Windsor's Pakistani community sending support back home amid devastating floods
Pakistan's monsoon season has left a third of the country under water
Windsor resident Nafees Haider said his brother's home is among thousands that have been destroyed by unprecedented floods in Pakistan's hardest hit province. Though he talks to his brother every day on the phone, Haider said he still worries about his family.
In recent months, record monsoon rains and melting glaciers in northern mountains triggered floods that have submerged a third of Pakistan. As of Friday, at least 1,208 people, including 416 children, have been killed, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
Pakistan has received nearly 190 per cent more rain than the 30-year average in the quarter through August this year, totalling 390.7 millimetres. Sindh, with a population of 50 million, was hardest hit, getting 466 per cent more rain than the 30-year average.
Haider told CBC News that his brother's house is located in Matli, Sindh.
"I am feeling very bad and I am very upset because my hometown, my beautiful town is destroyed now," Haider said, adding that it will take many years to rebuild.
"[My brother] said after the rain, thousands of people are sick there now, they have too many different kind of disease there," he said, adding the country needs more medication.
Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho, health minister in the country's worst-affected province of Sindh, said officials have set up 4,210 medical camps in the province's flood-hit areas to treat victims now suffering from skin and waterborne diseases, which are common during floods.
'Don't lose hope'
Resident Javaid Ahmad just moved back to Windsor in July after six years of living in his hometown of Taunsa, Punjab.
He said a friend told him that the graveyard where his grandparents, father and uncle are buried has been flooded with 1.2 to 1.5 metres of water. The flooding, he said, washed away his uncle's grave.
"I feel helpless over here," Ahmad said.
WATCH: Ahmad shares his message of hope
"I wish I [could] be over there just to help the people over there because that's my town. The people living there I know them very well, but I'm not there to help them."
While his family hasn't been further impacted, Ahmad said he knows friends who are in a more dire situation. His message to them is to not give up hope.
"If you lose the hope, then you are gone," he said. "Don't lose the hope and you will recover soon."
The Windsor Islamic Association is fundraising for the flood victims and raised $20,000 of their $100,000 goal within days of collecting donations.
The association's media director, Zaid Khan, said the community has come together to offer support.
"We really do our best to check up on our fellow brothers and sisters, whether they need it or it's just a simple hug after a long day," he said, adding that he encourages people to check in on loved ones during this time.
Community calls for more support from Canadian government
Rubab Raza, who lives in South Windsor, said her family wasn't impacted by the floods, but they're stepping up to help people in nearby communities that were overwhelmed by rainwater.
Raza said her cousin has helped people who lost their homes take shelter in a nearby mosque and has been cooking for them.
"Their houses are just gone, within the blink of [an] eye, it's just gone," she said.
"I feel myself so helpless and emotional at the same time ... and at the same time I feel so proud that my family is helping others who are in need."
To help, Raza said she's been sending money to her cousin.
She said she wants to see the Canadian government provide more support and partner with more non-profits on the ground to supply necessities like food and shelter.
Last week, the Canadian government committed $5 million dollars in humanitarian assistance for the worst affected parts of the country.
With files from the Associated Press, Thomson Reuters