Pakistan: Building Against Disaster
After several floods in the past few years Pakistan is building disaster-proof houses.
In the Sindh region, which extends over broad, flat levels, the floods were particularly severe. Almost ten million flood victims of the past few years live here. With various measures financed by the ECHO, Welthungerhilfe is supporting 2500 families in these areas to overcome the consequences of the previous flood, and at the same time to prepare themselves for similar events in the future.
Welthungerhilfe is building new accommodation for the families who have lost their homes due to flooding. The houses are being built to be “waterproof”. In order to prevent water flowing through the walls or the floor, they are being built with foundations 30 centimetres high made of fired tiles.
Wells are being drilled deeper. This is necessary to get at clean water deep below the surface. This is because higher layers that bear drinking water are polluted by bacteria by the floods. New hand pumps that go deep into the earth now bring clean water safely to the surface. So that drinking water is not polluted by faeces, 300 newly built latrines now ensure better hygiene. In addition, the people are being trained in how they can avoid illnesses by washing their hands or consuming clean water.
The population is involved in all construction work. This pays off twice. Workers receive wages, with which they can better make ends meet. In addition, by including them in the construction measures they are learning how to carry out later maintenance and repair work themselves.
