UNITED SIKHS Blog

4th July 2009, Islamabad, Pakistan:  Stationed currently at Hassan Abdal, Panja Saheb, in Pakistan, UNITED SIKHS volunteers surveyed the Internally displaced people (IDPs) at the Hassan Abdal-Panja Saheb camp of their needs. The immediate need was to provide medicines for chronic patients suffering from diabetes, respiratory issues and heart related problems. UNITED SIKHS volunteers delivered the medicines for chronic patients for 1 month. These were requested by the Suaran Singh, the IDP camp coordinator.  Suaran Singh, said, “I thank the diaspora who is assisting us through UNITED SIKHS for the medicines that have been provided.I fear what will happen after a month and if we still remain here, how do we get more medicines  for the suffering patients.”   The WAKF board has provided a dispensary with a local doctor, Mr Mohammed Ali, on site, and a lady doctor who visit the local dispensary on site, but not the medicines that are for chronic patients.  The relief efforts will continue and will be only possible with your kind donations. 

There were 2 small water filtering and cooling  (WF&C) units  at the Gurdwara Panja Saheb.  Each WF&C has 2 compressors  that helps to filter and cool the water.   The compressor was not working

The working of these 2 compressors was very important as told to me by the IDP coordinator Mr Suaran Singh. Most of the gastroentritis  problems were due to the water not getting filtered.  So the idea was to fix the problem at the root.  Keep in mind that there are close to 3600 – 4000 people at the Gurdwara Saheb that drink water from these filtering units. 

And as you can imagine, many can’t wait in the queue, and hence chose to drink the water coming in directly from spring which gets contaminated while flowing through the pipe and also its contamination has increased because of the pipe that take the dirty water after the Ishnaan (bathe), in the neighboring ”Jana Ghar”  (where women take the holy dip in the Sarovar Saheb)  is blocked and this water turns back and flows into where the source of the spring.  There is an urgent need to establish a filtering plant right above the source or to provide a better efficient water filteration plant that can flow into a better distribution system. But for the time being people are using the 2 small water filteration plants who’s compressors are now fixed. The cost of the filteration plant is between 12 lakhs PKR – 16 lakhs PKR. The Sangat has requested us to see if this can be provided. This can only happen if the Sangat can donate so that this can be bought with the Gurdwara Management and assist in getting this done.

Sundeep Singh
UNITED SIKHS

Sikh Aid Coordinator

Islamabad, Pakistan