Do Pakistani Flood victims dream?

How it all began?

At Juma Sermon on the 26th of August, Imam sb mentioned Flood victims of South Punjab and Balochistan. I have been hearing about floods for a while now, a bit between changing channels on the radio on my way to the office, a bit on the news (that I avoid now), and a few times on social media from my friends in Balochistan and South Punjab. But even after all this exposure, I wasn't moved enough to give it a thought. So, it was there in the mosque, that when Imam sb wept, I was inspired. On my way to the co-working space, I spoke to my cousin Amir Tauseef Rana about this and we agreed that we could donate leftover Zakat to help these people out.

2010 Floods

It was 2010 when the Floods hit South Punjab and created a catastrophe. I along with my cousins Faizan S. , Ansir, Mamoo Khaleeq, and Chachoo Tauseef went to DG Khan and Rajanpur to help the flood victims. With help from friends and family, we were able to purchase food, hire a pharmacist, and purchase medicine to help the sick. We had a relative in DG Khan who joined and guided us throughout the trip.

Photo album of our trip in 2010

atching the photo album again, I remember people sitting, waiting for help on both sides of the roads was a common sight throughout the week. Broken bridges, over-turned 18-wheelers, angry and hungry men fighting over the small ration of food, malnutrition kids, dead fish, and flooded houses with fallen roof does not feel like it was 11 years ago. I have fainted only once in my life and that was when a father carrying a toddler came to our camp. The girl was so fragile that the pharmacist took a lot of effort to find vein for an IV in her arm.

Help them with What?

As most of you are aware that I work for Sun King , a Solar Energy products manufacturing company. Our products are designed for Relief programs where people are Victims of Earth Quake, Floods, or War and also if they are living in a place with little or no Electricity. Among Sun King products, we have Solar Lanterns that are extremely durable, charged by Solar Panel included, water resistant, can charge mobile, and also provide sufficient light for a person or an entire room. It can give up to 72 hours of light at the lowest brightness level once they are charged under the sun for a day.

Flood victims could use smaller Solar Lanterns to survive at night. From simply being able to see poisonous animals at night to cooking, finding the way, signaling to someone far away, staying connected with their loved ones by charging mobile phones, etc., the application is endless. A lamp could help an entire family survive nights in this disaster.

What surprised me?

Once I was convinced that I can create a difference for these Flood victims, the first person I reached was our Importer in Pakistan, Solcraft - Solar Solutions / Technology Links (Pvt.) Ltd. . They listened and I could tell the idea made sense to them. Overnight, they had called their Board meeting and spoke to stakeholders. The very next morning, I had a voice note on WhatsApp from Wahab Hussain , Solcraft's director, that they have agreed to set aside their profit and are willing to sell these Solar Lanterns at cost. This was the first victory and afterward, I started reaching out to all friends and family for funds raising. I was amazed and still am that people listened and responded to my call.

In a week, I managed an effective campaign and gathered enough funds. I dispatched the first batch of Solar Lanterns to an area called Kot Chutta, a tehsil of Dera Ghazi khan badly affected by the Floods where a few family members were already running a Tandoor for the victims.

Getting help from a local organization

One of my former colleagues forwarded my voice note to Muhammad Shahzad bhai, Executive Director of NGO Chanan Development Association (CDA) . It was Thursday night when Shahzad bhai reached out and suggested that we combine our efforts. They were already raising funds for Food, water, and medicine so it made perfect sense to go together to Rajanpur, one of the flood-affected districts in Punjab. I spoke with Shahzad bhai on Thursday and we were in Rajanpur on Sunday morning. We coordinated with a local organization STEP and met its CEO Ejaz bhai shortly after. They had already assessed on the ground and families were awaiting our help.

Rajanpur

When we reached the designated area for distribution, most of the people had already gathered there. Along with help from a few volunteers, we managed to distribute Food Ration, sanitary pads, hygiene Kits, water bottles, sleeping mats, mosquito nets, and Solar Lamps to the flood victims in a very organized way.

We stayed at the Hotel Mushtaq that night and ran a medical camp in Fazilpur the next day. Most of the people here in Basti Yousaf of District Rajanpur had fled to the neighboring city Shikarpur when nearby floods were announced by the Government and returned when the water level had gone below their houses. About 25 – 30 houses were destroyed in the village.

