The first phase has been completed successfully; the second phase will being in September!
Since May 2006, Habitat for Humanity Japan has overseen a Japan Platform funded assistance project in the Balakot district of Mansehra, one of the areas most heavily affected following the Pakistan earthquake of 2005.
The project aims to help quake victims rebuild their homes, using sawmill machines to cut timber available from surrounding mountains and collapsed houses. Utilizing tractors and lumbering machines, it has become possible to reach distant mountain communities that were previously inaccessible. The photograph above illustrates the important role of such tractors in effectively acquiring and re-distributing timber throughout small villages, allowing victims to rebuild their homes and begin living new lives.
In Balakot a coordinator from Habitat for Humanity Japan remained on site to implement and successfully complete the first stage of this project, in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity Pakistan.
Machinery failure and treacherous monsoon season land slides hampered distribution progress, yet thanks to the tireless efforts of Habitat for Humanity Pakistan staff members and the generous cooperation of local people, a total of 249 families (1391 individuals) throughout six villages, were able to receive assistance during the three month project period, providing service for up to 10 families (6-70 individuals) daily. Occasionally villagers would approach Habitat staff members, politely enquiring “When will you come to our village to help?”, thus highlighting the necessity for additional free sawmill services in Balakot.
Despite the relatively small scale of this project, Habitat for Humanity Japan believes there is a clearly a strong need for further house rebuilding assistance in such isolated communities, and will therefore extend this sawmill project for an additional three months, utilizing funds provided by the Japan Platform. The second phase will commence on the 1st September 2006, continuing to support vital reconstruction efforts with an additional sawmill team building on the positive experiences of the two existing groups.
Pakistan’s severe weather will arrive in the region shortly, and yet, whilst many international aid agencies have left Balakot since April 2006, Habitat for Humanity Japan will continue to support quake-affected communities rebuild their homes during the cold winter months.