The Danish European Mission's church partner in Pakistan was immediately ready when the disaster struck, and today we can say thank you to all Danish European Mission donors who quickly sent their gifts to help the flood victims. One million Danish kroner has been passed on from private donations so far, and thousands of people in desperate need have received our help.
Falmina and family survived
One of those who is deeply grateful today is 29-year-old Falmina, a mother of two children. Around August 8, the family woke up to water pouring into their house. The family struggled to get out of the house, which would soon collapse. There were desperate cries for help from the neighbors, but they were in the same predicament. Falmina is disabled, so it was especially hard for her as a mother unable to help her children. Her husband first made sure she was brought to safety and then tried to help the children. In the heat of the moment, things went wrong and he was swept away by the water. Fortunately, the children made it to safety with the help of another man.
"My husband disappeared. It all happened right before my eyes. Everything we owned and could eat, and the cow that we had to feed for the landowner to earn a little money and to get milk for our children, disappeared in seconds. I cried and screamed for my husband." Falmina tells us.
In the days that followed, she was alone with her children and deeply distressed by the tragic event that had befallen her family. Falmina and the children were living in the open without any shelter or food. They were forced to drink dirty water.
"I cried for three days, but on August 10, my husband showed up. He told me that he was alive because of a miracle of God and that the military had saved him and brought him to me", says Falmina in her explanation to our partner in Pakistan.
The family was then given shelter on a Catholic-owned plot of land, where Danish Europamsion's partner provided them with emergency aid.
Falmina is just one of the thousands of people that the Danish European Mission has helped during the first relief operations with the support of our committed donors and the Danish Mission Council Development Department. As I write this article, our partner is planning another operation. In the future, we will continue to need a lot of money for the work, so that we can support the Christians in the country in their relief efforts and development work.
