Youth With A Mission (YWAM) members are involved in the ongoing relief efforts in Pakistan, after more than 250,000 people were left homeless by severe flooding in June.
“The city where I grew up and where I heard God’s call on my life is now a disaster zone,” said Zafar Francis, Chairman of YWAM Pakistan. “Whole villages large and small have been washed away forever.”
“The water came pouring down with a great roar, suddenly everything was gone and we were left with nothing,” according to a Sindhi villager.
In Sindh province in southeast Pakistan, the high waters decimated crops and wiped out entire herds of water buffalo, vital to India’s dairy industry.
“The world’s international media have missed this one,” says Rosemary James, who works with the YWAM Relief office in London, which immediately launched an appeal for funds for relief supplies. “This flood is not only a present disaster; it will have serious long-term consequences if the inundation has depleted the soil of nutrients and made it infertile.”
In the immediate aftermath, YWAM Pakistan brought together 20 indigenous Sindhi-speaking volunteers to form a rapid response team.
The team of Muslims, Christians and Hindus got to work immediately to serve the victims of the flood and satisfy their immediate need for food. In a matter of days, more than 3000 survivors had received family relief packs from the team containing enough food to last one month.
Many of the people to receive the food packs had received no other help in the wake of the floods.
They remain desperate, however.
“There remains a lot more to be done” was the last text message to arrive in the YWAM relief office. “People are gradually finding shelter in school buildings, but they need stoves, cooking utensils and general supplies. There is hardly anyone out there helping these survivors.”
