Shaziah and her family receive blankets and aid from Operation Blessing.

The Indian Air Force, in partnership with OBI, delivers food to victims.

BALAKOT, Pakistan - Shaziah called for her brother as loud as she could, but there was no answer. The 7.6 magnitude earthquake that shook regions of Pakistan and India flattened her village and claimed 42 members of her family.

Ignoring her family’s screams to retreat to a safe place, Shaziah continued to search through the rubble. She would not leave without finding her brother.

“My brother is the only hope for my family,” said Shaziah. His income supports us and helps in the education of my other siblings. We all look to him when we are in need.”

But hope would not be found.

“Just when I was giving up, I saw my brother’s hand sticking out of the rubble,” she said. “I recognized it was him because the ring I gave him was on his finger. He was gone and all hopes I had vanished in a moment.”

As Shaziah and her family mourned the loss of their loved ones, they were faced with an even graver reality. They had no shelter or protection from the bitter cold.

“I was in tears watching my children suffer, said Shaziah’s father. “We collected wood for fire to keep ourselves warm. Three days later we were given tents, but it was still miserable at night. We had nothing to cover ourselves with.”

When a team from Operation Blessing arrived to distribute blankets to earthquake victims, Shaziah and her family had hope for the first time.

“When we lost everything, you have come to give us comfort, encouragement and most of all providing what we need,” said Shaziah.

In addition to blankets, Operation Blessing coordinated their relief efforts with the Indian Air Force (IAF), and loaded food bags containing tea, beans, milk powder, cooking oil and other items – over 200,000 pounds of food – onto a fleet of IAF helicopters to be distributed to roughly 3,500 survivors.

“We can’t offer you anything,” added her father, “but we pray for God’s blessing on you and for those who have supported us during this difficult time.”

OBI is also working in hard-hit areas of Pakistan and has partnered with Pakistan International Airlines, the Ministry of Health, and the Pakistani Army to airlift 45 tons of blankets, food, antibiotics, and other medical material aid to the most devastated districts in Pakistan. Thanks to donor support, OBI has distributed, to date, over $8 million in aid.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
You can help by making an online donation toward OBI's disaster relief efforts. With your support, we can continue to provide emergency relief and recovery. Please make an on-line donation today.

 

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