Off to Badin today – another of the worst affected areas. The scenery is much the same as what we saw around Mirpurkhas with families still on the move. I see more devastated brick factories in the fields in this area. The scenes of devastation are now familiar to me; the flood water is going nowhere.
We head to where another Pakistan Red Crescent water team are producing and distributing safe drinking water to the surrounding flood affected people. As I get out of the car I am quickly surrounded by hundreds of women and girls that are collecting water from the tap stand. I help some, while I ask them about the flood and their families. I talk to one young pregnant girl who is worried about where to go when it is time to have her baby.
It feels like 1000 eyes are on me and I am amused at the irony that I am the local entertainment for the day. I am fascinated by the scenes around me – and they are fascinated by me. One young man asks to take my photo with him. I feel embarrassed, but agree. Mustafa – the Red Crescent team leader from Larkana, another district in Sindh – has been here for almost a month and remarks that people are constantly watching what he is doing here. He is the local entertainment. He first got involved during the floods last year and although he is missing his home, he is proud of the work he is doing. I feel proud of how quickly the team responded to this flood and that I have been a part of the development of their capacity in this area.
We leave the area strategizing on how to improve the water and sanitation activities and get more attention on their work. I am exhausted. The endless driving on bad roads has taken its toll, but I think of how much worse it could be if I was living on the side of the road and hungry. I resolve to continue to do more.
