Canadian Mennonite
Volume 10, No. 20
October 16, 2006

In the village of Kotli Siddique, a Pakistani woman named Lafiza sifts wheat. Rug making—with the assistance of MCC and Ten Thousand Villages—is the major source of income for people in the village who are recovering from a 2005 earthquake.

A year after a major earthquake rocked the mountains and valleys of northern Pakistan, killing more than 73,000 people, Mennonite Central Committee is still committed to helping the people of the region.

In the aftermath of the earthquake, MCC committed a total of $1.3 million to relief efforts, channelling most of its resources through Church World Service, an agency with a long-standing program in Pakistan. MCC funds went for immediate emergency assistance—tents, blankets, food and medical care.

Now survivors are being helped to return home. Among other involvements, MCC is supporting trauma programs to help people recover.

MCC is also working to assist families in Jared, a village in a Pakistan-controlled area of Kashmir that was devastated by the earthquake.

Through JAKCISS Oriental Rugs, an artisan group of Ten Thousand Villages, MCC will support 12 of the village’s poorest families—more than 100 people—for the next year.

MCC will provide aid for food and basic necessities for these families and help identify job opportunities in areas such as woodworking. MCC is also providing assistance in building temporary stone homes, constructing earthquake-resistant houses, evaluating farming possibilities and developing plans for education.

—MCC release