Pakistan
2010 In Review:
Answering Prayers: True Story from Flood-Ravaged
A 70-year-old widow was caring for her four orphaned grandchildren in her one-room mud home when the floodwaters swept it away along with all of her possessions. Her one son had been a brick maker since the age of 8 when his father died. But in June, he died of a heart attack brought on by the unbearable heat. He left behind his pregnant and very sick wife. Not able to get the medical attention she needed, she died during childbirth. His mother took in the child, praying that all the grandchildren she cares for will receive an education and that all their miseries will some day vanish.
When the monsoon season hit Pakistan earlier this year, her home was already in need of repair. As the rain continued for days on end, the water began to drip through the roof and walls. The grandmother spent two sleepless nights watching over her grandchildren and praying for their safety. Then she heard the cries. The rivers had crested and the floodwaters were flowing towards her village. She knew no one would help them. She gathered the children and began to run.
The children cried out, wanting to know where they were going and what was happening. She had no answer for them. She followed the crowd of others, hoping somebody knew of a place of refuge. After four hours of walking, the army rescued them, but they could only offer so much assistance. The grandmother, her family and others were left along the side of the road with no shelter, food or water.
After the waters subsided, they headed back to where their home had been. They found no trace of it. The meager possessions they did have had been washed away. And then her children got sick. She had no money for food, let alone medicine to heal them. She prayed to God to send someone to help.
When our partners, the Public Welfare Foundation, found the family sitting in the open sky with nothing left, they gave them flour, cooking oil, milk, soap, towels, rice, sugar, spices, biscuits and more. And they gave them the medicine needed to cure the children's ailments.
The grandmother is grateful to Feeding The Nations and all our partners who provided her with the food and medical care her family so desperately needed. She truly believes we all are the answer to her countless prayers. Thank you to all of you for your generosity and for joining with us to be the answer to so many people's prayers.
Phase One Complete
October Update:
Today we have fully distributed the food items among the most vulnerable families in the flood affected areas. We have tried our best to distribute food items among the most deserving and needy families who could not manage to get any relief for the last two months. Relief items (were distributed) among the flood affected Christian families. The children were also very excited to receive juices and other nutrition items and they were also provided free medical check ups which was a useful and effective activity for the flood affected families.
October 2010 Update:
The following letter was received from Ghazala Yasmeen, relief coordinator in Pakistan:
Today we have fully distributed the food items among the most vulnerable flood affected families. We have tried our best to distribute food items among the most deserving and needy families who could not manage to get any relief for the last two months. Relief items (were distributed) among the flood affected Christian families. The children were also very excited to receive juices and other nutrition items and they were also provided free medical check ups which was a useful and effective activity for the flood affected families.
Yours Sincerely Ghazala Yasmeen
Project Coordinator, PWF
Phase One:
Good news! Feeding The Nations is ready to begin the first phase of assistance. On October 6th a relief distribution will take place in the flood affected areas. During Phase One 100 families will receive supplies of emergency items to relieve the present suffering caused by the flooding. These supplies will include: flour, cooking oil, sugar, tea, milk, rice, matches, towels, salt, spices, soap and medicine. The distribution team will be accompanied by a medical staff.
Waves of Hope for Flood-Ravaged Pakistan
During the monsoon season, heavy rains fell in the Himalayan catchment areas of Pakistan, causing five rivers to spill onto their banks and flood the region. The United Nations states that the flooding is worse than the Haiti earthquake, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2005 Kashmir earthquake combined. And the waters are continuing to rise. The waters have claimed over 1,600 lives, left 5 million homeless, placed over 20 million in need of humanitarian assistance, destroyed thousands of acres of fertile land and have left 13 million at risk of water-borne diseases such as cholera. It has wiped out roads, making immediate relief impossible.
But Feeding The Nations refuses to wait to take action. We are currently preparing our first wave of relief efforts so that once the roads open, we can help those who are hurting and in desperate need. The relief project will help 100 families with a total of 600 members. The families live in villages in rural areas-places where few aid teams work because of limited resources. The families will receive financial and material help, and encouragement to help rehabilitate them and revive their lives and livelihoods. A second wave response is being prepared with additional families under consideration.
Approximately 48% of those currently living in this community are Christian, which in Pakistan means they are the lowest caste or even untouchables. These Christians face persecution in Pakistan and it continues as many are being denied assistance because of their religion. Mosques have become a place of refuge during these floods, making Christians more vulnerable to the many extremists who claim the mosques.
Now is our chance to reach out to fellow Christians and show the love of Christ to those who are not yet convinced.
August 2010 Update:
Christians Face Persecution in Flood-Ravaged Pakistan
Feeding The Nations Sending Aid
Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay. ~ Proverbs 40:17
During the monsoon season, heavy rains fell in the Himalayan catchment areas of Pakistan, causing five rivers to spill onto their banks and flood the region. The United Nations states that the flooding is worse than the Haiti earthquake, 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2005 Kashmir earthquake combined. The waters have:
• Claimed over 1,600 lives.
