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THERE is now a glimmer of hope in Azizur Rehman's eyes as he heads for the local bank to send money to his family displaced by floods in Pakistan.
Big-hearted GulfWeekly readers were so moved after reading about the plight of the Pakistani labourer that they rallied round to help him.
To date, well wishers have given Aziz BD350 - the equivalent of more than six months earnings to him - which he has sent on to his family in Mardan.
Aziz was heartbroken when he first heard the news of the tragedy in his village but says that the generosity of readers has given his family a starting point to rebuild their future. "I'm so grateful and all my family members and I will pray to God to bestow his blessings on the people who have helped us. You cannot imagine the relief that this money has brought us," he explained.
Aziz Rehman's family lived in a small brick house in a village near Nowshera in the province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan.
As highlighted in GulfWeekly, the floods that have devastated the nation swept through his village and although his father, mother, stepmother, 10 siblings, his wife, Yasmin and their two young daughters - Amina, 3, and Rabia, 18 months - escaped to higher ground their house along with all their belongings were destroyed.
They are presently living with relatives in Mardan but plan to return to their village after Eid to rebuild their home.
When Aziz's 65-year-old father returned to his village to see if he could salvage any of their belongings all he saw was destruction and a sea of contaminated water with dead livestock floating around.
During the height of their heartache the readers of this newspaper, living thousands of miles away from the rains, dipped deep into their pockets and donated their hard-earned money to help the family.
Aziz said: "I sent BD100 to my father last week and he bought food and pots and pans for cooking. They are planning to spend the rest of the money on beds and will be putting some away for re-building the house. At the moment my siblings and children are sleeping wherever they can find space on the ground."
One donor who wished to remain anonymous said that 'it was part of his faith to help the less unfortunate'. Another remarked that by giving a donation to Aziz he knew that it was going directly to those affected. "It is not going to line a corrupt politician's pocket or for that matter a percentage of it is not going to be diluted in administrative costs of an international relief agency."
The 24-year-old arrived in Bahrain three months ago to work for a local construction company earning BD55 a month. When the disaster struck, his colleagues organised a collection among themselves and raised BD70 for his family.
Local non governmental organisations (NGOs), community and social workers, local medical teams along with international relief organisations are now working on the ground to deal with the disaster that has left the country reeling.
The United Nations has made repeated appeals to the world community to donate generously to help around 20 million people who have been affected.
More than 3.5 million children are at risk from water-borne diseases. Skin diseases, respiratory infections and malnutrition are rife in flooded areas. Cholera has been reported in the North West Frontier Province. Currently 72,000 children are suffering from severe malnutrition.
Pakistani banker, Syed Muhammad Tanweer Akhtar Bukhari, 35, has just returned to Bahrain from his native village in Jhok Gulabshah in central Punjab.
His village sits a few kilometres from the River Chenab, near Rahim Yar Khan, and has been saved by the protection built around the side of the river. But communities on the other side of the river, without any protection, are flooded.
He said: "Health conditions are very poor in the flood-affected areas. I saw scores of children with skin rashes. People are suffering from fever and diarrhea is common among both adults and children.
"I came across many snakes in the flood-hit areas and people are at risk from poisonous snake bites."
The floods have killed more than 1,600 people and inflicted billions of dollars damage to infrastructure and vital agriculture sector.
With the threat of more flooding as waters continue to rise in other parts of the country, the scale of the catastrophe is changing on a daily basis as people are continuously moving to safety.
Dr Muna Al Musawi, a consultant for international health regulations at the Bahrain Ministry of Health, said: "The situation in Pakistan is a global issue.
"Water borne diseases are easily preventable within a proper health framework. Pakistan needs collaboration from international organisations to help reduce the spread of infection and avoid a health disaster because an outbreak is not restricted to a single population because of globalisation."
