Tuesday, 05 April 2016
The Novelty of Milk and Tea
Muslim Hands carries out livelihoods projects all over the world. After a series of devastating floods hit Tarnab village in Pakistan the MH team went out there. The flood had swept away livestock, tools and even homes and the already poor villagers were in a bad way. After more floods hit Pakistan this year we wanted to share the experience of some of our team members with you.
And so, I did what I seemingly know best – talk about how hot it was especially with our hijabs on – but in Urdu. I still have no idea whether it translated to what I intended. But, she laughed, holding up the end of her scarf to cover her teeth.
She looked down and told us how she used to look through garbage to find plastic to sell, but ever since she received a cow from MH she has been able to sell fresh milk every morning to local families and to the nearby market from which she buys food. She was also looking to have a mud roof built with some of the money she said, with a beaming smile.
I asked her, 'So what’s the best thing about the cow?' She sat up and immediately shouted with excitement 'doood' – milk! Elated at her joy I hug her and her daughter explained that it’s not the money they receive from selling the milk that brings them joy. It’s the fact that after 35 years, her mother and grandmother have finally been able to have tea again – with milk! A novelty they thought they’d never experience again.
That night as we travelled back to Islamabad it thundered and rained heavily. The car was eerily silent as we pondered each to ourselves how would Raziya and her elderly mothers get through the night with no roof to keep out the rain.
For families that are already struggling to eke out an existence, disasters and conflicts can devastate their lives in a way we cannot imagine. Through our livelihoods projects we support communities to support themselves and our emergency response teams are their on the ground to help families get back on their feet. You can donate to our livelihoods and emergency funds via the links below.
