Case Study 17: An Apprehensive Future
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Name: Wasim Ghulam Hussian
Place: Pateka Village, Garhi Habibullah
Wasim Ghulam Hussain, just 21 years of age, worked in Karachi with the vision of lifting his family from the depths of poverty. His family used to live in a small village, Pateka, in Garhi Habibullah.
Wasim recalls that when the devastating earthquake struck, he was unable to get any information on the well-being of his family. He immediately left for his village, only to find piles of rubble where his house once stood. This, however, was not the end of his anguish. His father and sister-in-law had lost their lives in the disaster, and his mother could not sustain the trauma of the tragedy and was unable to retain control over her senses.
Wasim’s village is situated at a very high altitude and is therefore very difficult to reach. For a long time, the only aid they received was that which had been air-dropped in their village. A Church World Service team was the first to arrive in his village to do assessment, and to distribute shelter kits and food packages.
Wasim now lives with his family in a tent, which he got from the CWS distribution team. He and his family are among those affected people who have decided to stay in their village and not come down to the plains to live in one of the tent villages. Wasim is extremely apprehensive about the future. He now has to tend to his mother, who can no longer take care of herself and needs psychological help so that she can come out of the trauma that she has witnessed. Lack of resources and support is a major concern for him and he does not know how he will manage in the days to come. However, like so many others living in similar circumstances, he has refused to give in to the pressures of the daunting task ahead of him, and braces the future with determination and confidence.
Church World Service is working to provide shelter kits (family-sized
tent, ground sheet, plastic sheet, two iron poles, and four blankets),
as well as family food packages, to 20,000 of the worst-affected families.
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