Broken Dreams can be healed...
In the past, Dream Foundation Trust (DFT) facilitated different relief initiatives to serve Survivors of Floods in Sindh and Earthquake of Baluchistan during the last three years. It also helps to rehabilitate these victims by engaging them in sustainable self-entrepreneurial activities. We have facilitated purchase of merchandise for General Stores, machines, equipment and tools to help them pursue what they can do best, be it to make edibles, craft work or dairy farming.
Background Information of Tharparkar
Tharparkar, district Diplo is 345km from Karachi and 100km from Badin. DFT focused on reaching out to select villages where none of the NGOs or Government Agencies had accessed for a variety of reasons, including security. DFT distributed food packs and water to the most vulnerable in the following villages of Diplo, some bordering Rann of Kachh, India.
Source of Livelihood
People of Thar lead a nomadic life. Their main source of livelihood is from cattle. This does not ensure sustainability as unclean water source and other hazards cause veterinary diseases resulting in immeasurable losses. Farming is only possible after the rains. Water harvesting is not present.
Health Facilities
Though every Union Council has a Hospital but the distance could be 20 to 50 km from a Deh and public transport is not available. The ‘dispensary’ at each Deh is not staffed nor equipped to handle emergencies leading to very often self-medication resulting in greater harm than good.
Maternal mortality is very high due to non-availability of medical staff. Badin Town, 100 km away, is the nearest where EMONC facilities may be available at times. The locals can barely afford the costs of the Consultants in the cities. The charges are as high as Rs.10, 000 ($100) for a normal delivery to Rs.35, 000 ($350) in case of any procedure performed. Sadly, often it results in loss of two lives – the mother and the baby.
Education Facilities
Recent Provincial Assembly debates manifest the sad story about the palace-like schools that have been constructed in Sindh. According to Muhammad Hashim, a primary school teacher of Diplo “70% percent of these schools are closed or used for other purposes while the rest do not have teachers.
Natural Resources of Diplo
Jaam Nizam ud Din, a resident & Social Worker of Hoti Kachh district Diplo said; there are 50 Salt Lakes, which are called Sann in local language. Local Government leases these lakes to Contractors from other parts of Sindh who have no interest in Thar. The contractors do not employ Tharis and simply exploit the salt pans for their gains.
Our team visited a salt lake of Qazi Quddus whose forefathers leased it on a 90 years basis 50 years ago.
The locals are left to scarce wood that is burnt to coal and sold outside the Thar Desert. According to a local, Jam Nizam ud Din, “Only these trees are our hope to survive here”.
How we could help..
We reached Diplo on 19 March, 2014, and started distribution of food items among the neediest people in different villages. The items distributed among people contained Dry Ration and Mineral Water. We carried about 9 Tons of 250 packs comprising ten items listed below. Persons who received these packs are listed in Annex to this report.
1. 10KG BLENDED BASMATI RICE
2. 10KG FLOUR FINE FOOD
3. 1KG Red Lentils 1KG Yellow Lentils
4. 5KG Gur (Raw sugar)
5. Banaspati Ghee 1x5kg
6. 500g Tea Leaves
7. 250g Red Pepper
8. Family Pack Energy Biscuits
9. Energizer Box
10. Mineral Water 6 Bottles each 1.5 liter
Feelings after Distribution
It is not imaginable how a parched (dehydrated) person reacts when s/he sees a bottle of clean potable water. We were all moved to tears, as we were distributing the packs. The children particularly, could not wait. These innocent children started to eat and drink immediately as the packs were handed to the head of the family. DFT sorely missed the nutritional supplement we had received in September 2013, courtesy ABBOTT Pakistan through Direct Relief, USA for Awaran, Balochistan, disaster survivors.
We reached Diplo on 19 March, 2014, and started distribution of food items among the neediest people in different villages. The items distributed among people contained Dry Ration and Mineral Water. We carried about 9 Tons of 250 packs comprising ten items listed below. Persons who received these packs are listed in Annex to this report.
1. 10KG BLENDED BASMATI RICE
2. 10KG FLOUR FINE FOOD
3. 1KG Red Lentils 1KG Yellow Lentils
4. 5KG Gur (Raw sugar)
5. Banaspati Ghee 1x5kg
6. 500g Tea Leaves
7. 250g Red Pepper
8. Family Pack Energy Biscuits
9. Energizer Box
10. Mineral Water 6 Bottles each 1.5 liter
Feelings after Distribution
It is not imaginable how a parched (dehydrated) person reacts when s/he sees a bottle of clean potable water. We were all moved to tears, as we were distributing the packs. The children particularly, could not wait. These innocent children started to eat and drink immediately as the packs were handed to the head of the family. DFT sorely missed the nutritional supplement we had received in September 2013, courtesy ABBOTT Pakistan through Direct Relief, USA for Awaran, Balochistan, disaster survivors.
