Karachi Relief Trust & Architecture for Humanity (Karachi chapter)

Text by: KRT/AfH Volunteers (Karachi Chapter)
Photography by: KRT/AfH Volunteers (Karachi and San Francisco Chapters)
Project location: Southern flood affected areas of Pakistan.
Date: Summer 2010 onwards
Client: Architecture for Humanity, Karachi Chapter/Karachi Relief Trust
User client: Flood Affectees
Description and number of beneficiaries/users: 6/7 persons per household
Major funding: Karachi Relief Trust
Other funding sources: AfH
Concept/lead architects: Volunteers from AfH Karachi Chapter and Arcop Pvt Ltd
Structural Engineers: Mushtaq and Bilal
Electrical/Mechanical Engineers: YH Associates
Supervision: KRT staff and Volunteers, AfH Karachi Chapter Volunteers.
Contractor/Suppliers: Local and Houseowners

“The Children of Adam, created of the self-same clay, are members of one body. When one member suffers, all members suffer, likewise. O thou, who art indifferent to the suffering of the fellow, thou art unworthy to be called a man.”

 

(13th Century Persian Poet Saadi)

In the summer of 2010, Pakistan was ravaged by a natural disaster of astounding proportions: it was hammered by the most catastrophic floods it had seen in 80 years, which resulted in a fifth (nearly 62,000 square miles) of the country becoming submerged. According to government’s estimates, 20 million people across the country were displaced by the crisis, with a death toll exceeding 1700 people. The people who were most adversely affected were small farmers in villages and unskilled laborers who were living below or just above the national poverty line. The damage to housing was most pronounced in the districts of Muzaffaragarh and Rajanpur in Punjab, Nowshera and D.I Khan in KPK, Jaffarabad, Jacobabad, Shikarpur and Thatta in Sindh. According to the WFP Initial Vulnerability Assessment, the Sindh province incurred the highest damages (63% completely destroyed, while 1% undamaged). As the waters finally receded, they left in their wake approximately 10.1 million people in dire need of shelter and humanitarian assistance.

To participate in the effort to rebuild, the Karachi Relief Trust (KRT), a Pakistan based NGO with prior experience in providing relief in earthquake and flood affected areas, partnered with the international organization Architecture for Humanity (AfH), Karachi Chapter. Karachi Relief Trust is a Disaster Management Voluntary Organization established in 2007, to provide short term and long term relief in disaster stricken areas across the country. Currently it is liaising with Architecture for Humanity Karachi Chapter to focus efforts on providing sustainable design solutions for the rehabilitation of flood affected areas in Pakistan. Architecture for Humanity was founded in 1999 in response to the need for immediate long-term shelter for returning refugees in Kosovo after the region's violent conflict, and today provides pro-bono design and construction management services and funding for projects around the world.

The rebuilding efforts begun with KRT/AfH conducting an extensive survey of Pakistan - from the first hit village near Munda Headworks to the evacuated villages of Sindh. A mission was chartered to assist 5,000 families rehabilitate and restore their lives by providing immediate relief, as well as long-term assistance with re-construction. A holistic rehabilitation program was devised, which incorporated the need to introduce an organic method by which Pakistanis can rebuild Pakistan themselves in the most cost efficient and timely manner through the reuse of local resources.

KRT/AfH’s long-term strategy aims to implement a comprehensive program of assisting communities in building houses, supporting infrastructure and water supply schemes. The site surveys of the villages have inspired the use of local motifs and use of local crafts and craftsmen in the rebuilding process. The focus is on building practical, low-cost, and environmentally sensitive housing units which will regenerate rural villages and alleviate the cycle of poverty.