THE Salvation Army recently finished a project in Pakistan to assist 800 families who, while still struggling to recover from the October 2005 earthquake that took 75,000 lives in the region, were affected by winter flooding that destroyed the ‘new beginning’ they had been able to make. Here are two of their stories:

Walli Ur Rehman
Life in the mountains was uncertain for Walli Ur Rehman and his family. He lived in a hut constructed of straw but when the winter rains came his hut was washed away and he had to take his wife and four children to a friend’s tent house. He was so sure his children would not survive the winter that he dug graves in readiness for their burial.

During The Salvation Army's winter relief distribution in January he was given four quilts and ten corrugated metal sheets to be used to make a sturdy shelter.

Some time after the distribution, when Army personnel went to see what had been accomplished, Mr Rehman was proud to show them his new shelter. He prayed for the welfare and prosperity of The Salvation Army. The team ended its visit by suggesting that he could fill in the graves he had prepared for his children now his situation had improved and encouraged him to thank God for the blessings he had received.

Sakina
A widow, Sakina, lived with her three sons and two daughters in Satbani. She was too poor to build a shelter which could protect her family from the winter’s cold and rough weather. Her husband had been a labourer in the local school and had died in the earthquake in 2005. After the disaster she started living with her sister who had six children of her own. It was hard for both families to live together in the one small house.

As part of the winter relief distribution, Sakina received four quilts and 10 iron sheets so she and her children could have their own shelter. Her brother-in-law helped construct her new shelter and Sakina thanks God and The Salvation Army for her family’s fresh start.

Captain Mike McKee, Field Operations Officer for International Emergency Services, adds: 'Very often, when reporting about an emergency relief programme, we tend to use statistics such as the number of families assisted or number of people who were helped. While this gives a useful overview to the size and scope of a particular emergency response, numbers alone cannot give the full story of the impact that a relief project has made on individual people. Numbers tell part of the story but it’s good to remember that each and every one represents a person or a family that has been touched by compassion during a time of great need.'