March 2006
Zaller returning to Pakistan - house plans included
Greg Zaller is returning to Pakistan Saturday to continue his efforts to help house 2 million rendered homeless by an October earthquake.
Zaller, 54, of Nevada City, initially went to Pakistan in November after passing up his annual vacation for a chance to help others. Zaller went with a 12-by-12 wood frame and sheet-metal home design to help Pakistanis get out of tents.
Upon his return, a small team of volunteers rallied to help Zaller, and they have found a new home design using straw bales. About 100 of the original homes have been built and the original wood design is still being used in remote mountain areas pummeled by the quake. But that design called for long hauls of material and a mill on site to construct the homes.
Technorati Tags: Greg Zaller, Pakistan, earthquake, NevadaLouisville Doctor touched by Earthquake
Adeel Haq, a Pakistani-American doctor living in Louisville, immediately hopped a plane to become part of the first medical team deployed to a makeshift tent village near Battagram by the emergency-aid group Relief International.
“I had seen stuff on TV but didn’t realize the destruction was so widespread,” said Haq, 29, who is a third-year resident at University of Louisville Hospital. “There was a sense of desperation that I’ve never seen before in my life.”
With local hospitals destroyed in the Battagram area, no running water or high-tech equipment, Relief International medical teams are currently caring for thousands of patients, roughly 150 a day, averaging 12 major surgeries and 70 minor surgeries. The doctors deliver babies and treat everything from gangrene to broken bones and intestinal illnesses.
Technorati Tags: Louisville, Battagram, Relief InternationalScheme launched for rehabilitation of disabled earthquake victims
A group of expatriate Pakistanis, comprising professionals settled in the UK in coordination with their Pakistani counterparts, have embarked upon an ambitious scheme for rehabilitation of disabled earthquake victims that shook the country in October last.
Zafar Khan of Limbless Association - UK addressing a press conference here on Monday, said like minded professionals from both United Kingdom and Pakistan have initiated a scheme to implant Modular Artificial Limbs among victims in need of this support.
“We have already established three centers at Muzzaffarabad, Mansehra and Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences - Islamabad, after extensive discussion with the Federal Health Minister, Naseer Khan and other senior officials of the health department,” he said.
Technorati Tags: United Kingdom, Pakistan, Artificial Limbs, Muzzaffarabad, Mansehra, Islamabad