Millennium Teams Respond to the Needs of Flood Victims
3 September, 2010

The worst monsoon rains in 80 years have poured misery onto the people of Pakistan and Northern India.  We have received word from three separate teams about the work they are undertaking to help those impacted by the rains and subsequent floods.  In disasters of this magnitude it is hard to know where and how to begin.  So you just start where you are, doing what you can do.  What follows is a brief report from each team.  We will have more details as the work progresses and the teams are able to report back.

Our partners in the Gilgit-Baltistan area of Pakistan have just completed assessing the needs in the region of the Himalayan Mountains where they live and work.  In three valleys they found seven villages heavily affected by the destruction of homes, infrastructure and the land itself. There are also three villages completely submerged by flood waters. Our partners estimate there are 25,000 people affected, both directly and indirectly, who will benefit from their work.  They will distribute food, medicine and hold medical clinics.  Working with local and international volunteers, they will also provide up to 500 insulated winter shelters.

The swollen Indus River flows into Pakistan from India.  Our second team is in India’s Ladakh province.  Here an estimated 400- 500 households, in roughly 34 villages need help.  In this high altitude plateau, straddling the Himalyan and Karakoram mountain ranges, local and international NGOs have joined together to cover as much of the area as possible.  Our team is currently concentrating their efforts in three villages. They have a medical team providing triage and basic health care.  They are testing local water supplies and providing Aquatabs for water purification.  In addition, they are giving emergency first response training to those who want to assist their neighbors.  The need for housing is critical here as well.  So this team has also begun work on supplying some of the same winter shelters for those whose homes have been washed away.

Millennium worked with these teams in the initial use of the shelters five years ago, after the 2005 earthquake that rocked northern Pakistan.  At that time 6,000 shelters were set up to provide safe, temporary housing for 36,000 people.  And as in that disaster, the shelters must be in place before bitter winter storms sweep through the mountains. 

In southern Pakistan, one of our workers from Karachi is part of an impromptu team of five people representing different agencies.  They have combined their skills in medicine, community health and administration to care for people who have been evacuated from the flooded areas. Loading up a truck (read mobile clinic) they headed out to camps in the nearby countryside.  This team is moving about, setting up in areas not yet served by any medical teams.  Some camps are official; others are just open areas where groups of people have gathered together in an effort to survive.  Both places lack running water and electricity, and food is scarce.

In any disaster, the willingness of individuals to just ‘go and do’ can make a tremendous difference in the lives of those who are suffering in mind, body and spirit.  As these selfless men and women deliver aid to the people of Pakistan and India, you can also ‘go and do’ by partnering with us, click here to give to this project.