A safe haven for Ziaullah
Ziaullah is 13. He lost his home when floods swept through Pakistan in July and now has to live in a camp. But he and his nine siblings can still play and relax thanks to the safe space we’ve set up.
“The water kept getting darker and turning black. Something very bad was happening.”
Ziaullah describes the terrifying floods that swept through his home in the Swat Valley of Pakistan. The people here are accustomed to coping with floods but nobody was prepared for this – the most severe deluge in living memory, which destroyed homes and devastated crops, turning life upside-down for as many as 21 million people.
“Soon the water had reached the bottom of our house.” When the water finally flooded into Ziaullah’s house, they had to leave, Ziaullah explains. “My father was out at the time. All the women and children were crying.”
“Everything was gone”
The extent of the damage was only discovered in the following days:
“After three days my father went back to see our house. When he returned he told me everything was fine, and not to worry. Once the waters had calmed down, my father took me back to where our house was and it was gone. Everything was gone. I couldn’t believe it. The house where I grew up was completely gone.”
Ziaullah and his family went to stay with an aunt, but conditions were so crowded that they were soon forced to leave. Since then, they’ve been living in a camp nearby.
“At night we go to our grandmother’s house. We can’t sleep in the tent camp – if it rains all the water comes into the tent. We don’t have any blankets or pillows so we have a very tough time. I don’t like this life at all. I wish my family could have our house back.”
A place to play and hope
Times are tough for Ziaullah and his family but we’re helping him get back a sense of normality.
“Today some children came to our camp and told us that there was a centre where children could come and play. It was better for us to go there than to stay in the camp doing nothing all day.”
Our safe play spaces are safe, clean supervised places for children to find much-needed relief in the aftermath of disasters. Our staff let children lead their own play and learning here, to give them back a sense of control, and support them emotionally to cope with what can be traumatic hardship..
“We went to this centre and I was really happy there because I found all the games that I used to play before the flood. I like playing with my friends there. I like to play cricket. I like to play badminton. And I like to play football.”
Save the Children is running eight child-protection centres and 10 safe spaces in Swat and we’ll soon be opening eight new protection and nutrition centres. Read more about Save the Children UK’s work in Pakistan.