A town that was washed away in Pakistan’s devastating floods is being rebuilt with climate-resilient housing, and renamed ClimateChangeTown.pk to collect funds
Sindh People’s Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF) highlights the devastating impact of climate change and raises funds for rebuilding efforts by naming a newly rebuilt town ClimateChangeTown.pk
The website will help generate much-needed funds for villages in flood-prone areas to build climate-resilient housing in association with Sindh People’s Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF)
CLIMATECHANGETOWN.PK, Pakistan, Jan. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The worst-ever flooding to hit Pakistan till date, continues to have a devastating impact on lives, with many of those affected still left homeless and vulnerable. To draw attention to the plight of those affected and raise funds to aid in rebuilding efforts, Sindh People’s Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF) proposed a unique solution. They appealed to the government to name one of the newly rebuilt towns ‘climatechangetown.pk’, making it the first town in the world to have a website as a name.
Khalid Mehmood Shaikh, CEO SPHF, said, “Every town in the world has a name. We thought of naming the town something that would get the world to pay attention to the climate change crisis that Pakistan is currently facing. Our people are in dire need of help, and with this website, the world will know exactly how and where to help them.”
Pakistan produces less than 1% of the world’s carbon footprint yet is suffering the biggest consequences of climate change. According to the Global Climate Risk Index, Pakistan is currently the fifth most climate-vulnerable country in the world. Experts are predicting that flooding is now going to be a yearly occurrence in Pakistan.
The rains that began in June last year affected over 33 million people in Pakistan. Sindh saw the worst of it, with over 85% of the loss and destruction occurring the area, affecting 12.36 million people and damaging 2.1 million homes.
Building a resilient home for each of these families is important since previously, their homes were ‘kutcha’ (made of mud) thus making them acutely vulnerable to climatic disasters. SPHF is now helping people build ‘pukka’ (solid) houses, using resilient construction materials and pre-defined guidelines, to withstand climatic challenges like heavy rains, flash flooding etc. While the government has stepped forward to support reconstruction efforts, there’s still a huge funding gap. One that SPHF aims to overcome by reaching out to the world.
Mr.Shaikh added, “Officially renaming of a town is a bold move – but it’s the kind of bold action that we need to fight against climate change. It’s a reminder to the international community that Pakistanis are not responsible for causing climate change, they are merely victims. And we need the world to come together to help us stay afloat.”
Through climatechangetown.pk, SPHF is hoping to turn the tide for flood victims and direct much-needed funds towards providing them with better living conditions. The funds will be used to expand the rehabilitation efforts that started with climatechangetown.pk, to other villages across the country. With Pakistan being a climate hotspot, these villages and towns, which were once a reminder of devastation are now a symbol of resilience in the face of climate change.
With this campaign, SPHF plans to rebuild more than 2 million homes, making it the world’s largest housing reconstruction program.
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