COVID, the Himat Project and the Disruption of Life in Northern Pakistan
We may be quite impatient and put out by the prolonged pandemic restrictions and perhaps a bit unnerved by the second wave that seems to be upon us. However, the impact of the pandemic on other countries, especially those living in poverty, is something we simply don't see up close through our news media.
As we reported to you from the International Committee, it was necessary to completely shut down our Rotary Global Grant Pakistan project and send the staff home in March because of the strict pandemic lockdown conditions in Pakistan. Nearly 7 months later, we have asked our team to conduct an impact and needs assessment in our project area to determine how our project could pivot and actually carry on useful work that takes into account the realities communities are facing as a result of COVID-19.
We have just received an exceptionally well done field report upon which we will base our planning for a revised version of the project which we intend to start up again. That relatively short report can be read in full by clicking on the link below.
Following are a few highlights from that report, just to catch your attention.
· It's very clear that the pandemic lockdown and protection measures have had a far more serious impact on people and communities then COVID-19 itself
· Tens of thousands of people have been plunged into dire poverty, their earned incomes completely gone because most businesses were forced to shut down, cross-border trade with China has been stopped, and tourism simply can't happen. There is no government support to turn to.
· This year's growing season has been a disaster because of a late spring, unseasonably cold weather, and storms.
· So, people cannot grow enough food and they have no money to buy food. A food security crisis during this upcoming winter seems inevitable.
· Tens of thousands of children are not in school, including students forced to come home from high schools and colleges that were closed. Parents are very worried that their children's education has been severely disrupted and don't know how to help. Also, the majority of households can no longer afford to pay school fees, especially for sending girl children to high school and university.
· Signs of a severe mental health crisis are everywhere present, particularly in women and elders, but actually for whole communities.
· Spiritual community and the mutual support of common faith has been a backbone of this society for generations, and that has been taken away as prayer centres and mosques are closed and all gatherings and the celebration of festivals and holidays has been forbidden.
· The mental health crisis has caused a kind of paralysis of will and imagination, as people have stopped believing that they can make a difference in their own life and conditions.
Our Rotary Club’s international committee will be working closely with our collaborators in Pakistan to try to figure out how to respond to all of this. Read the entire report. It's not long, but it's heartrending, and it opens up our eyes as to what's happening in the rest of the world. It also raises the question "What can we Rotarians do to help?".
Prepared by: Michael Bopp, Chair, International Committee
