From Rainstorms to Rice: What Makes the Pakistan Floods Unique and how WCK is Tackling the Challenges
In September, there was devastating flooding in Pakistan’s Punjab region, brought on by heavy monsoon rains. Millions of families are cut off from access to food and water. WCK responded immediately alongside local emergency relief nonprofit Rizq. Over the course of a month, we’ve served over 3 million meals to impacted communities, even as flooding continues to disrupt daily life.
Our team began work in Pakistan, distributing sandwiches for immediate relief while also listening to each community’s needs. We met several people who still could cook and needed ingredients, rather than prepared meals. As a result, we launched our food kit program.
The areas most heavily impacted were also the hardest to reach, with roads washed out. We used boats, cars, trucks, and donkeys to reach these villages. Teams also traveled on foot to make sure we could deliver meals to as many people as possible.
As we found more communities in need, our work expanded south. In addition to the kitchens we had established in Narowal and Hafizabad, our teams learned that the areas of Jalalpur and Alipur also needed our support. There, search and rescue missions are still ongoing. Many families are displaced and living in tents and other temporary housing. We jumped into action, building two new kitchens– one for each village– each capable of cooking thousands of meals a day. Still, many people prefer to return home and begin cooking again as a family as soon as possible. We’re distributing meal kits, which help them to cook for several family members across multiple days.
In Alipur, we met Tariq, who lost everything to the floods:
Families like Tariq’s are just beginning their journey to recovery. We want to make sure that, despite the persistent floodwaters and widespread destruction, they don’t need to worry about where their next meal will come from.
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