Interviewed by: Muneeba Zafar

Muntazira, 43, of Gul-Bella Village recalls her moving story of the flood in the Village's Hujrah where a mobile clinic had been set up by IDRF's partner in Pakistan, Prime Foundation. The floods that wreaked severe havoc across entire Pakistan in 2010 destroyed large swathes of irrigated land and devastated thousands of homes thus turning millions of people homeless.

"Suddenly my eye opened to the noise and tumult outside. It was very noisy. It didn't seem to be a part of night from any angle. There never had been so much uproar on night in our village. My thoughts were so mingled that at first, I didn't realize what was going on. Fire, Earthquake, Death, after all what the fuss was all about! As I began concentrating on the possible source of disturbance outside, my husband, Noor Muhammad, got up in the bed and was pricked on sensing the disturbance outside. Without wasting a moment, he dashed outside and came back, panting heavily, and muttered, "Water! Rain Water has started entering the house." I got terrified. We both rushed outside and obstructed the water flow by placing bricks and mud but this was of little use. The bricks were not strong enough to withstand the mounting pressure of water. All of a sudden, there came a gush of water and pushing the bricks alongside, it entered our house.

When it seemed clearly that we cannot prevent water from accumulating in our house, we were left with no other option but to leave our home and run for our lives. With every tick of clock, the level of water was rising. We had no time to pick up any household item or put them in a safer place. We just took our children and set off; wading through knee high flood water for a safer destination. The Government had set up relief camps in schools. We too found our place in these relief camps. The school was over-crowded and congested. It even lacked basic facilities. It was a difficult time for my family. But this was the only abode left for us, the displaced people until water receded. This situation did not last long. Soon things started improving. The Government and NGO's came into action and equipped us with the basic necessities of life.

My chief loss was when my children contracted various water-borne diseases. One of my children contracted conjunctivitis and the other fell prey to diarrhea. But thanks to the relief work and free Medical Camps we were able to treat our diseases without any hurdle and hectic. As soon as water receded, we took our way back home. It was considerably damaged. We borrowed some money from our relatives and rebuild our home. It felt very good to be in home after a distressing period of three months. My life is not like the one I had before. It is full of pains, sufferings and ugly memories of the past. Still, I and my family are physically unwell. Though the flood water has receded yet it has left behind numerous diseases. Even now, my children are suffering from Scabies and Upper Respiratory Tract Infection. Had there been no medical camps in our village, we would have been left untreated."