'The New Bedadi Village has changed our lives forever…'

A Housing Project for 40 Earthquake Affected Families in District Mansehra

When the 2005 earthquake struck Pakistan, thousands lost their lives, family and friends, their homes and their livelihoods. It was an accepted fact that despite overwhelming support and funding from within Pakistan and the international community, recovering from such a huge tragedy was going to be a slow and painful process.

While supporting the Government and other local and international organizations during the emergency and recovery phases, CAMP set up a tented village for 55 earthquake affected families in Union Council Shinkiari. Here, we heard the story of forty families who had been abandoned by the landlords on whose property they were living; they had no homes to rebuild and nothing to return to. We found out that most of these men worked outside the village, while the women worked at the landlords' houses, earning a pitiful amount and no respect from their 'owners'.

After the earthquake, while the landowners received compensation from the government, some even by showing copies of the tenants' ID cards, these families were pushed off the property. With nowhere to go and not enough savings to see them through, these families were desperate for assistance. At the tented village, CAMP arranged for basic food and non-food items, potable water and sanitation facilities, basic health facility, and a child friendly space to encourage normalizing activities for children. These activities were supported by UNHCR (The UN Refugee Agency), Médecins du Monde (MdM), Terre des homes (Tdh), the Red Cross, Church World Services (CWS), Oxfam and UNICEF.

Having heard the Bedadi Village story, CAMP shared the concept of building permanent homes for these 40 (forty) families with the International Disaster & Emergency Aid with Long-term Support (IDEALS). IDEALS UK agreed to the construction of twenty-six (26) homes and generously supported the project.

The construction of houses started in March 2008 and CAMP hired skilled labour from among the villagers, including masons and carpenters. CAMP and SUNGI, another national NGO, installed two water pumps each at accessible points. The construction of sewerage lines and a drainage system along with 4 septic tanks were initiated by Tdh. The 'New Bedadi Village' was completed in early 2009, and the houses were finally handed over to the families in April 2009. As they continue to live in their 'dream homes' according to one family, the community has allocated a piece of land for a graveyard and is waiting for a permanent school to be built. The Government of Pakistan has already shown interest in setting up a primary school on the land set aside by CAMP. Public transportation is available from the main road, so getting to health facilities and work is easy for the community.