• Left 5 million homeless.
• Placed over 20 million in need of humanitarian assistance.
• Destroyed thousands of acres of fertile land.
• Left 13 million at risk of water-borne diseases such as cholera.
• Wiped out roads, making immediate relief impossible
But Feeding The Nations refuses to wait to take action. We are currently preparing our first wave of relief efforts so that once the roads open, we can help those who are hurting and in desperate need. Initially the relief project will help 100 families with a total of 600 members. The families live in 30 villages in rural areas —places where few aid teams work because of limited resources. The families will receive financial and material help, and encouragement to help rehabilitate them and revive their lives and livelihoods. A second wave response is being prepared with additional families under consideration.
Approximately 48% of those currently living in this community are Christian, which in Pakistan means they are the lowest caste or even untouchables. These Christians face persecution in Pakistan and it continues as many are being denied assistance because of their religion. Mosques have become a place of refuge during these floods, making Christians more vulnerable to the many extremists who claim the mosques.
JUNE 2007 UPDATE:
Phase 3 of Earthquake Relief:
Feeding The Nations combined efforts with International Gospel Mission of Norway to provide homes to those who have spent the last 19 months in makeshift shelters consisting mostly of tents. The goal was to build 18 homes. However, we exceeded the goal and built 21 homes! Now for the first time since the earthquake, families will have a place to rest, a place to come in from the cold winter, a place to call home.
2006 YEAR IN REVIEW
Beginning Phase 3 of Earthquake Relief:
Starting to build 18 new homes for victims of the earthquake.
Phase 2 of Earthquake Relief:
114,318 pounds of rice, pasta, soup, cereal, vitamins, medicine, tents and blankets worth $302,081.
APRIL 2006
The Forgotten Village
"The villages received the items with great joy as they barely survived the struggles of the weeks prior to their arrival."
Our Islamabad partners, Suleman and Tina Manzoor of Rapha Mission, along with a team from Sweden, and thirteen Pakistanis arrived in Karachi, Pakistan, to distribute relief supplies to victims of the Pakistan earthquake that left over a million people homeless.
Upon their arrival, they heard over a radio broadcast that a village of 500 people was overlooked and forgotten by all the relief efforts that poured into this vast country to help the hurting. Immediate emergency items were purchased in Islamabad and transported to Sacha. The team provided warm clothes, shoes, blankets, and tents. The villagers received the items with great joy as they had survived the struggles of the weeks prior to their arrival.
The team also traveled to other villages to distribute shoes. They noticed that this seemed to be the one item that other organizations were not able to provide. Churches have been started in both Oman and Pakistan through their efforts.
Feeding The Nations shipped four forty-foot containers of a specialty cereal by Kellogg's developed specifically for kids. A unique blend of nutrients has been added that are essential to a growing child's mind and proper brain development and support the growth of a child's bones and teeth.
Another three containers of relief supplies were shipped which included medicine, medical supplies, and food items: rice, applesauce, pasta, dehydrated soup, blankets, adult and children's vitamins, Ibuprofen, heat pads, sun block, ankle-knee-wrist elastic braces. In two other containers over a half million dehydrated rice and vegetable meals were shipped.
Thank you to all who made this possible. In Phase I, Feeding The Nations shipped seven forty-foot containers and purchased large quantities of tents, blankets, cooking pots, shoes, and food in-country.
With the enormous need, Feeding The Nations made the decision to continue to step out in faith to start Phase II. As of this printing several more large containers have been loaded and are enroute to Pakistan. FTN has responded with a total value of over four million dollars to Pakistan relief.
2005 YEAR IN REVIEW
FTN supplied tents, blankets, and rice purchased in-country. In addition, FTN shipped seven 40' containers of tents, blankets, vitamins, cereal, and 540,000 ready-to-eat meals.
NOVEMBER 2005
Pakistan Phase 2: FTN has not forgotten those left behind.
Relief efforts are still underway in Pakistan where an earthquake on October 8, 2005 left more than 73,000 dead, 70,000 seriously injured and 3.5 million people homeless. FTN, RAPHA Mission and Global Assistance worked side by side and provided countless vitamins, tents, blankets, medical supplies and so much more to Pakistan during Phase 2 of the project. The faces in the pictures that accompany this article are people who have been directly touched by this effort.
The old woman lives in Balakot, a town where 80,000 people died during the quake. She lost nine family members and has no means of support without her family. Through these efforts she has received help and has been comforted by having her basic needs met for quite a while. She is grateful for all that has been given to her.
The man in the middle was visited by our relief team at his home in a mountain village. After carefully checking the windows and doors, he took a well-hidden Bible and radiantly revealed that he has found Christ. He is a secret believer who has come to the Lord through these relief efforts. He shares his testimony with many who in turn come to the Lord.
Please continue to pray for Pakistan as we begin our next project: building homes in the earthquake devastated country. Your prayers and the physical aid will forever change that region.
View more images here
Stay up to date here