are merciful will be shown mercy by the Most Merciful. Be merciful to those on the earth and the One above the heavens will have mercy upon you.”
Source - Tirmidhi
