Urgent Disaster Relief for Gilgit Balistan

A recent earthquake of magnitude 5.8 struck the remote villages of Gilgit Baltistan, leaving local communities empty-handed and forced to migrate to other places, including tents in nearby open fields. The earthquake has jolted the mountain regions of the Himalaya and Karakoram. The most impacted region is Union Gunji of Sub Division Rondu, which includes several remote villages.

 

The earthquake has damaged houses, cattle houses, local water supplies, electricity poles, roads, and overall land across this entire region. The local community members have evacuated their houses and are currently living in tents issued by the local government, while also dealing with severe weather conditions of 20 degrees Celsius which are expected to last until April. The local government has actively taken action and started relief operations through the help of local village committees in all the villages to provide emergency relief medical camps and tents. But due to the widespread population and the limited availability of resources, most families are still awaiting relief, aid, and support from the generous communities.

 

Furthermore, most families are left without a livelihood due to the event. Most families in the whole region earn their livelihood either through farming in the summers or doing lower scale jobs in the local government or in the nearby cities. Therefore, urgent support is required immediately.

 

This fundraiser is an effort to provide immediate relief. Afsana aims to support 200 families in the above villages by providing them necessary, need-specific rations. We hope you join us in providing support to each of these families by donating to our fundraiser and sharing it with others.

Afsana,( افسانہ) a title known as a Persian derived, Urdu word that defines “short-story”, is a novel organization that serves to amplify women’s lost voices and their stories in relation to education in Pakistan and support them in their educational journeys.  Through our partnerships, we are able to connect with local communities beyond the realm of education to ensure the safety of the people we serve.  To learn more about Afsana, visit our website at https://www.afsanapk.org/