FOCUS Humanitarian Assistance – News Update August-September 2007 – Pakistan

PAKISTAN

FOCUS Community Response Teams active in Chitral and Northern Areas

FOCUS-trained Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) in Pakistan are the backbone of many unreported small-scale responses to emergencies in the region. From evacuating people affected by avalanches to rescuing families from blazing homes, these teams are constantly active, helping to make their own communities increasingly resilient and self-prepared.

During the summer, Bathraith village in Ghizer district of Pakistan’s Northern Areas was hit by a mass of debris flow’ flooding affected more than a dozen homes and crop fields and injured several people. The local CERT evacuated the injured and homeless to safer areas and utilised local community stockpiles to distribute tents and blankets.

The beginning of autumn brought heavy rainfall and mudflow, affecting the region of Gindai, Mashar. The area CERT identified vulnerable homes and evacuated families to a safer area before their homes were damaged. CERT members also carried out an area assessment for any further losses.

 

Skilled community-based emergency response teams in northern Pakistan make their way through the valleys to assist people in need

Synergising efforts towards better disaster preparedness in the Northern Areas

FOCUS held an orientation session for the Government of the Northern Areas at Gilgit Serena Hotel, in August 2007. The session was attended by the Chief Secretary of the Northern Areas, the Speaker of the Northern Areas Legislative Council as well as government officials and department heads. Representatives of Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) agencies in Pakistan as well as local media also attended the event. Following several FOCUS programme presentations and a question and answer forum, a demonstration of a community emergency response team in action was held at Nulter Nalla. Concluding the session, the Chief Secretary requested FOCUS to lead a regional disaster management task force to combine efforts of the government, AKDN agencies and FOCUS along with other key stakeholders to ensure an effective disaster management strategy in the Northern Areas.

 

Mr Ghulam Panjwani speaking at the FOCUS Orientation Session on better disaster preparedness at the Gilgit Serena Hotel

Representing Pakistan at Emergency Disaster Management Seminar, India

Mr. Ghulam Panjwani, Executive Officer of FOCUS Pakistan and the Chief Secretary of the province of Balochistan represented Pakistan at a seminar on Emergency and Disaster Management jointly sponsored by the National Institute of Disaster Management India and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The seminar, attended by government representatives of the South Asian Association for Regional Corporation (SAARC), provided a forum for sharing best practices in emergency disaster management and risk reduction strategies across the SAARC region.

Students from Lahore University complete Internship

Three students from Lahore University of Management Sciences interned at FOCUS’ Islamabad office. The students were assigned one-month projects in the Monitoring, Evaluation & Research, Hazard Vulnerability, Capacity & Risk Assessment and the Library and Resource Units. All three students valued the opportunity of witnessing first-hand the scale of disaster preparedness activities by FOCUS across their country.

For further information, please contact your nearest FOCUS office whose details can be found under Contact. FOCUS. Source.