Story of Abdul Qayum of DG Khan
56 year old Abdul Qayum of Village Malkani kalan, was one of the many who were affected by 2010 flood caused by heavy monsoon rain in July. His village is located 30 km away from Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab. He has four boys and three girls, and works as a laborer on daily wages. His village is located near the river bank and was severely affected by the floods.
He said that, “When the floods hit our village, I had a mud house of 2 rooms which was fully destroyed. My family and I had no choice but to leave our homes. Grabbing only a few of our essentials belongings, we ran for our lives and migrated towards DG Khan city to our relatives. After a few days when we came back to our home what we saw was heart breaking. Not a single trace of our home remained. These were the worst days of my life”.
Abdul Qayum knew that they would have to settle down there but he had no savings or any source of income to build his own house again, so he shared a room with his relatives.
UN-HABITATs Pakistan Settlement Flood Relief Programme in the flood affected areas targeted his village as well. Malkani Kalan was one of flood affected area of DG khan where the team conducted surveys. Abdul Qayum was one of the beneficiaries as he met the vulnerability criteria.
He said that, “When the team surveyed my house, they give me hope and motivation by saying that I will build my own house myself and they are here to support him. I attended the various meetings of the UN-HABITAT team and realized that now I will build a brick house instead of mud house as a brick house is more flood resistant and the organization provide me support in the form of bricks”.
