Amankot, near Pabbi in District Naushehra, is a small village which had 75 mud houses and comprises mostly of cattle-herders & farmers. It has population of 650 which includes more than 80 children of ages 10 and under. Flash floods have swept away their entire village. A visitor can now only see remnants of their life in the shape of the few hand operated water-pumps still fixed to ground and a broken base of a mosque while all the remaining structures in the village crumbled to the ground by the 9 feet high tides of the River Kabul. The entire village has lost their source of livelihood since the flash floods have destroyed the rich agricultural land leaving heavy silt in place of what was once fertile soil and swept away the cattle.
Two members from Rotary Club of Rawalpindi Rohtas joined PP Haji Iftikhar and other members of Rotary Club of Rawalpindi and visited the village on 29th August, 2010 with supplies for 45 families (food items+bedding) with the primary object of surveying the area and identifying the needs of the locals.
Our club flood relief team joined Rotary Club of Rawalpindi and took following items to Amankot on a truck on Friday, 3rd September, 2010. The items included 3 large tents, 100 pieces of bedding (mattresses (gadda), quilts, pillows, bedsheets), 100 kg of sugar (1 kg bags each), 100 kg daal channa (1kg bag each), 200 litres of cooking oil (2 litres each) 100 bags of Lipton Supreme tea (500 gram each), 100 bags of everyday dry milk (250 gram each), 400 tang juice sachets (4 per family), 200 packets of vermicelli (sawaiya) for Eid (2 packets each), 100 boxes of biscuits (1 pack each) and 100 boxes of sweets (1 pack each).
While we were in Amankot village, Rotary Club of Rawalpindi arranged a medical camp for the day with the help of doctors from Peshawar who catered for almost 80 locals who complained of ailments of the skin and stomach, fever and insect bites. Clinic was arranged in the tent mosque which established by Rotary Club of Rawalpindi.
It is very encouraging to see effort of Rotary Club of Rawalpindi in Amankot and we have proposed to Rotary Club of Rawalpindi to adopt the village jointly since their club is already actively working to provide basics necessities, namely food, tents, personal hygiene items, toiletries, bedding, medical help and clothing on an ongoing basis. The joint help by 2 clubs will help the villagers to settle and start their normal life quickly.
Now we are planning to visit the village with Rotary Club of Rawalpindi on next Wednesday and will be taking steel beds, food packs for Eid and sports goods and toys for the children.
Let’s build a better Pakistan.
Yours in Rotary;
PP Zahid Mirza
President 2010-11
Rotary Club of Rawalpindi Rohtas
