Hamilton teacher in flood-stricken Pakistan says country needs more help
Jinnah Cultural Society of Hamilton planning fundraiser as over 1,150 killed in unprecedented floods
When Farhanna Khan left Hamilton to visit Pakistan near the start of August, she didn't imagine she'd watch floodwaters ravage buildings in front of her.
But that was her reality on Aug. 24, two weeks after arriving in the country.
"I never thought I would see what I did," she told CBC Hamilton in a phone interview Wednesday morning.
"It's devastation."
Khan, who teaches in Hamilton and lives in nearby Grimsby, Ont., said she went to Pakistan with her family to see relatives but also to continue efforts from her non-profit organization IMWell.
She gives children there care packages with hygiene products and had raised funds to help build a washroom in a local school.
WATCH: Pakistan in desperate need of aid due to disastrous flooding
But that came amid unprecedented flooding that has killed over 1,150 people and destroyed or damaged about a million homes since mid-June.
The United Nations issued an appeal Tuesday for more than US$160 million in emergency funding to help, calling it "unprecedented climate catastrophe." Climate lawyer Sara Hayat told CBC's As It Happens earlier this week the flooding was "catastrophic" and both a humanitarian crisis for Pakistan and "a climate crisis for the world."
Canada recently donated $5 million.
Local organizations across the country, including in Hamilton, are raising funds to try and help people in Pakistan.
'We were all praying'
Khan said she arrived in Mardan, a city north east of Islamabad in the northern part of the country, to do non-profit work. She then went sightseeing in Swat District, further north.
That's when she saw murky waters filling buildings in the area.
"It was kind of scary to watch … we were all praying," she said.
Khan was on high ground and said she was relatively safe, but most other places weren't so lucky.
"Markets were flooded … some people just lost their houses," she said. "It's heartbreaking."
When the rain cleared up, Khan visited families on lower ground, saying she was giving some people whatever money she had.
Hamilton groups raising funds
Back in Hamilton, Jawad Chaudhry, the vice chair of the Jinnah Cultural Society of Hamilton, is setting up a fundraiser to support people in Pakistan.
He said he worries about long-lasting impacts of the flood, like famine from obliterated crops, the destruction of waterfront properties and damaged infrastructure.
"We're having sleepless nights because we know how much people are affected," he said.
"Even when we decide to do something as little as buying my kids backpacks for school, I'm thinking twice now, 'should I be spending this money on them or should I be trying my best to maybe put some money toward helping somebody in Pakistan right now?'"
Chaudhry said there aren't any concrete plans for a fundraiser yet, but things are in the works.
The Muslim Association of Hamilton told CBC Hamilton it is fundraising through its mosque during regular donation drives and also has an online campaign through its donation page.
Khan said her family made it safely back to Mardan and is flying back to Canada on Friday.
She said she hopes communities around the world rally together to help Pakistan.
"It's heartbreaking … they need help."
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With files from Associated Press