Oxfam Distributes Tents to Quake Survivors, but Needs Many More

Posted: 1 November 2005

With winter fast approaching for more than three million people left homeless by an early October earthquake, shelter is now one of the most critical needs survivors face in the disputed Kashmir region of Pakistan and India.

“A tent, sometimes even a blanket, can mean the difference between life and death,” said Farhana Faruqi Stocker, Oxfam’s country program manager for Pakistan.

So far, Oxfam and its local partners have been able to distribute 4,000 tents—enough to provide shelter for 40,000 people. In addition, the agency has handed out 20,000 blankets, more than 6,000 plastic sheets, and almost 5,000 woolen mats.

Still, the needs remain enormous and the logistics of delivering aid are constantly challenging. Many of those severely affected by the quake live in remote areas not accessible even by helicopter. Aid groups must rely on donkeys to transport goods into the most rugged regions.

“Distributing relief materials in earthquake-hit Pakistan is a difficult operation, but goods do reach the people,” said Stocker. “Despite all the difficulties that face us, Oxfam and its partners are reaching people in remote villages.”

Oxfam has been flying planeloads of relief goods, including water and sanitation equipment, blankets, and multi-purpose towels, into the international airport in Islamabad. But unloading and distributing the supplies is time-consuming. The airport has only two forklifts and some of the goods, such as the tents, are heavy and unwieldy.

Additionally, a couple of the main roads leading to quake-damaged Neelum and Kaghan valleys remain blocked by debris. The Pakistan army is able to clear only about 500 feet of those roads a day.

While tents can save lives, they are in short supply. Pakistan’s 44 tent factories are hard-pressed to keep up with demand. Aid groups are scrambling to locate hundreds of thousands of tents. Oxfam is now looking for alternatives to help meet the need for shelter.

Orderly Distributions

An important part of Oxfam’s relief work is making sure that aid gets distributed equitably among the most vulnerable people. To help meet that goal, Oxfam is relying on local contacts to connect with survivors to offer them aid through a system of vouchers.

For example, the agency has been working with the Sungi Development Foundation on distribution. SDF workers hike into the Allai Valley, hand out vouchers to residents, and invite people to come down to distribution points where they can exchange the vouchers for relief goods.

“It is one of the few ways to ensure that all people receive goods and that distribution takes place in an orderly fashion,” said Oxfam’s Mirjam van den Berg.

“SDF’s aid workers were often born in the valley and are in close contact with the local communities,” added Oxfam’s Idrees Khan. “SDF is careful to have as many women as men on their distribution teams. In this survival of the fittest, it’s the women, children, and the elderly who normally lose out on goods. With a voucher, everybody will receive blanket.”