Saving lives
Real lives: Meet Imam from Pakistan
Saving lives
Location
Pakistan
Meet Imam
In June 2022, torrential monsoon rains caused severe flooding across Pakistan, leaving one third of the country under water and 33 million people devastated.
Families and livestock perished, while homes and infrastructure were decimated. By August, the Pakistan Government called the torrential monsoon rains a “climate-induced humanitarian crisis of epic proportions” and declared a national emergency.
Imam and her husband, Abdul, were living a peaceful life with their five sons and five daughters, farming land in Balochistan province, until winds destroyed their thatched hut and floods left them with nothing. Imam’s husband has a disability and had to escape from the flooded house during the night with their children.
“We got scared when water came in, along with rains. Oh God, where to go? [There was] no space left even to run away,” Imam said. “Everything was gone, nothing was left for us.”
Over 2 million homes were damaged or destroyed, and livelihoods shattered, while families like Imam’s feared they wouldn’t survive. They had nothing, and no way to cook for their hungry children for five days. “The kids didn’t have anything to eat. We would nearly cry when our children asked for bread,” Imam said. Oxfam’s local partner Tameer-e-Khalaq Foundation (TKF) provided vital support to many families like Imam and Abdul’s in the form of emergency kits. Simple provisions, including a container for clean water, soap, buckets and emergency shelter helped with their immediate needs so they could begin to rebuild their lives.
About the response
Oxfam responded to the people of Pakistan with urgent food, water, sanitation and shelter after the devastating floods affected over 33 million people, causing over 1,700 fatalities, damaging or destroying 2.5 million houses, and displacing almost 8 million people.
Our local partners
Oxfam supported local partners who spearheaded the response in eight districts of Sindh and Balochistan provinces. They included Laar Humanitarian and Development Programme (LHDP), Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO), Tameer-e-Khalaq Foundation (TKF), Management Development Foundation (MDF), Sindh Agriculture Forestry Workers and Coordinating Organization (SAFWCO), and women’s rights organisations, SHADE and ARTS.
Highlights for 2022-2023
Oxfam supported more than 375,370 people affected by the floods in Pakistan with life-saving food, water and sanitation supplies (including personal hygiene kits), temporary shelters and cash. Oxfam Australia supported 4,095 people with winter kits, which included clothing, blankets, floor mats, rope and tarpaulins. These were for families whose houses were totally or severely damaged.