Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Jacobabad (Agenzia Fides) - Flood victims across Pakistan have been returning home to villages where houses have been reduced to piles of mud and brick, farmland ravaged and streets reduced to swamps. Some families are happy to have returned to their homes where perhaps only one room has remained intact, however they have lost all their livelihood and many are forced to temporarily withdraw their children from schools to send them to work and increase family income. The National Disaster Management Authority says over 1.9 million houses have been damaged or destroyed leaving over eight million people homeless and worsening the risk for child labor. Media reports have indicated children from flood-hit regions are being promised lucrative jobs, taken away from families, and then being used for sex work. UNICEF says that of the 20 million people affected by floods, 10 million are children, 2.8 million of them aged under five. Children need protection from all kind of risks, and should have their right to schooling protected. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 13/10/2010)
