Sindh

Training in their heads and tools in their hands

Farmers-turned-masons are taught to build a temporary house.

Aroosa Masroor November 17, 2010

DADU: The mini stadium camp in Sehwan set up for flood survivors two months ago is buzzing with a different kind of excitement. Rather than fighting over food, shelter or Watan cards, the men argue over who is eligible for the masonry training session for displaced people. The program was started by the Indus Resource Center (IRC) that is helping the farmers of Sehwan learn valuable skills that will come in handy when they return to their land after the floodwaters recede.

“This hands-on training will not just help them rebuild their houses, but their lives as well,” says associate engineer Javed Babbar. “Apart from farming, they now have an additional skill to earn a livelihood.”

The trainers are hired by the NGO, who have divided the IDPs into two batches. Each batch has 21 people. “Mixing cement and sand and moulding it into a perfect block may seem like an easy task, but now I realise how challenging it is,” Barkat Ali, a resident of Tando Shahbaz village in union council Channa, tells The Express Tribune. Ali is one of the brighter students who pays close attention to the tips offered by the engineers. Once he returns, he intends to teach his fellow villagers, he adds.

During each session, the farmers-turned-masons are taught to build a temporary 40x40 sq yard house which is then razed to the ground and rebuilt by them. The process is repeated by the second batch of farmers. Babbar adds that the training also helps keep the IDPs distracted. “The men no longer hang around or fight with their wives because they are busy with work.”

According to officials, there are 685 families or a total of 4,790 people at this camp, most of who are residents of Sehwan where the floods swept away large number of villages.

Although the government is providing the people food, little is being done to rehabilitate them. As a result, non-government organisations such as the IRC are handing out building materials and some construction tools as a parting gift before winding up their camps. “Now that they have the training in their heads and the tools in their hands, they should be able to lead a better life ahead,” remarks Sadiqa Salahuddin, the chairperson for the IRC.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 17^th, 2010.