![[Pakistan] US Chinooks ferry food up to quake survivors using the sling method - the quickest way to move the huge amounts of food required by helicopter. [Date picture taken: 01/19/2006]](https://assets.thenewhumanitarian.org/s3fs-public/styles/responsive_large_2x/public/images/20062121.jpg.webp?itok=eQhiQQvK "Les hélicoptères jouent un rôle important dans les efforts de secours")
Unlike the grim mood in the devastated town of Balakot, where rubble still lies thick on the ground a year after the 8 October 2005 quake, spirits in the remote Allai Valley are distinctly higher.
In the small village of Rashang, near the main town of Bana, children excitedly show off new school books. Many of their fathers work on houses and though tents are still visible in many places, there is confidence they may not be needed too much longer.
And, over the past three days, there has been another reason to cheer. The giant US military Chinook helicopters, which played a key role in relief efforts after the quake - delivering medical aid, food and tents to isolated communities and evacuating the injured or sick - are back in action for a week.
Their principle task is to speed up the supply of building materials, especially galvanised iron sheets to areas such as the Allai and Kaghan valleys in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Neelum Valley in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, which, despite new roads, remain difficult to access.
"What takes six hours by road can be done in an hour by a Chinook," said architectural student Bilal Saeed, a volunteer who first came to Allai in November 2005.
The helicopters, which soon become a familiar sight over the skies of Allai were dubbed 'angels of mercy' by local people, and most are clearly delighted to see them back.
US Ambassador to Pakistan, Ryan Crocker, visited Allai on 6 October to announce the return of the Chinooks. "At the high point of the disaster relief effort, we had 21 Chinooks in the air over Pakistan," he told reporters at the time.
The supplies to be brought in by the Chinooks as a part of the post-quake relief effort, code-named 'Operation Promise Keeping', include more than 10,000 sheets of corrugated iron for the rebuilding of homes. The sheets and other building materials are urgently needed given forecasts for a harsh winter.
The helicopters will help to bolster urgent construction work continuing in most parts of Allai. However, despite the speeded up efforts, it is obvious that many people will still not have houses ready in time, and, as during the previous winter, may need to move down to tent villages until the snows on the high mountains around the valley melt.
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In the small village of Rashang, near the main town of Bana, children excitedly show off new school books. Many of their fathers work on houses and though tents are still visible in many places, there is confidence they may not be needed too much longer.
And, over the past three days, there has been another reason to cheer. The giant US military Chinook helicopters, which played a key role in relief efforts after the quake - delivering medical aid, food and tents to isolated communities and evacuating the injured or sick - are back in action for a week.
Their principle task is to speed up the supply of building materials, especially galvanised iron sheets to areas such as the Allai and Kaghan valleys in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Neelum Valley in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, which, despite new roads, remain difficult to access.
"What takes six hours by road can be done in an hour by a Chinook," said architectural student Bilal Saeed, a volunteer who first came to Allai in November 2005.
The helicopters, which soon become a familiar sight over the skies of Allai were dubbed 'angels of mercy' by local people, and most are clearly delighted to see them back.
US Ambassador to Pakistan, Ryan Crocker, visited Allai on 6 October to announce the return of the Chinooks. "At the high point of the disaster relief effort, we had 21 Chinooks in the air over Pakistan," he told reporters at the time.
The supplies to be brought in by the Chinooks as a part of the post-quake relief effort, code-named 'Operation Promise Keeping', include more than 10,000 sheets of corrugated iron for the rebuilding of homes. The sheets and other building materials are urgently needed given forecasts for a harsh winter.
The helicopters will help to bolster urgent construction work continuing in most parts of Allai. However, despite the speeded up efforts, it is obvious that many people will still not have houses ready in time, and, as during the previous winter, may need to move down to tent villages until the snows on the high mountains around the valley melt.
kh/sc/jl
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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