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3301

Picture: http://earthquaketrack.com

Strong tremors of earthquake were felt in different parts of Pakistan and India at 12:50 pm (PKT). According to US Geological Survey (USGS) the magnitude of earthquake was found to be 7.2 at Richter Scale centered 28km deep in earth and 109km west of Murghob area in Tajikistan.

The earthquake mainly hit the northern parts of Pakistan including Islamabad, Sawat, Shangla, Abbotabad, Chitral, Charsada, Lower Dir, Upper Dir, Peshawar, Malakand, Gilgit and Chilas. It is also reported that earthquake tremors were recorded in capital city of New Delhi and Indian occupied Kashmir.

This is the second strongest quake after the the 7.5 magnitude earthquake that struck the bordering countries of Pakistan and Afghanistan on October 26 – centred in the Hindu Kush. The Hindu Kush mountain range stretches across 800km between central Afghanistan and northern Pakistan. The October 26th earthquake have so far left more than 300 people dead and over 2,000 injured.

There have been no reports of any losses to life or property in any of the affected countries so far.

Contacts:
Allan A. Calma
Deputy Director
Disaster Management Program
Email: allan.calma@communityworldservice.asia
Mobile: +92 301 5801621

Muhammad Fazal
Associate Director
Emergencies/DRR/Climate Change
Email: fazil.sardar@communityworldservice.asia
Cell: +92 332 5586134

Nejabat Khan Safi
Associate Director
Disaster Management Program
Email: nejabat.safi@communitryworldservice.asia
Mobile: +93 799 326 628

Palwashay Arbab
Head of Communications
Email: palwashay.arbab@communityworldservice.asia
Ph: +92 42 3586 5338

Sources:
www.dawn.tv
www.tribune.com.pk

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The earthquake 26 October, 7.5 magnitude earthquake affected sixteen provinces in Afghanistan and two provinces along with the FATA region in Pakistan. It left a total of 395 people dead, 2,269 injured and 116,639 houses damaged in both the countries. Infrastructural damage was most extensive near the epicentre of the quake in both the countries. Access to the affected provinces is most difficult due to the volatile security situation in Afghanistan and the rugged terrain in both the quake hit countries.

The decreasing temperatures in the affected zones of both the countries is another hurdle in accessibility to the areas. With no appropriate shelter, the earthquake hit communities are forced to face the harsh winter in compromising conditions, struggling to meet their basic survival requirements.

Pakistan: As per the latest information released by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), so far 280 people have died, 1,745 have been injured and a total of 98,094 houses have been damaged across the country. Out of the total houses damaged, 92 percent were located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. Damages to infrastructure such as roads, bridges and communication networks, in the affected areas are also significant.

Protection against the near freezing temperatures is the priority need of the affected communities. In this regard, winterization support is a highly recommended form of assistance by the district government. This is followed by health services which also a critical need of the quake hit communities who are exposed to the dropping temperatures without adequate winter supplies.

Afghanistan: A total of 115 people have died, 524 people have been injured and 18,545 houses have been damaged in Afghanistan. A recorded 6,929 houses out of the total damaged have been completely destroyed. A reported 130,093 people have been affected across the country as per the latest report, however the damage assessment is still ongoing which may result in a further increase in number of damages.

More than 50,000 people have been affected in Badakhshan province where property damage was most widespread. Access remains the major challenge in providing assistance to the earthquake affected people in Afghanistan. The primary needs of the affected communities in the country have been identified as basic household supplies, blankets, tents, hygiene kits and shelter for those families whose houses have been completely destroyed.

Quality and Accountability Related Issues

Afghanistan: Community World Service Asia has conducted a Rapid Accountability Need Assessment (RANA) with local and international organizations working on the earthquake response in Afghanistan.  Listed below are the accountability related issues that have surfaced in the assessment;

  • Organizations have less capacity to handle complaints as they do not have proper Complaint Response Mechanisms (CRM) in place or trained staff to deal with the concerns of the communities
  • Due to current developing security situation, some international organizations are unable to reach far flung and remote affected communities

Pakistan: Community World Service Asia organized an Accountability Learning and Working Group (ALWG) meeting on Nov 19, 2015 to discuss the challenges and issues faced by humanitarian actors in responding to the recent Earthquake in Pakistan.  Ten national and International organizations including UN agencies participated in the event. Listed below are the identified accountability related issues;

  • Access to the severely affected areas is still a major issue
  • 50 percent of the affected community is still waiting for compensation
  • The Government is disbursing compensation amounts through cheques however most of the earthquake affected communities do not have bank accounts to cash their cheques
  • No proper emergency evacuation system has yet been placed for children in earthquake affected areas. The schools in these areas are still not functional either.
  • Some of the organizations have provided shelters to the communities but the quality of the shelters does not take in account resilience to changing and extreme weather.
  • Some community members have started reconstructing their homes but they are not following the earthquake resilient structure guidelines.
  • Lack of coordinated assessment is still a major challenge.

