Earthquake recoveRy in Pakistan

Story by Chris Herlinger/CWS

A woman in Mangli, one of the villages where the CWS psychosocial team continues to accompany survivors. Photo: Paul Jeffrey/ACT-CWS

Slow, steady but sure, signs of recovery are visible in the response to the devastating October 2005 earthquake that killed some 80,000 people in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province and the Pakistani-controlled Azad Kashmir region.

Still, the effects of the quake remain glaring in many areas -- perhaps no more so than in Balakot City, in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province. Many of the quake's survivors remain in tents, and numerous signs of destruction are still visible -- the remains of some buildings still litter the landscape.

Long lines of patients are a common site at mobile health clinics, as well as a Basic Health Unit, operated by Church World Service and its partner, the Raiwind Diocese, Church of Pakistan, at remote locales in Azad Kashmir.

There are signs of hope. A cornerstone of CWS work in the region is bustling: In conjunction with DOSTI, a local partner, CWS is helping train young men in masonry, electricity, welding, plumbing, and carpentry. The training is helping the men not only to build new homes for their families, but also enabling them to assist reconstruction efforts throughout the region.

Trainee Jahangir Mughal Photo: Chris Herlinger/CWS

At one of the training facilities, the Bissian Construction Trade Training Center, Jahangir Mughal, 24, who lived in a village some 30 kilometers outside Balakot City and lost family in the quake, displayed his prowess as a carpenter. "I like everything about the training," he said.

In turning attention to the recovery phase of the disaster, CWS is developing basic rehabilitation activities needed for the resettlement of families affected by the earthquake. This includes programs like the livelihood training, as well as reconstructing houses, recovery of livestock, the development of water and sanitation projects, health assistance, and psychosocial support activities.

Whatever progress is made, the international community needs to know that this disaster -- its effects, its fallout, its uprooting of hundreds of thousands of lives -- is far from over, according to Marvin Parvez, director of Church World Service Pakistan/Afghanistan. "Everyone is still in a very difficult situation right now."

To support the ongoing earthquake recovery in northern Pakistan, please make a donation online, or phone 800-297-1516.