'Adopt a village' programme in quake zone

A villager in a metal basket dangles above the Jhelum River as two boys tug at pulley ropes, edging him towards the riverbank. The basket wobbles precariously above the rocks and water. Since the devastating regional quake of 8 October that has killed at least 80,000 people, this is the only way people from the village of Purrak can reach the main road that leads to Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani-administered Kashmir. It is a dangerous route, and when travellers are forced to haul themselves across, a painfully slow one. But they have no choice. From the other side of the Jhelum River, young and old must trek along terraces of rice fields, then up a steep rocky hill that leads to Purrak, which sits on a green plateau overlooking the Jelhum River and valley below. "Without this system they are totally cut off," said Shafaq Hussain, chairman of the UK-based charity, the British Kashmiri Earthquake Committee (BKEC). BKEC has launched an ‘adopt a village’ initiative and Purrak is the first village to be adopted. "With the Friendship Adopted Village programme we want people to work together and to get all the agencies to contribute with their particular expertise so there’s a coherent delivery of services," said Hussain. BKEC has already garnered support for the village from the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Turkish Red Crescent. BKEC wants to extend the adopt-a-village programme to 20 other villages in the next year. "This should be a concept where other donors and agencies work together, it’s a quick way to meet the needs of people and involve the local community in helping themselves," Hussain said. Purrak was razed to the ground in the earthquake that devastated many parts of Pakistani-administered Kashmir, killing 38 villagers - of which 20 were children - and flattening all 83 of the village’s houses, leaving over 600 survivors without shelter or food. Its remote location means that until BKEC arrived a week ago, international aid had not reached Purrak. "The devastation here was 100 percent," said Amir Abassi, a volunteer worker for BKEC based in Muzaffarabad. Landslides triggered by the quake buried springs that the villagers used to source clean water supplies and the quake itself destroyed a pipe that brought the water to the village. The local plumber in charge of the pipe’s maintenance was killed by falling debris and now the villagers have been trekking to the river for water. But with so many emergency camps housing survivors along the riverbed with no latrines, the river is now dangerously polluted and those still living in Purrak have been ill. "Water is the biggest problem," said 12-year old Neelum Abassi, whose mother and two brothers were killed in the quake. "We have to walk a long way to get water from the river," she said. Neelum has been ill with diarrhoea but has now been treated by a doctor. "Doctors and nurses from the Turkish Red Crescent came and now they will come twice a week, working out of a tent that we donated," said Amir Abassi. The roof of the village school collapsed, crushing six children to death and injuring over 20. Two weeks ago the children started classes again, but this time out in the open air with no books or writing tools. Shaqila Ayub, a teacher, says the children were reluctant to return but teachers persevered to persuade children that school would help ease the pain of their loss. "At first they were too traumatised to return. They thought it was the end of the world," said Ayub. "We persuaded parents to urge them to come and now they are feeling much better. They can talk to each other and they have activities to keep them busy," she said. But now classes have blackboards and the children have books, thanks to UNICEF donating four school-in-a-box kits. "I like coming to school. The teachers teach so well and now we can read books and forget our problems," said 12-year-old Shafqat Abassi. Meanwhile, the villagers say they need more food. The livestock that survived lie listlessly among the ruins of the houses, their ribs poking through thin hides. More tents are also needed. And none of the survivors's tents are winterised, to protect them against the bitter winter that will descend in a matter of weeks. Gulzar Bibi lost two sons in the earthquake and now sleeps in a small tent with her two daughters and other family members. Gulzar says that since the arrival of the BKEC, things have started to change. "It’s given us hope," she said. "All I want now is a home. Nothing else."