• Over 80,000 people dead
• 3.5 million people displaced and homeless in the midst of a very difficult terrain.
• Over 400,000 housing units destroyed.
• Over 7,000 schools damaged or destroyed
• 18,095 students and over 900 teachers dead as a result of the earthquake.

On October 8th, 2005, a powerful earthquake devastated large areas of Azad Kashmir and N.W.F.P. This earthquake was one of the worst natural disasters that the world had seen causing massive damage to the Northwestern Frontier province, claiming more than 80,000 lives and leaving 3.5 million people homeless at the on-set of winter.

After seven months of emergency response activities in the affected areas, the situation is still very critical and difficult as millions are still living in dire conditions, without proper shelter. The focus of humanitarian efforts has shifted from relief to recovery- from saving lives to restoring livelihoods and rebuilding the economy. However this involves restoring every aspect of life prior to the disaster which is not easy and experience shows that activities tend to fall low ebb after the relief phase.

The Citizens Foundation in the aftermath of the Oct 8th earthquake took it upon itself to go into the area and provided immediate relief to over 40,000 affectees. In November, TCF started its owner driven winterized shelter program which involved communities in building over 6300 shelters to over 50,000 people in Azad Kashmir and NWFP.

TCF’s project of rebuilding communities focuses on rehabilitating communities of 42 villages and mohallas through an integrated approach of capacity building and training, helping the affectees rebuild their homes, rebuilding infrastructure such as dispensaries, an efficient water supply system, shops and other basic services.