Pakistan Floods: South African NGOs help to the people affected by the floods in Pakistan, the victims are getting disaster-resistant homes

A South African NGO has extended a helping hand to the flood-affected people in Pakistan. South African NGO Spiritual Chords is helping economically weaker people in Pakistan by providing them with houses made of bamboo, which can save people from floods and earthquakes. Safia Musa, the founder of NGO Spiritual Chords, said that houses made of bamboo, lime, clay, and other sustainable materials in Pakistan have withstood devastating floods, while houses made of mud bricks were destroyed.

Safia Musa said, 'When we decided to assist with the 2011 floods in Pakistan. I was very keen on a green sustainable home. The quality of the bricks was substandard and the houses were not resilient to floods and earthquakes with mud bricks. I wanted to offer a solution for a long time.' "After working on it for two and a half years, I called up Pakistan's first female architect, Yasmin Lari. Asked him for his help in developing an infrastructure that can withstand the ravages of nature and does not conflict while providing basic housing to the people.

Pakistani architects help

While working on a project to renovate Mughal Emperor Akbar's Sheesh Mahal in Lahore, Yasmin Lari noticed that the plaster used on its walls centuries ago was made of lime, clay, and other durable materials. Moses said, 'Yasmin made a structure with bamboo with this mixture of clay, which is a pleasure to see and is very manageable. Bamboo is a zero carbon emitter and can be grown in three to five years.

57,000 houses were built in four years

Using this, we started building houses in villages two years after the 2011 floods, said Safia Musa. He said that after the first house was built, we also brought water along with hand pumps and wells. In less than four years, 57,000 structures were built, which won the United Nations World Habitat Prize. "We don't give them tents, we give them houses," said Musa to the people who were affected by the floods in Pakistan. Now the Pakistani government and NGOs in the country are looking to collaborate with Spiritual Chords to increase the number of these houses. Musa said that this idea is now being adopted in many countries. Under this, the problem of refugees can also be solved.

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