Earthquake Relief Information: Volunteer
[For all practical purposes, this section is no longer relevant. There are, however, a number of job vacancies available for people still wanting to help out in relief efforts. Check weekend editions of local newspapers for details.] Considering the earthquake's range and magnitude of destruction, it is clear that a great deal of volunteer help is needed to run the relief efforts being conducted throughout the affected regions. Volunteers "18 years and above, enthusiastic, in good health, physically fit enough to walk and work in mountain terrain in rotation periods of around 5 days, and willing to give willingly of [their] time" are desperately needed for fieldwork in NWFP, AJK and the Northern Areas. Volunteers are also needed for coordination activites and for sorting and packing goods in Islamabad and other cities. Please volunteer in any and all ways that you can. Thank you for all your help.
Note: see warning below (especially the part about which vaccinations to get).
| Volunteer |
| Islamabad-Based |
Rozan
Rozan -- an NGO working on issues of emotional health, gender and violence against women and children -- is running two and will be starting five programmes to deal with the mental and emotional effects of the earthquake. Details on this page. |
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Medical Transit Shelter (Army Hospital)
Female volunteers are required urgently for administrative and supervisory work.
- Contact: Mrs. Shaikh at (+92-51) 556 8009, 556 2680 or
(+92-300) 8500444
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United Pakistan
Volunteer at camps in Islamabad and Balakot.
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Children's Resources International
CRI needs volunteers to help with children of families temporarily hosted at special education centers in Islamabad by the Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education. Volunteers will be trained and will receive a Community Service Cerficate at the end of their contact period. Details on this page or:
- Contact: Mr. Hamidullah, Ms. Tasneem Sarwar or Ms. Nazakar Bibi at (+92-51) 287 7941-2; House 66, Street 89, G-6/3
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Joint Action Committee of NGOs (JAC)
JAC urgently requires volunteers for fieldwork in NWFP, AJK and the Northern Areas as well as volunteers for coordination work in Islamabad. Details on this page.
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ActionAid
ActionAid desperately needs female volunteers willing to go to Muzzaffarabad, Rawalakot, and Mansera for 2 days to a week. Women with field experience are preferred, but anyone who will be able to cope with bad conditions is welcome. Volunteers will be helping the women and children affected by the earthquake -- providing care and moral support if nothing else.
- Contact: Shameen at (+92-333) 522 0832
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HOAP Foundation
To volunteer:
- Contact Rahmat Karim (+92-300) 500 6928; HOAP Foundation: (+92-51) 287 4842, 287 4823; House 5, Street 62, G-6/4
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| Orientations |
Rozan
Psychosocial First Aid: Rozan is training volunteers for providing immediate support to children in hospitals. The trainings are five hours long and will be repeated three times a week for a month. Volunteers need to attend only one training.
- Contact: (+92-51)
221 5364-65;
House 68-B, Street 25, F-10/1, Islamabad
- Note: these children are severely traumatized and must be dealt with accordingly. Do not attempt to "treat" them without advice / training from professional psychologists who specialize in trauma.
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Strengthening Participatory Organizations
SPO is training volunteers for relief work.
- Contact: (+92-51) 227 2978; House 9, Street 89, G-6/4
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Human Resource Development Network
HRDN is
conducting a free orientation in basic victim handling skills.
- Who should participate: volunteers/students with a social sciences background (especially a masters degree in psychology) who can volunteer at lesat 15 days in the field
- Contact: (+92-51) 282 8259; House 41, Street 56, F-6/4; info@hrdn.net; www.hrdn.net
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| Peshawar-Based Volunteering |
SABAWON International
Based in Peshawar, SABAWON works in Pattan/Kohistan and focuses on the Battagram and Masehra districts. Volunteers should contact:
- Peshawar Coordination Office: (+92-91) 581 5793, 581 0424, 581 3584; House 230, Street 4, H-1, Phase II, Hayat Abad, Peshawar; SABAWON's website
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| Advisory |
Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences
The e-mail going around that asks people to "adopt" children from PIMS is not correct. There was talk of asking volunteers to host children for a short time, but that was meant for shelters and institutions already involved in this field and not individuals.
As it is, adoption is technically illegal in Pakistan. Here adults are made "guardians" of children. The primary difference between the two is economic (with regards to inheritance by the ward and the controlling of the ward's finances by the guardian). |
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Children Kidnapped
We have heard from reliable sources that rescued children have disappeared from rescue camps and hospitals. Authorities have been notified of the situation, but volunteers who are supervising children should take care to ensure that they are aware of their charges' whereabouts at all times. |
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| "...people have arrived from all over the country to help in the relief effort. They have simply abandoned their jobs. Some hitched lifts, clinging dangerously on to the sides of trucks and mini buses as they wound around the hairpin curves over a sickening drop to the valley below. Others simply walked for hours across the hills in the blistering sun, denying themselves even water because it is the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan." -- Earthquake tragedy: The Lost Generation; Justin Huggler; The Independent Online Edition |
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Warning
The situation in a lot of places is not only extremely grim, it has become dangerous. People have been without food for days and quite likely believe that they have been forgotten. With their houses destroyed, their families and communities decimated, and very little hope left, some of these people have turned to attacking convoys carrying relief items and taking what they can. Trucks carrying relief goods have recently been unable to travel without army protection from looters.
If you volunteer to travel to the affected areas, make sure you go with organizations that are capable of assessing and handling the risk to their workers. If you wish to go on your own, take safety precautions such as the ones listed below. Please note that these are not exhaustive and cannot guarantee your safety.
- Travel only by day. Roads to affected areas in Kashmir are being kept closed at night to minimize risk to relief workers.
- Cover relief goods with tarpaulin, opaque plastic, or cloth sheets so that they cannot be seen. This has the added benefit of protecting the goods from rain and hail to some extent.
- Do not travel alone.
- Keep a first-aid kid handy for your own use.
- Get vaccinated for Tetanus, Typhoid and Hepatitis B. (Some people would suggest adding Cholera to this list).
We will continue to add to this list as we get more information.
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