AGAHE

Muhammad Iqbal is 48 years old living in Basti Basheer ahmad, union council Shikar Pur tehsil and district Rajanpur. This small village is located at east side of the Indus road and almost 15 Km away from Indus highway. Traditional Construction style is common in this village like hut, mud shelter and mud bricks shelter. These types of shelter could not resist flood effects even in rain they get damage and the residential of this area have to build their houses again and again after some years.

The houses of this basti 80% fully damaged, 20% partially damaged in devastating flood 2010. Crops destroyed 100% and livestock estimated 10%. All the people who were living in this basti have to leave their homes during the flood.

After the flood small village named Basheer Ahmad was visited on April 9th 2011 through One Room Shelter (ORS) project by the field team of Association for Gemder Awareness & Human Empowerment (AGAHE) as implementing partner of IOM for selection of beneficiaries through full community participation. A village council comprising over 15 members was formed in this small village and unanimously elected a focal point by the Village Council members who is responsible to withdrawal of the money from bank and provide to beneficiaries for construction of One Room Shelter (ORS). This village council provided the list of affected households for the provision of cash assistance to construct their one room shelter (ORS). All the families provided in the list were assessed by the Association for Gender Awareness & Human Empowerment (AGAHE) team according to the vulnerability criteria. Muhammad Iqbal is one of the most vulnerable families among the selected beneficiaries having meeting two criteria’s of vulnerability i.e large family and low income.

Muhammad Iqbal has 12 family members, comprising over five daughters, five sons and a wife. His 43 year old wife was so much depressed and disappointed from the circumstances and her destiny and her children’s future. During the flood like other families they also travel to Rajanpur city which was the only safe place in the district during flood. All the saving in kind like wheat, seeds for the next crop and live stock was destroyed during flood and they were helpless to spend miserable life in the rented house. He is very poor and living in tent with his innocent daughters and sons and facing very hot bitter condition of the weather. All the female members of the society have not any privacy and facing different kind difficulties due to lack of privacy in their daily life. The entire family was helpless to live in the unsafe condition for their home appliances and lives as well.

There are two earning persons, one his son 18 years old and he himself. These two persons are working as sharecropping and their monthly income is less than 6000 rupees. The wife of M. Iqbal has been suffering from kidney problem and her medicine expenses are 250 per week which is too much from our income.

After assessment first tranche has been provided all the beneficiaries and said person is one of them. He utilized the amount of first tranche and utilized some money arranged by his own sources. Now M. Iqbal is constructing one room shelter applying Disaster Risk Reduction methods and has completed plinth level avoiding traditional risky construction typologies for this flood prone area. He said, now we are looking forward for our best future. We hope in future we will be in a proper one room shelter where our children will be saved from insecurity and bitter weather condition and above we will be able to provide privacy and safety especially for the female member of the family. We are feeling much happy after the selection for ORS project.