Post-flood volunteering in Balochistan at its peak

Resilience and volunteerism have been the hallmark of our society during the crisis. Like the rest of Pakistan, Balochistan was devastated beyond imagination but the people accepted the challenge and voluntarily helped the flood victims.

Though there are several remarkable stories from this province, the story of Dr Mir Sadaat is worth mentioning. Unlike most of the volunteers, Dr Sadaat does not belong to the fraternity of social workers. He is a University Professor who runs a think-tank in Quetta, called Balochistan Council for Peace and Policy. But it all started when a group of his school friends living abroad sent him donations and within no time donations started pouring in from his family and friends enabling him to continue his welfare work all over Balochistan.

Mir Sadaat’s efforts, particularly during the malaria outbreak, are admirable. When the whole province was facing a shortage of malaria medicines and people were dying, he managed to get the supply of vital medicines through his efforts.

He also introduced the idea of rapid testing kits for malaria that saved hundreds of lives. He supplied more than 10,000 testing kids throughout the province. Apart from this, he also supplied nutrition packs for children who were susceptible to death due to malnourishment. He also provided food, tents, blankets and warm clothing to thousands of families with the help of his donors.

Deputy Director NCHD, Shabir Hussain, says that Jafarabad and Sahabatpur were greatly affected by the flood. “Among various charitable organisations and philanthropists, we receive immense support from Saadat Baloch,” he said.

“We delivered those packets to the victims. After a month, these parents contacted us again because the nutritional food had a very positive effect on their children,” he added.

Sajida, who belongs to Sahabpur, said, “After the recent floods we surveyed many places. In areas like Goth Ismail, Gothband Sharif, there are sick and malnourished children,” she said. “We collected the data during the survey and Dr Saadat Baloch sent us nutritional kits from Quetta.”