Background

On 8^th October 2005 a devastating quake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale brought death and destruction in the northern parts of NWFP in Pakistan and the Azad Jammu & Kashmir. The devastation is of a scale never before experienced in this region. Official estimates include over 80,000 dead and more than 70,000 injured. Independent estimates are much higher. Those that survived the calamity include an estimated 2.8 million that are shelterless – their homes either destroyed or badly damaged.

Much of the affected areas were already reeling in poverty. The quake exacerbated miseries. The vulnerable were simply crushed. Homes and livelihoods were destroyed. For weeks following the disaster it was not unusual to see survivors, in an apparent state of shock, sitting on heaps of rubble that were once their homes. Their lives shattered. Grief and anxiety writ large on their faces.

“All I had was my home. It is now just a heap of rubble. I don’t know what I will do.” 

Shamshad Bibi

Village Gheri, Union Council Nammal, District Abbottabad

Many individuals and organizations within Pakistan and from across the world extended support. Omar Asghar Khan Development Foundation was one of the local NGOs that responded swiftly to the calamity. On the evening of 8^th October 2005 it set in motion its Earthquake Response 2005.

Omar Asghar Khan Development Foundation’s Earthquake Response 2005

The Foundation’s strong roots in Hazara; its high credibility; and its on-the-ground presence with offices in Abbottabad and Islamabad were vital factors aiding its Earthquake Response 2005. In the period October 2005 – June 2006, the Foundation in close collaboration with more than 200 local People’s Organizations (including 70 organizations of women) provided relief and rehabilitation assistance to more than 25,000 households (approximately 200,000 people) in 220 villages in 15 Union Councils in Districts Abbottabad, Mansehra, and Battagram. The assistance included more than 7,000 shelters; over 5,300 food units (including essential food items like flour, rice, lentil, cooking oil); and more than 7,600 quilts and blankets. Cook stoves (for cooking and heating purposes), winter supplements, warm clothes and toys for children, and saplings for plantation were also distributed by the Foundation and its local partners. In collaboration with the government and with support from local philanthropists, the Foundation also set up a temporary BHU in UC Dalola in District Abbottabad which continues to provide healthcare services, particularly to women.