Ameena's Story
25 January 2011
Ameena with her daughters and son
“It was very difficult for me to walk through the water; the cold water gave me lower abdominal pains. We spent the night at an elevated roadside and the next day we moved to a village called Dagi where we stayed in a school building for a month. We had nothing except the clothes we were wearing when we left and I was so exhausted, thirsty and hungry that I felt sick.”
After the floodwaters receded Ameena returned to her village. “I can’t forget the moment when I saw what was left of my house. I lost everything I own. There was nothing left where my house used to stand.”
Ameena’s husband used to own a rickshaw, which provided the family with their only source of income. The floods left the rickshaw unusable.
The family spent their days under the open sky. When they received a tent, they pitched it at the site of their old home, but it was open at both ends and allowed the rain to pour inside the tent just as it did outside.
“It was so dirty in there, in the mud and rain,” Ameena recalls, “even the water we drank was dirty and bitter-tasting. The difficult conditions made us all fall ill and I was very weak; I had abdominal pain and a fever. During and after the floods I suffered several health problems- allergic reactions, fevers and vomiting, but I didn’t have the money to seek medical consultation.”
Islamic Relief set up a mobile health clinic in Ajab Bagh, with female doctors offering free examinations. Ameena visited the clinic and was prescribed medication for anemia and nausea.
“I continued to take the prescribed medicines and returned to the camp twice for follow-up examinations. Within one month, my health had returned and I had given birth to a baby boy, called Saim, on Eid day. Now, by the mercy of God and support from Islamic Relief, my child and I are safe.”
Islamic Relief constructed a latrine for the family, as well as a permanent shelter for Ameena to live in with her husband, three daughters and newborn son.
“One tent wasn’t enough for us and it was cold to live in. Now we are able to manage easily as we have an extra room. It used to be very difficult for my daughters and I because we would have to go to the toilet outside as we didn’t have a bathroom. We are grateful that Islamic Relief was able to provide us with a toilet so we have some privacy now.”
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