Response by Community World Service Asia: Community World Service Asia’s Emergency Health Response team has provided health services through Mobile Health Units in District Shangla for 12 days where the team treated 1,853 patients, of which 975 were male patients and 878 were female. A total of 136 lab tests have also been carried out at the MHU. Since November 16th, the team has started operating as a static Basic Health Unit at UC Kuzkana in the Shangla district, where the team has assisted more than 600 patients, and carried more than a hundred lab tests so far. Community World Service Asia has also distributed one month food packages to 371 families and distributed 812 winterization kits to affected families till date. In the coming days more distributions of winterization kits will also take place.

Please follow our live photo update from the earthquake affected areas on our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/communityworldserviceasia/ .

Contacts:
Allan A. Calma
Deputy Director
Disaster Management Program
Email: allan.calma@communityworldservice.asia
Cell: +92 301 5801621

Muhammad Fazal
Associate Director
Emergencies/DRR/Climate Change
Email: fazil.sardar@communitryworldservice.asia
Cell: +92 332 5586134

Nejabat Khan Safi
Associate Director
Disaster Management Program
Email: nejabat.safi@communitryworldservice.asia
Mobile: +93 799 326 628

Palwashay Arbab
Head of Communications
Email: palwashay.arbab@communityworldservice.asia
Ph: +92 42 3586 5338

Sources:
http://www.ndma.gov.pk/new/
http://www.pmd.gov.pk/
http://www.Reliefweb.int
OCHA Afghanistan
IOM Afghanistan

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A workshop on “Introduction to NGOs” was held from 19th to 22nd October, 2015 at O’Spring Estate Murree, and was designed to enhance the knowledge of interested aid workers on the basic tools and techniques required to operate in the aid sector. The workshop was facilitated by our consultant trainer, Syed Moazam Ali and our in-house trainer, Arshad Hussain.

In Pakistan Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) play a vital role in providing indispensable services to diverse  communities across the country. Thorough planning during the initial process of setting up an organization is crucial to develop an effective and professional organization that is able to meet the myriad of challenges it may face in implementing its programs.

Small-scale civil society organizations (CSOs) and NGOs often recruit professionals who are comparatively new to the field and are looking to  gain more experience. While they are well aware of the local context, it is often observed that they are not fully oriented on critical knowledge and skills that are required to plan, implement and assess projects in the humanitarian and development sector. Due to limited funding and human capital, organizations are unable to provide detailed orientations or capacity building opportunities to its staff. Responding to this growing need of CSOs and NGOs, this four day training session was organized to build the capacity of the individuals working in the sector and equip them with the tools and techniques required for effective programming and expanded outreach to their targeted stakeholders. The training provides a multidimensional experience of learning through theory analysis and a behavioral study of different age groups.

The training focused on:

  • Enabling participants to improve their understanding of the definition of an NGO and their history, mandate, and scope of work within Pakistan
  • Enabling participants to share their experiences and acquire new skills pertinent to the NGO sector. Particular attention was paid to the emerging needs of communities and other current development issues
  • Learning the history of humanitarian assistance and several recognized standards ensuring quality and accountability when responding to an emergency.
  • Learning of the ethical and moral responsibilities of NGOs.

A total of seventeen participants took part in this Training on ‘Introduction to NGOs’. Sixty five percent of the participants were men while thirty five percent were women. All the participants of the training were employed for working at the grass root levels which made this training even more important and significant for them.

The main target of the workshop was to institutionalize aid organizations on the basics of the sector, therefore presidents of two of the village organizations, set up by Community World Service Asia in one of the communities it works in, also participated in the training so that their perspectives, being the most important stakeholders, were also taken in.

