Flood survivors find refuge in jail camp

Plan is supplying drinking water in Pakistan as most water sources have become contaminated.

Max Baldwin
Humanitarian Grants Advisor, Plan International

It's an annual reunion being back in Pakistan for the floods. I'm catching up with colleagues' life events and family stories; the last time we were all together was during the 2010 floods, which was unprecedented in its scale and affected the entire country.

This year the situation is once again challenging. Actually, for Sindh Province, this year’s foods have affected more people and districts. In Badin District, where Plan was one of the first organisations to respond to the initial monsoon rains and flooding in August, the waters rose so high that we had to temporarily withdraw our operation and coordinate with the local government, who were evacuating families.

About 1400 of those families were evacuated to neighbouring Thatta district, where we supported the local Disaster Management Authority and set up a camp on a site where a jail is being built. Maybe that sounds a little strange, and it did to me when I first read the name of the camp. I assumed that the camp was next to the road on the way to the district jail, or that perhaps jail meant something else in Urdu or the local Sindhi language.

But no, it is a jail that has been half-built, and setting up a camp there makes a positive difference for the families. The land is this part of Pakistan is flat, which is why it floods so easily; it also means there is a lot of wind. Driving past other camps, you can see the sides of the tents blowing up and exposing the people inside to the dust and sun. The giant jail walls do a great job of blocking the wind. Everyone seems much more comfortable in their tents that are much better at maintaining privacy, which is important for some of the women here.

One block of cells has been converted into an area for the families do their washing. The concrete structures mean that the ground doesn’t get muddy. That makes a huge difference when you see that it is the women who are doing the washing, and they have all their young children playing around them. Plan has noted that in the flood-affected communities basic hygiene practices, such as hand washing, are almost non-existent. So, apart from the health campaigns that are being run, anything that encourages hygiene is just as important as having a clinic in the camp.

A lot of families have moved into the cells themselves. Munir from our local partner is managing the camp; he told me that all of the families here will never get to live in such a solid structure. Plan’s consultations with the families have revealed that they lost their belongings in the floods, and that their houses were made of mud and are either damaged or washed away. And they’re not wrong: the UN’s own assessment shows that their district has had the highest number of houses destroyed.

Now that the response is up and running we’re hoping for situation to improve. A lot still needs to be done as the affected people will require continued support in what has been the second year of devastating floods for Pakistan.

Plan is appealing for $2 million to fund urgent work in Pakistan, you can contribute by making a donation to our Children in Crisis Fund or call 13 75 26.

Find out more about Plan’s work in Pakistan. 

Find out more about Plan’s ongoing response to last year’s devastating floods.