In 2024, heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan caused widespread flooding that devastated large parts of the country.
Mirpur Khas, an already impoverished district in the southern Sindh province, was amongst the hardest hit. The downpours and subsequent floods caused substantial damage to the houses in the rural areas, which are traditionally made of locally sourced materials like mud, twigs and cow dung. Many families also lost their crops and livestock, which are the main source of their income.
The loss of homes, family resources, and infrastructure left the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in tatters. The latest floods added to the misery of those who have already struggled to recover from the country’s 2022 flooding, the worst of its kind in decades, which saw over 30 million people affected.
In pictures, see how CESVI and Welthungerhilfe, with humanitarian funding from the European Union, help the most vulnerable families in rural areas navigate through difficult times and bounce back through cash grants.
‘We spent the cash on recovering and expanding our pottery business’, says 48-year-old Malooka, a mother of 7 who is the family’s sole breadwinner after her husband’s injury.
‘Now, we earn more than we did before. It has been really helpful.’
‘The first thing we did was fixing the roof that was blown away during the monsoon rain’, says 28-year-old Gori.
‘We also bought 2 goats. We milk them for our consumption. We can sometimes sell the milk for extra income.’
‘We used the money to buy materials to repair our heavily damaged house’, says 28-year-old Jeni.
‘After that we still had enough money left to buy a sewing machine. This helps a lot, and I now earn around PKR 15,000 a month.’
‘I was very thankful for the support’, says Chaman, a 22-year-old father of 4 young children.
‘Besides getting materials to repair my house and other vital items, I also bought a mobile cart selling women’s accessories and make a steady income of up to PKR 700 a day.’
‘We opened a small shop selling cosmetics and clothes’, says 20-year-old mother of 2, Sindhee.
‘Now we are able to earn around PKR 1,000 a day, which is more than we made before. The rest was spent on food, clothes and other items that we needed.’
‘I have never seen such a large amount of money before and I was very grateful’, says 52-year-old Seeta.
‘It was a very difficult time for us. We spent it on getting materials to repair our home and on what we thought necessary.’
‘It was of great help for us’, says 40-year-old Primi.
‘I gave the money to my son, Premchand. He bought a mobile shop selling groceries to help his father support the family. The rest we spent on food and other crucial items.’
‘The first thing I bought was a sheep for milking’, says 50-year-old Ganga.
‘This can at least help ensure our family won’t go hungry. We spent the rest on food and clothes that we lost during the floods.’
‘The cash really helped pull us through’, says Valji, a 29-year-old father of 4 children. ‘We were miserable and very worried. We spent most of the cash on clothes, medicine and other necessities. We still had some left to invest in a small grocery shop.’
‘It has changed our lives’, says 45-year-old Asghar.
‘I could open my own tyre fixing shop after spending some cash to repair our home. Now, I am making around PKR 15,000 to PKR 16,000 per month. I used to work in a tyre shop before and earned PKR PKR 6 000 a month.’