From the beginning till the end of the workshop, the  trainers kept participants involved through interactive and innovative teaching methodologies. Their expertise and knowledge on the subject was thorough. Content brainstorming helped encouraged by the trainers helped in developing constructive discussions during group activities. Methodologies like presentations, debates, role play, videos and group activities used by facilitators were proved to be effective yet entertaining for the participants.

A participatory approach was adopted by the trainers as they provided equal opportunities to participants for taking in their feedback on individual basis in the various sessions conducted during the four days. One of the outdoor activities, the recycle exercise, was one that the participants particularly enjoyed as it not only enhanced their knowledge on the subject but also energized them. Participants learned a lot from outdoor activities which emphasized on environmental sustainability, behavior of donor and on being environmentally friendly.

The trainers noted that the level of understanding and participation of participants was exceptionally high which indicated that the training had been successful in achieving its goals. Before the training, participants confessed that they were curious about what the content of the training would be but later expressed they were satisfied as they felt that the training fully met their needs. They were all certain that they would take all that they had learnt through this workshop with them to improve existing policies and procedures in their organizations.

Participants Voices

Asif“I came here with the goal to learn about project planning, rules, policies and procedures. I have learnt a lot in terms of project planning. The topic, organizational development was new for me. ” Mohammad Asif Imran

Abdul Saeed“From a learning point of view, topics like Introduction to NGOs and History of NGOs were new for me while topics like Project cycle ,Vision, mission, objectives, and mandate were very informative because I had no clarity  on these subjects before the training. Though a project cycle already exists in my organization, I would like to implement the learnings of this training by further improving our project cycle and will focus more on objectives.” Abdul Saeed

Faisal“The term SWOT analysis was new for me. I appreciated the session on the ethical and moral responsibilities of NGOs and I would like to implement these moral values in our organization.” Faisal Naeem

Shumaila“Through this training, I have gained more clarity about the vision, mission, objectives and mandate of NGOs. The training topic was very educational for me and the discussion on development was also quite enlightening.” Shumaila Abbasi

2691

“My entire family was at home as the earthquake struck. I yelled at all of them to come out to the open yard in front of the house. They all rushed out. We all gathered outside, staring in awe at the shuddering building of our house and everything around it. However, as the earthquake continued, the brick wall of the mosque next door to our house collapsed, with bricks falling on three of my granddaughters, aged 16, 10 and 5.

 My dear grandchildren were trapped under a heavy pile of bricks and I was helpless as I could not rescue them from the rubble on my own, even when I tried. All of us were in a state of trauma and my hands were shivering.

After a little while of the earthquake ending, fellow villagers came to help me rescue my injured family members. We pulled them out of the rubble together and immediately took them to the Central Hospital in Mingora where all three of the girls were admitted and given treatment. Two of my younger granddaughters fractured their legs while the elder one fractured her jaw and a leg. Her jaw has been operated upon in emergency and the doctor has advised for a follow up operation as well.”

This is the first account story of a 65 year old Rahim Gul, head of a family of ten. He belongs to and lives in the earthquake affected Union Council Malik Khel in District Shangla. Rahim Gul owns and runs a small tuck shop in his resident village, through which he supports and fulfills the basic needs of the family.

On October 26th, Rahim Gul had returned home for lunch when the dreadful earthquake of magnitude 7.5 struck their home village. Seeing his family affected and his grandchildren hurt, he has been feeling helpless.  Rahim Gul feels guilty for asking his family members to evacuate to the open yard outside his house since the house survived the earthquake without much damage. Little did he know they were in more danger outside than inside the house.

The concerned grandfather has not been interested in claiming any relief from organizations or the government but is worried for his injured grandchildren.

Community World Service Asia’s Emergency Health Response team is currently providing health services through their Mobile Health Unit in District Shangla. The unit is supported by a Mobile Laboratory that diagnoses the affected communities through tests. The unit has so far conducted 1853 consultations in the five union councils of Kuz Kana, Shahpur, Pirkhana, Lelownai, and Malak Khel of district Shangla. A total of 869 male and 984 female patients have been checked at the MHU since it has been set up. These include children. In addition, 136 lab tests have also been carried out in these three union councils.

We have also distributed one month food rations to 371 earthquake affected families in Shangla as part of the response.  Provision of emergency winterization kits and more food packages as a means of extending the assistance is to be continued in the following weeks. Our current target districts for response are Shangla and Swat while expansion to other districts is subject to the community needs and the availability of funds.

