Emergency Relief

The Foundation has always provided quick disaster relief during times of natural emergencies by mobilizing all of its resources to quickly provide immediate aid to those impacted.

• 2005 Earthquake in AJK (Azad-Jammu, Kashmir) and Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa Province, in Pakistan
• 2008 SWAT Conflict- IDP (Internally Displaced Persons)
• 2010 – Super Flood
• Disaster Response

On October 8th, 2005, the Himalayas were severely jolted by a massive earthquake measuring 7.6 on the richter scale (USGS). The devastation was widespread in the mountainous area of Pakistan. Azad Kashmir and adjoining areas were the epicenter of the mass destruction cause by this earthquake. The Government of Pakistan’s official death toll was 79,000 people. Over 75% of the casualties were estimated to have occurred in the Muzzafarabad and Bagh areas of Azad Kashmir. It is estimated that over 3.3 million people were left injured or homeless and over 1,000 hospitals were destroyed. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimates that over 2.8 million people were left without shelter.

ADB estimated that the civil society has mobilized over PKR 6 billion in donations and has provided food, clothing, temporary shelters, medicines and other necessary items of relief.
The devastation was not just limited to death tolls and demolished homes, the entire infrastructure of the Azad Kashmir and adjoining areas were destroyed, leaving the desperate and affected people disconnected from the rest of the country.
Spearheading the domestic support because of the foundations private management of immediate response, MJSF was one of the leading philanthropic organizations that provided rescue, relief and rehabilitation to the distressed by mobilizing itself within 4 days of the catastrophe. MJSF had a focused approach and it provided support in the following key areas:

• Immediate relief operations
• Prompt rebuilding of peoples livelihoods
• Focusing on the most vulnerable and socially disadvantaged groups, such as children, women, the disabled and the elderly
• Encouraged engagement of the private sector, civil society and fundraising for various relief organizations

In October 2008, following an operation by the Pakistan Army to flush out Islamic extremists from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Swat, large areas of dense population at the center of the province were evacuated.
The Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC) of the Norwegian Refugee Council estimated that between 2.7 to 3 million people were displaced. By July 2009, 50% of the IDPs had returned to their homes, the rest remained displaced. By November 2009 it was estimated that the total number of displaced people was close to 428,000.
IDP camps were spread all over the KPK province from Madran to Charsadda and from Malakand to Islamabad. The estimated cost of temporary shelters and rehabilitation was US$ 500 million.
Pakistan responded by establishing 11 large camps in the areas of D.I. Khan, Malakand, Mardan and Noshera regions.

MJSF’s response was again immediate. The Foundation provided large scale support in the form of both Food Aid and Non-food Aid. It further provided transportation of IDPs out of the conflict zones, and aided the IDPs in their return to their homes. The MJSF supported the following areas

• Logistics
• Health
• Food Aid
• Rehabilitation

While our foundation disengaged from this relief effort at the end of 2008, thousands of IDPs still live in camps run by the United Nations, and many more are forced to live with their relatives as the military engagement is ongoing.