24 July 2009As the volatile situation in Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province continues, the Red Cross has helped around one million people recover from the
devastating earthquake which struck the area on 8 October 2005.The recent escalation of fighting caused more than two million people to flee their homes – making this the largest
displacement of people worldwide for 15 years. And just four years ago, an earthquake, which severely affected Pakistan-administered Kashmir and the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), killed more
than 73,000 people, leaving more than 3.5 million homeless. It was one of the deadliest disasters in the region in living memory.In the aftermath of the quake, the British Red Cross launched a fundraising appeal and, along with contributions from the Disasters Emergency Committee
and Department for International Development, raised £20.1 million. These funds contributed to the response of the International Red Cross
and Red Crescent Movement, bringing life-saving support to the affected people.Challenges to recoveryThe British Red Cross earthquake recovery programme has now finished and has provided drinking water to four extremely remote mountainous villages in the NWFP.
Materials were also provided to support improvements to water supplies in two more villages.Fiona McSheehy, programme officer, said: "We have been working with the Pakistan Red Crescent to
help people recover in very complex circumstances with challenging security issues. Our work has concentrated on helping marginalised communities in the hardest to reach areas – some of which are
impossible to reach by vehicle." As well as providing clean water, the British Red Cross has promoted health and hygiene awareness to over 1,200 women across four villages in the NWFP. We also
supported the rebuilding of a girls' middle school in Kashmir for 250 pupils.Current humanitarian crisisThe economy has been severely disrupted and houses damaged or destroyed
by the current humanitarian crisis. As families begin returning home they face massive challenges.The British Red Cross launched the Pakistan Crisis Appeal on 17 June, and funds are still urgently needed to help those, who have lost so much, get back on their
feet.Read more about the Pakistan Crisis AppealRead stories from
people we helped recover after the earthquake
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
An internally displaced woman holds her baby while she walks through the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) Jalozai camp, about 140 km (87 miles) northwest of Islamabad July 24, ...
