Update 21st October: Latest on SOS Children work in flood affected Pakistan

By Souriya Anwar, President of SOS Children's Villages Pakistan:

Finally, the threat of flooding has subsided. On 16th October, it was officially announced that the flood level had receded and no further area was in danger. This is a great relief but the havoc wrought will take a long time to be mitigated. Large areas are still under water and, unfortunately, as the water stagnates, it becomes a serious health hazard.

We continue to distribute food packages at a steady pace. The national coordinator for the programme has established linkages with many agencies involved with relief activities and is working, indefatigably, to identify those areas where food is in short supply. One of the recent consignments, sent to Kohistan in the north of the country, was airlifted to the nearest airport and carried by mules to remote villages. In flood affected areas in South Punjab and Sindh, people have started to move back to their destroyed homesteads and it requires considerable time and effort to make the distribution.

A unique feature of this programme is that no funds, whatsoever, have been utilized for any purpose other than the purchase of relief goods. Transport has been arranged in collaboration with other agencies, co-ordination and administration provided by volunteers and financial management by the national office of SOS Children's Villages Pakistan. This is, perhaps, a record for any emergency programme.

In the meantime, we have been approached by a large multinational bank, which is considering donating a sizeable amount to our emergency programme. We have suggested that they do this for the rehabilitation efforts. If anyone else is interested in this aspect, we will undertake this activity in the most effective manner possible.

The following food distribution has been made since the last report:

The data on homes destroyed/ damaged is as follows:

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