Please follow our live photo update from the earthquake affected areas on our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/communityworldserviceasia/

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November 3, 1600 Hrs. Pakistan Standard Time

ACT Pakistan Forum is hosting an online discussion with MR. GEORGE KHOURY, Head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) In Pakistan, on the massive earthquake which hit Pakistan and Afghanistan on 26 October 2015. He will be talking about the current situation and the ongoing response. Furthermore, he will be speaking to us on the state of humanitarian action in Pakistan.

Six months after the devastating earthquake in Nepal, a powerful earthquake once again hit the region. The earthquake occurred at 2:09 pm Pakistan time on 26 October 2015. Pakistan Metrological department reported the magnitude of today’s earthquake as 8.1 (US Geological Survey reports it at 7.5). In Pakistan, it affected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Gilgit Baltistan, Punjab and the State of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. As of 30 October 2015, the National Disaster Management Authority reports a total of 272 deaths, 2,123 injured and 25,364 houses in the country. Majority of the deaths and injuries (over 80%) as well as damaged shelters (62%) were Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

Members of the ACT Pakistan Forum (Christian Aid, Church of Sweden, Community World Service Asia, Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe, ICCO Cooperation and Norwegian Church Aid) mobilized partners and resources to conduct detailed assessments. ACT Rapid Response Funds have been released to provide food and health services to the affected communities. An ACT Appeal is expected to be launched in the next few days.

Download Brochure

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An 8 year old Kainat was spotted during our visit to DHQ Alpuri. She was injured when we met her as she was held by her father, who supports a family of nine including his wife, his father, two sons and four daughters. Kainat’s family are residents of the earthquake affected village Maal of UC Kuzkana, District Shangla.

“We were all sitting in the kitchen after having lunch when the earthquake hit with full intensity. We rushed and evacuated our house and gathered in the fields outside. I was looking around at the shaking houses, mountains and trees as the earthquake continued. Then, all of a sudden, our house started to collapse around me, giving me no time to move. A wooden beam fell on my leg while at the same time some pieces of stones hit my grandfather,”

narrated Kainat’s as she recalled her experience during the devastating earthquake.

Kainat’s father added, “Nearly fifty percent of houses were destroyed in our village but the neighbors whose houses survived showed great solidarity and immediately started helping those families affected. They  helped us to rescue my daughter and my father from the rubble and quickly moved them to the hospital. We reached RHC Karora in a state of emergency, where, after being provided with first aid, we were referred to the Swat Hospital, as Kainat’s leg was broken in two places and my father was severely injured. We received a thorough treatment at the Swat Hospital; my daughter was discharged but my father is still admitted there.”

Upon inquiring about the current needs of those affected by the earthquake, he replied that the affected communities are currently seeking shelter under polythene sheets in open fields as the other villagers help in providing them with food and comfort to the best of their abilities. The weather is becoming extremely cold. Tents, blankets and food items are most needed for families like Kainat’s to survive and recover.

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“I have nothing left to lose any more.”

Sartaj Bacha is resident of Village Syedano Kalay in Tehsil Barikot, district Swat and was living quite a content life with his wife and five daughter. Despite not earning very handsomely since he was working on a daily wage, his life in his three room mud house was comfortable. Every morning he walked to work.

“The pouring rain on the day of the disastrous earthquake proved to be a blessing in disguise for my family and myself as I was home with them since I could not go to work due to the continuous rain. As the trembling of the earthquake began, I ran to take my four daughters and wife out of the house to a safer location but in haste I forgot my youngest daughter, Sania, two and a half years, sleeping in bed.”

Sania was buried under the debris of the fallen roof and the panicked parents could hear her helpless cries from beneath the rubble. With the help of his neighbors, Sartaj instantly reached out to Sania after digging her out from the rubble. She was dug out of the rubble uninjured miraculously. “Had I been not at home, I would have lost any one of my family members,” expressed Sartaj, holding Sania in his arms. “I thank God for sending rains as my family’s savior”.

“Even though I lost everything, I have my family with me.” Sartaj and his affected neighbors are living with their relatives in their house in a nearby village. The affected communities in this area have not yet received any immediate support from humanitarian or government agencies.  Most of the community members are being supported with food assistance by their relatives from the winter food stocks that they were holding. That stock is also being depleted quickly since it is feeding more than its intended recipients.

