Relief Operations Expand in Pakistan

Four days after the quake struck, a Mercy Corps team has established itself in Jabori, north of Muzzafarabad. Jabori is the largest settlement in the remote Seraan valley, which is home to 100,000 people. Mercy Corps is the only NGO operating in the area, serving a population that Pakistan Country Director Faiza Janmohamed called “extremely vulnerable.”

Mercy Corps needs your generous donation to stay nimble and effective as it responds to the rapidly changing situation on the ground.

Immediately after the earthquake struck, Mercy Corps officers Nadeem Ahmed Malik and Dr. Arif Noor were dispatched to the region to complete a needs assessment. Finding the roads impassable, they walked into Balakot, a flattened city near the epicenter. They determined the needs to be immediate medical care, water, ready-to-eat meals and shelter.

Mercy Corps initially planned to stage its response from Balakot. But as relief supplies began to trickle in to the region, it became clear that critical needs in outlying areas were going unaddressed. Security in chaotic Balakot was also a concern. Reacting quickly, the Mercy Corps team decided to stage relief operations from more remote and vulnerable area to the north.

By Tuesday, a Mercy Corps medical team had delivered supplies and treated 150 patients in Seraan Valley. This was done without the benefit of medical facilities; patients were treated where they lay. Some were treated for secondary infections; others were stabilized and evacuated to hospitals in nearby Mansehra for further care. By Wednesday, Mercy Corps had established a crude medical clinic in the Valley, staffed by four Pakistani physicians (two men and two women). The UN has designated Mercy Corps a leader in medical response for the region.

Mercy Corps has arranged for a 20-truck convoy to depart Islamabad Thursday morning, carrying 80 tons of food aid. The convoy is due to arrive in the Seraan Valley by Thursday evening. This food aid is enough to feed 4000 people (or about 500 families) for one week.

On Friday Mercy Corps will deliver one hundred tents to the same area. Two hundred more will follow, as they become available. The trick turns out to be securing trucks large enough to carry supplies, but small enough to maneuver the deeply rutted mountain roads.

To ensure that Mercy Corps' resources and expertise have maximum impact, Janmohamed has partnered with a local Rural Support Program with valuable regional know-how and credibility.

Though Mercy Corps staff are currently focused on addressing immediate needs, they’re acting with an eye toward building strong relationships in the Seraan Valley. This kind of far-sightedness is a Mercy Corps hallmark, and is sure to benefit the mid- and long-term recovery programs that will be necessary.

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