The 2015 earthquake in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa claimed the lives of many and left disaster in its wake. Mukamil Khan, a 30 year old resident of Dande Sundiye KPK is one of the many people whose life was uprooted due to the earthquake. Father of 2 children, one girl and one boy, Mukamil Khan works from morning to evening to make ends meet. As a contract worker he has worked on construction sites, cloth mills, and tailory. Lack of employment opportunities in his hometown has led him to work in Karachi earning up to 700 rupees and sending his earnings back home to pay for his children’s education and upbringing.

Mukamil Khan’s house that was already weak due to lack of quality construction came down completely from the earthquake leaving his children and wife homeless. His home before the earthquake was already in a bad condition due to an informal roof that led to snow and rain falling in his house, making it unlivable at times.

HANDS intervention at the town of Dande Sundiya was to provide housing to the ones who became homeless in the earthquake and provide them with financial help so that they can get back on their feet. HANDS provided the effected people with shelter, distributed money and seeds along with equipment to help them farm and earn a living in their hometown. He states that without the help of HANDS his family would have remained homeless as they could not afford to rebuild their house in 6 to 7 years due inflation. Mukamil Khan applauds HANDS and its efforts to provide housing to the people affected by the earthquake and hopes to contribute to the well-being of his community in the future.

Unplanned spread of developments in urban areas weakens the infrastructure. The problem is exacerbated when natural events such as rainfall exert more pressure on the already fragile systems. HANDS has helped people like Kausar in Yousuf Goth in Surjani Town to deal with disasters caused by urban flooding.

I am Kausar, a mother of 3 living in Yousuf Goth Surjani Town. Yousuf Goth gets flooded every year when heavy rains inundate our roads, drains, and homes. It is a terrible situation as the rain-water gets mixed with clean water, the drains overflow, and there is nothing but debris, dirt, and chaos everywhere.

We faced disastrous flooding four years ago. As we scurried to safety with our children to a nearby high wall, all of our belongings were swept away. The HANDS team came in to help us. We were stranded amidst the water, but the team aided us by providing us with food and water. Eventually, as the flood abated, HANDS also helped repair the drains and sewerage systems and gave us money to rebuild collapsed walls.

We face multiple issues such as no gas supply, open drains, and diseases due to a non-existent garbage disposal system. But the situation is not as dire today thanks to HANDS. Previously, there were many cases of diarrhea, food poisoning, and dengue, but as the sewerage drains have been repaired, the incidents of these diseases have decreased.

In the 15 years that I have been living here, I have seen a lot of improvements made by HANDS. The team has worked on safe water provision and has also repaired the bridge, which eases our transportation problems. Whereas many officials have come, observed, and gone, HANDS has consistently supported us.

A lot of our family members tell us to move away, but my family cannot afford to move anywhere else because we can barely make ends meet. My husband works as a tailor in a hosiery factory, and I work as domestic help nearby. But with three small kids and my widowed mother to support we are barely surviving. We have bought this house in installments and a large chunk of our income goes towards paying the installments for my house – there is still three years’ worth of payments left. My children don’t go to school because we cannot afford their fees. Government schools are too far away for my young children to commute.

I am grateful to HANDS for their support, they not only rebuilt the infrastructure, but they also helped us rebuild our lives. My immediate aim is to get my children into school soon, and with HANDS helping us, I am sure I will be able to have a better environment and future for my children.