Bedari

Dear Friends,

We all know that over 20 million people have been badly affected by the current floods. It is time for every one of us to stand up and contribute to the rescure, relief and rehabilitation efforts. You are requested to generously donate for this cause. If you want to donate to Bedari, please send your donations to the following account:

Title of the Account: Bedari

Account Number: 0390860141001237

Bank: MCB Bank

Currency: Pak Rupees

SWIFT Code: MUCBPKKA

or send your cheques in the name of Bedari to the following address:

Bedari, House no 657, Street 75, I-8/3, Islamabad, Pakistan.

What Bedari is doing…!

[For Images, please visit our photo gallery]

Bedari has created a niche for itself in providing support to flood affected people. Bedari volunteers visit various camps in district Nowshera, and talk to women and children in the camps, know their specific problems and try to resolve them. These problems are often being ignored by the camp managers as they are focusing on the issues being faced by the majority. Bedari volunteers have so far visited following camps:

1. Azakhel camp
2. Jalozai camp
3. Tents near Peppar Papnai Railway station
4. Sultan Abad Camp
5. Camp in Government Technical College Nowshera
6. Ummah Camp Village, Risalpur
7. Cena Public School & College, Pabbi

Our volunteers have met scores of women and children and found following issues:

Non-availability of Sanitary Pads

As our female volunteers had meetings with women and girls, the most important issue shared by them was non-availability of sanitary pads. Bedari has started providing sanitary pads to women in various camps. We are talking to the companies that produce and distribute sanitary pads in Pakistan to make it easier and cheaper to provide sanitary pads. Hopefully, Bedari would be able to distribute large quantities of sanitary pads, or it would be able to encourage other organizations and companies to provide such pads directly to the needy women.

Medicine

For women and children, it is really difficult to go out of the camps to the markets, and purchase medicine prescribed by doctors. Bedari volunteers have started providing this support. Bedari volunteers collect prescriptions from women and children; fetch medicine from the market for women and children who have no adult male. The cost for the medicine is born by Bedari.

Sultana Bibi – over 60 years old – is one such woman. She got injured during a scuffle for food as getting food from food distribution points has become a tough job due to rowdiness. She had visited a doctor, who prescribed her some medicine, which were not available in the camp. Bedari has provided her the required medicine, and would stay in touch with her for further treatment of her injury.

Clothes

Many women asked for washed and clean clothes, as they were wearing the same clothes since 28^th July – the day when floods forced them out of their homes. Bedari volunteers have provided clothes to 30 persons in the camps in the last week of August 2010.

Shireenzadgai, 57, belongs to Aba Khail village which was washed away from the surface of the earth on July 28, 2010. She, along with her grandchildren, is living in Kandar Camp. Her grandchildren were roaming about in the camp naked and bare footed. Bedari volunteers have provided them with clothes and shoes. Shireenzadgai was very happy to see her children wearing new clothes and shoes. She kept thanking Bedari volunteers as long as they remained at the camp.

Miscellaneous

Other items distributed among various families included sugar, tea, milk, gas burners and cylinders, shoes, and toys and biscuits.