Pakistan Tent City

Major Raelton Gibbs, a member of The Salvation Army’s International Emergency Services team at International Headquarters, travelled to Pakistan where The Salvation Army is responding to floods that devastated much of the country in August.

Three hours’ drive from Karachi in the Sindh Province, southern Pakistan, is the city of Hyderabad. It is the sixth-biggest city in Pakistan, situated on the banks of the Indus River. Around the city are some of the worst-affected flood areas. People have been left with nothing and many have made their way to this major city from outlying districts in the hope that they will receive some assistance.

Near the city is Khuda Ki Basti, the location of what has become known as ‘Salvation Army Tent City’. On the edge of what can only be described as a desert, away from the floods, this camp of more than 3600 people has established itself.

The Salvation Army has already distributed 600 tents financed by the Hong Kong Government, and we were at the camp to observe the latest distribution of bedding and non-food items. Talking to families, I heard the same story time and time again: they have nothing left and worry what the future will hold. Wali, a farmer who travelled with his family for more than three hours to get to the camp, says he is overwhelmed. He has never experienced anything like this. He explains that only his son can work to try and gain an income.

Major Shahzada (Divisional Commander, Hyderabad) says, ‘I have a good team here and we have had support from both territorial headquarters and International Emergency Services who have helped us with the processes needed to do the best we can.' This certainly showed in the distribution I observed. It was well organised, records were kept well and the relationship between the local leaders, officials and NGOs was good. The Salvation Army is doing good in this community, which is more than 90 per cent Muslim.

We moved on to another camp some miles away where around 16,000 people had gathered. This was where Major Shahzada planns to begin distributions next. The Salvation Army is still in the emergency phase, but this will pass into a recovery phase that will increase the complexity of the situation as people return home and try to rebuild their lives.