Two major Livelihood sources are crops and livestock. These people took their livestock with them to Shikarpur city but their Homes, Cotton, and Sugarcane crops were not so lucky. One of the villagers I spoke to told me that due to massive flooding, the price of cotton crops has increased from 9000 to 12000 PKR per 40 KG.

Doctor Arslan Iqbal who was assisting us in the medical camp was also a survivor of the Floods and had to be rescued by Rescue 1122. He told us that though the hospitals were crowded, still, people on their own from other cities were running Medical camps and helping people. Most of the people coming to these medical camps had Gastro problems; they either have diarrhea or were vomiting. The second most common disease was Skin allergy.

Creating awareness of Solar Lamps

People only know that Solar Panels can be used to access an independent power supply from the sun for their homes or about Solar Powered Tube wells. They are not aware that there are Solar Lamps that can help each flood-affected family survive these nights. So, in parallel, I was running a social media campaign on awareness of Solar Lanterns in my circle on the go. I feel if the right words are used for the right person then it always creates the desired impact.

Last interaction with Flood victims

Right after Magrib's prayer, we left for Lahore. We were going at a slow speed because of the patchy road and were reflecting on the impact we created and how we can inspire more friends to come forward and help these people. At that point, I had 80 lamps left with me that I planned to send to other areas of Pakistan. Slowly I start to notice camps on the left side of the road. I was sitting on the front passenger side and we were about 15 minutes away from the Motorway Toll Plaza.

At this point, I start thinking about whether we should distribute the remaining Solar lamps to these people instead of taking them home to another area. I am also aware of the fact that everyone is tired and is looking forward to returning home. Nonetheless, I ask Shahzad bhai if we can go back and distribute the remaining lamps to which he agrees immediately. We take a U-turn and go back a kilometer to a few tents that I could barely see in the dark.

As soon as we approach, I realize it is not a small community gathered by the roadside. There are easily 120 families (500 people) that are sitting in the Dark near the bank of the Indus river. A few youngsters gathered around us as soon as we park the car. Those who have worked in relief programs in disaster-stricken areas know that slight mismanagement in distribution could create a panic in the already hungry and tired crowd. So, we are extremely careful and ask one of the youngsters to call Elder in the community (secretly hoping, there is one whom everyone listens to).

An old man, probably in his 70s comes after a few seconds and asks us what are we here for. I ask the crowd if he represents them all and upon confirmation tell him that we are here to distribute Solar lamps but we can only give one to each family. Surprisingly, he obliges immediately and disburses the young crowd by cursing them.

We start distributing Solar Lamps from one corner of the Tent city so to avoid any confusion. The area is full of smoke and it is hard to breathe in because the community is burning small bushes to avoid mosquito bites. Since Solar Lamp is still a slightly technical product for these people so we have to stop for a few seconds at each Charpai tent and explain to them that these lamps can be charged by placing them under the sunlight.

Every time we would turn on the light for the demo, I would see their faces. There are always 4 -5 people on One charpai bed. I have been doing this for quite some time now, we did relief efforts in the 2010 floods, and 2013 earthquakes but never in my life have I seen people like them. I could tell that they are proud men and women who only happen to live in the wrong place. They have a sense of community and respect their elders. Their children still have not given up on happiness when they saw the lamp light for the first time. They are still curious about how a solar lamp works. There are young shy newly married brides who are unsure about how to act in front of so many strangers. They are unable to meet eyes with us because they are ashamed of begging strangers.

I distribute a few Solar lamps but then I let Shahzad bhai take over. I am happy that I am helping them in their misery but I am also extremely sad. Sad that we don't have enough Solar lamps left to help them all. Sad that It could have been me, my city, my home, my daughters but it is them who have to go through this pain.

We complete the distribution and there is a slight scuffle in the community because a few of the victims were unable to receive Solar lamps even after showing patience. The most unfortunate thing that happened, in the end, was that we had no Solar lamp left to give to the Elder of the community (chacha jee) that was helping us in the distribution. He wasn't expecting this, of course, there was a pain in his eyes but he managed to say it is all right, I'll manage. With a heavy heart, we leave the tent city and everyone remained quiet for a while on our way back to Lahore.

They need us

Right now, I have asked my friends and family members to help these people once again. My family plans to go to Taunsa this time, the poorest city in Punjab with massive flooding. Along with Solar Lamps for surviving the nights, we are also raising funds for Shelter camps. We are trying to inspire and reach out to as many people as we can through whatever medium that makes sense.