Sartaj Bacha expressed that he has not yet thought of any recovery or rehabilitation plans yet. All of his family’s belongings have been lost with the earthquake. Earning opportunities in Swat have diminished greatly since it has been affected by disasters one after the other- growing militancy, military operation followed by 2010 devastating floods and now this massive earthquake.

Community World Service Asia’s team is currently doing the needs assessment in district Swat, Shangla, Malakand, Buner and Kohistan districts. The initial information received from the field team indicates that winterization support, food and health support are direly needed by the communities. Community World Service Asia will start its interventions within this week for the affected people to cover the gap identified during the assessment.

Collected by Waheed Murad, Community World Service Asia Staff

 

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The World Food day is celebrated as the day of action against hunger and commemorates the creation of UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) on October 16th each year. Its goal is to raise public awareness about the increasing hunger problem prevalent in the world. It aims at unifying people against hunger, malnutrition and poverty and to draw attention to achievements in food and agricultural development.  The objectives are to encourage and stimulate non-governmental efforts as a means of eradicating hunger, as well as encouraging the rural populations to take part in agricultural activities which will positively influence their living conditions. The theme for this year’s World Food Day is “Social Protection & Agriculture-Breaking the cycle of Rural Poverty”.

Community World Service Asia’s food security projects are aimed at improving the availability, access and utilization of agrarian communities. These initiatives may include emergency food distribution of agricultural inputs directly and through voucher schemes, establishment of nurseries, orchards and seed banks as well as providing poultry inputs. By improving agricultural practices, the communities are better able to utilize their resources to increase the quantity and quality of food, resulting in increased income, food security, and better nutritional status. Food security and livelihoods remain at the core of the organization’s recovery and rehabilitation activities with a particular focus on agriculture restoration. Our initiatives help disaster-affected communities meet their immediate food, non-food, shelter, health, and WASH needs while simultaneously establishing the basic foundation for resilient, longer-term recovery and development of lives and livelihoods.

When heavy monsoon rains hit different parts of Pakistan in late July this year, 10716 houses were damaged and 4111 villages were totally inundated by the resulting floods while many more villages were partially flooded affecting 1.5 million people across the country. These floods also severally damaged the infrastructure and the local livelihoods.  A total of 715 cattle perished in the floods, and more than 200,000 acres of agricultural land was damaged.

Sindh, positioned on the tail-end of Indus River, was one of the most flood-prone provinces. Need assessments were carried out by the Community World Service Asia teams to assess the urgent needs of affected communities and food Assistance was found to be the top priority for the flood affected communities.

The Sphere minimum nutrient requirements given in the table below were used to assess the suitability of general rations targeted towards the flood affected population.

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Adhering to the Sphere minimum standards, food packages were designed according to the nutritional requirement for average household size of six persons in Sindh. Community World Service Asia ensured that Sphere’s standard requirement of the provision of 2,100 kcals/person/day were met for the affected communities.

To improve the nutritional quality of the ration fortification of staple commodities, inclusion of fortified blended foods, and inclusion of locally purchased commodities were ensured to provide the necessary nutrients. Aside from the ensuring the adequate calorie content in the diet, consideration of protein, fat, vitamins and minerals in food planning was of key priority.

Impartiality was ensured as similar food packages were provided to similarly affected populations and population sub-groups. Community World Service Asia completed the distribution of monthly food packages to 3224 flood affected families who received monthly food packages. Additionally 2100 families are to be supported with monthly food rations for five consecutive months in District Sujawal of Sindh province.

Along with the provision of food aid, the Community World Service Asia has also been providing seeds to disaster affected communities in Pakistan and Afghanistan in order to protect their upcoming crops after disasters and to ensure the sustainability of their livelihoods and food source. Direct seeds distribution as well as distribution through voucher schemes is implemented through various Disaster Response and Livelihood projects.

Livestock restocking, provision of poultry inputs is another way of ensuring that the livelihoods of the affected communities are sustainable. In addition to the emergency food assistance provided by Community World Service Asia in times of various disasters and conflicts in the region, the organization is also involved in projects ensuring livestock productivity and decreasing livestock morbidity rate of the communities it works with. To learn more about such projects, view the latest infographic on one of the organization’s Vaccination and Deworming Campaign on our website at: http://communityworldservice.asia/enhancing-livestock-productivity-for-idps-in-kohat/.

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