Three weeks left to get tents to the homeless
There are only three weeks left to get shelter to the three million homeless people in Kashmir and the North West Frontier Province.
The first snowfall is expected in mid-November and the UN WHO has warned that survivors may die of hypothermia if they still have no shelter by then.
Around 540,000 tents are needed to protect homeless survivors from the harsh Himalayan winter. Officials fear that they will be around 200,000 tents short.
source: Islamic Relief
The first snowfall is expected in mid-November and the UN WHO has warned that survivors may die of hypothermia if they still have no shelter by then.
Around 540,000 tents are needed to protect homeless survivors from the harsh Himalayan winter. Officials fear that they will be around 200,000 tents short.
source: Islamic Relief
m at 8:49 am |
I just can't believe its all happening. Any one who says we have mroe than a week is a fraud. I have been to the Muzaffarabad areas, balakot and Bagh and let me tell you something which media might not have said so far - these people are not going to survive tents, not at least major portion of the left-over population. Healthy and active volunteers like us had to use two blankets and a sleeping bag during night. Sure, these people are tough but don't forget they are under-nourished, hungry and above all broken. You need to send them new and hygienic blankets along with heavy tents that can survive snow and rain. These tents don't guarantee warmth and heat that these people desperately need. Kids having hypothermia are going to die soon if they don't get treated instantly and I mean alot of them. Scabbies is another annoying disease these people are suffering from in a large no. And did I say Mental Trauma? Why the hell the government doesn't arrange a therapist with every single team that arrives these places. I saw doctors collapsing right infront of the rubble, volunteers panicking and vomiting all the way back after burying deadbodies that were left un-attended.
I have been working on a similar drive but with dome structures (http://www.domesintl.com/) made in India. The proprietor is willing to work at cost. A nice aspect of the domes is that they are nicely insulated, incredibly rugged, and could provide communal retreat space from the harshest cold and wind. A dome can be erected and weatherproofed in little over three hours with a three-person team. Have had one NGO interested in purchasing 1,500 of the units but they are very slow in responding. I will be leaving for Islamabad on Oct. 31st and want to help in any way I can. If anyone has ideas how I can be of service please let me know. I will carry blankets, tents, domes, whatever.