Rajab is exhausted, and so his family. They are on their way to home from the middle of nowhere. The flood had forced them to leave their village, their belongings and their home.
This 47 year old man has been walking for an hour and 30 minutes to take his family to his house which is not even there anymore.
“I told them there is no point to travel this far but these women and children have been insisting on seeing the house; I wonder why they want to go there. It will only hurt them”
Khairpur Nathan Shah is one of the Tehsils of District Dadu in Sindh. Almost 5 of this Tehsil’s Union Councils are still under water. Life in more than 150 villages is almost still. Flood water entered in these villages and never left for it never got an exit way. Villagers are living in the tent cities and with relatives. Who live nearby, come to visit their homes during day time to save the belongings they can. Others, who are far off, can’t come because it’s not easy to travel this far and further pay the boat fare and to return back to where they are living. Why would they come anyways, there isn’t anything left to save.
These villagers work in the fields for rich owners and in return get wheat or rice. Unfortunately, all crops have been ruined. There is no chance to plant the winter crop either, as the water is standing and not going away for another 6 months at least.
It’s almost 3 months and water isn’t going away, only 2 inches is absorbed by the land a day which is not much. There is up to 6 feet of water in some villages.
When asked Rajab how he manages to navigate in this deep water, he replied “I have lived here since ever and even if I had to swim under 10 feet of water I could have easily found the house without any difficulty” he was walking on the roads and fields to take the family to their home.
Rajab went to see his house a week back and found that it was completely demolished by the flood water.
“When I stood where my home used to be, I could feel the rubble under my feet in water and all I could do was to tremble and cry and I know they (pointing at his family with him) will do the same. What else can we do?
If not given an exit to this water it will remain there for at least 6 months (can take longer to be absorbed or evaporated) and then the greater challenge await; rebuilding and repairing the damaged houses and creating work/labor portal. Before the floods most of the villagers worked in the fields and now no crops and no fields for at least this year.
CARE is continuing the relief activities for villagers like Rajab in different camps. Also, we are all set to enter the recovery phase where beneficiaries will continue to receive primary healthcare facilities through mobile clinics, food and items for winter.
Though there is no proper mechanism in Sindh to track the moving population (between camps and their homes) and vulnerable area due to inaccessibility in many parts, CARE is developing proposals just to be ready to help the people as much as we can in the recovery phase (when people return to their houses). CARE is coordinating closely with the concerned Government departments and other UN agencies to identify and locate the most vulnerable population who are still unapproachable.
Challenges swell in winters for especially in Northern areas it’s really harsh with heavy snowfall, up to 6 feet of snow in upper areas of north, and milder winter in the southern region of the country. CARE has planned to provide transitional shelters (suitable for winters) and 250,000 blankets (5 blankets per family) as part of the winterized kits to be distributed. However, Health, Food and Hygiene remain our priority in all provinces.