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Faces of Change

Women Rebuilding their Lives After the Devastating South Asia Earthquake

Zarina Bibi

Zarina Bibi is a widow from the village Kathai. She lost her husband, the family’s sole breadwinner, as a result of the South Asia earthquake in October 2005. She is now left with three children whom she is responsible for raising with no source of outside income except a small piece of land where she has been growing some crops. All her livestock perished in the earthquake. According to Zarina,“[hers] was a happy family before the earthquake. We used to make our living comfortably through small scale farming and through the income of my husband’s job.”

After the death of her husband, her only source of support is her brother. The Aga Khan Development Network’s Multi-input Earthquake Reconstruction Program (AKDN-MERP) presented her a goat on the recommendation of the Kathai Village Organization. The goat gave birth to an off spring soon after it was given to her. It now provides one liter of milk everyday, which is sufficient to meet the dietary requirements of her young children and for making tea for herself twice a day. She is extremely thankful and relieved to have a source of food for herself and her children. But above all, she feels very fortunate to be able to provide for her children without relying on others.

Shumaila

Shumaila lives in the village Chaka with her 7-year old son. Her husband died in the earthquake. Till recently, she had no source of income except a very small piece of land. AKDN-MERP presented her an improved breed of cow (Gabrali) on the recommendations of the Village Organization of Village Chaka. Shumaila is pleased to see that the cow is in an advanced stage of pregnancy. She hopes to sell the surplus milk to neighbors as the whole locality is short of milk due to losses of livestock as a result of the earthquake. The Gabrali breed provides an average of 6-8 liters of milk daily; the price of 1 liter of milk in Shumaila’s village is PKR 30 (USD 0.50)