AMA on the ground responding to devastating flooding in Pakistan

AMA’s team on the ground has launched an aid campaign to help those most in need following the devastating flooding taking place in several regions across Pakistan.

The teams on the ground have spent weeks meeting people and assessing their needs, ensuring they are safe.

In the area of Nowshera, Pakistan, located in the valley of Peshawar,   AMA staff say it is difficult to describe the scene – household items, the pieces that once made up daily life for families, are now part of the debris.  Kitchen utensils float past, tired attempts have been made to prop up mattresses and cupboards to dry.  Clothing is strewn like unwanted rags on any surface available, but the damp smell will not fade.

Amir Muhammed, an elderly man impacted by the flooding, tells AMA that they los their home in the flooding.

One of his sons worked as a labourer in Punjab, surviving on basic daily wages.  The other son is a street vendor who lost all his stock.  These two men no longer know how they will earn a living and provide for their families.  Amir’s concern is for his grandchildren.

A few houses down, we meet twin boys – Awais and Sudais – in grade 4.  Their father has lost all his belongings and their school is closed indefinitely.  As young as they are, these two boys share their fears for their future, already understanding that without access to school, they are losing the only chance they had at escaping a life of desperate poverty.

From house to house, area to area, the same stories of despair echo through families.  All their life savings washed away in a matter of hours or days.  All their dreams washed away with it.

As water levels drop and families return to their house to stumble through the wreckage, they face starvation and disease.  Their houses no longer provide any shelter from the elements, and there is nowhere to buy or ask for food when everything has been so completely damaged.

The effects of this flooding will not disappear quickly. Pakistan is bracing for a long road to recovery.  AMA appeals for your support to begin this process by helping families to survive through providing basic emergency assistance.