Dawood Hercules Chemicals Limited sends Relief Goods for the Internally Displaced Persons of Swat

The Pakistan Army’s military action against the militants in Swat has unfortunately resulted in the biggest ever displacement of the innocent and peace loving people of Swat to safer areas. These internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been accommodated in make shift camps but are struggling to cope with the rigors of living refugees’ life in their own country.

The CSR Committee of Dawood Hercules Chemicals Limited held an emergency meeting on May 14, 2009 and decided to send food and essential household items to bring some relief in the lives of some of these IDPs. All logistic and administrative arrangements were made in the shortest possible time and 200 packages containing food items (flour, cooking oil, pulses, sugar, tea, rice, salt and dry milk) and utensils (cooking pot, spoon, plate, soap-cakes, etc) were dispatched on May 15. This swift action was made possible by the employees who volunteered for this humanitarian initiative in large numbers. They gathered at a large grocery store for packing and loading the materials and managed to dispatch these by the evening. The truck carrying the relief goods arrived at Takhtbai, Mardan, by 11 am on May 16. Brig. Akram Khan, Resident Representative of The Dawood Group, based in Islamabad, was present there. The Consignment was handed over to Mr. Fayaz Ali, ACO Mardan. Mr. Fayaz directed the relevant people to accompany The Dawood Group team for distribution of relief goods in various camps.

All local educational institutions have been converted into make shift camps. The DHCL relief goods were distributed in 5 camps; one Primary School for Girls, three Middle Schools for Boys and one High School for Boys. It was the first consignment to reach these camps and the affected people were so far being looked after by the joint efforts of the respective Union Councils. Inhabitants of the localities adjoining these Schools were playing a vital role in managing the functioning and upkeep of the camps. There were 86 families in the Takkar High School. They had no complaints and felt happy when told that the relief goods consignment coming from Dawood Public School Karachi also had baby food and toys for children.

The distribution was done in an orderly way and the team of volunteers was of great help. Good packing done by the DHCL employees helped in proper distribution. Inclusion of cooking items was a wise decision and was appreciated. Refugees, however, looked dazed and worried about their future. Let's hope and pray that the events take a better turn and the Refugees go back to their home at the earliest.

The DHCL CSR Committee has decided to continue this activity and send more truckloads of relief goods for the IDPs.

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