Telenor Pakistan's Earthquake Relief Continues

After providing packages with basics (food, drinking water and blankets) in the first phase, followed with Free TeleDoctor service and SMS donations, Telenor Pakistan focuses current efforts on Wam, a small village 25 kilometres from the city of Ziarat, where many people have died and property and livelihoods have been destroyed after the earthquake hit the area on 29 October this year.

Adverse conditions

Wam is located nearly 2500 metres above sea level. The land is dry, barren and mountainous. There are around 100 households affected by the earthquake. With current temperatures dipping to sub-zero levels (down to -10C) snow is everywhere. Most of the relief work needs to be carried out before the snow gets any worse. It is a race against time.

Emergency communication services needed

There is no network coverage by any mobile operator in Wam. Relief workers need to travel for 45 minutes towards Ziarat to get a signal, make a phone call and then return. There is a dire need for communication services to enable relief teams in Wam and surrounding areas to communicate with each other and with teams located in Ziarat and other cities.

Mobile base station towers deployed

Telenor Pakistan has responded by moving two "Cell on Wheels" - mobile Base Transceiver Station towers - from Multan city to Ziarat city, 359 km away. One Cell on Wheels is going to be installed in Wom and the other in Kawas, another village about 15 km away, which will provide network coverage to Wam, Kawas and the surrounding areas.

Provides free communication for relief organizations

Ziarat city is now a location of many NGOs' base camps and a place where network coverage is available. Telenor Pakistan has provided 50 free SIMS with balance worth Rs1,000 each to teams of relief organizations working in the area, such as Pakistan Medical Association, Pakistan Red Crescent Society, International Red Cross, and the Turkish Red Crescent.

"The facility has enabled us to communicate easily with field workers and our head office in Quetta," says Amjad Rasheed, who works for the Pakistan Medical Association. "We have limited resources, especially in the current circumstances; so the ability to talk to colleagues, provided for free by Telenor, is very welcome and is helping us immensely in providing assistance to those affected."

Education for affected kids

The remains of the Government High School Kan Depot lies among many ruins in Wam. The school had 150 students and was staffed by 17 teachers. Telenor Pakistan has decided to construct a new building in its place. This will be a modern, pre-fabricated structure, whose frame will be designed and built off-site and then the new school will be constructed at the site of the old one. The aim is to provide a safe place for kids - who have lost a lot - to learn and grow. That might be the best relief for them in the long run, considering that government has funds pouring in to help communities with their other needs - food and essentials now. The building will be handed over to the local government, who will maintain and run the school.