Help the Aged, through its partners HelpAge International and HelpAge India, responded to the earthquake in Kashmir on Saturday 8 October soon after it struck, providing medical help and other basic essentials.
'We shiver even at the thought of going inside the house. We feel it might fall down. Despite the cold we will stay outside because inside the house we will die.' (Quake survivor)
A Mobile Medical Unit (MMU), operating in the area, was sent to Uri shortly after the earthquake devastated the town to provide immediate medical help to those with injuries, and to undertake an immediate assessment.
Two other MMUs from Punjab also visited four villages in the worst affected tehsil (district) of Uri - Ishim, Salamabad, Dardkote, Urasa. These are not easily accessible and are located in hilly terrain, where no medical aid has reached so far. The MMUs provided medical aid to 70 persons, who were in dire need of treatment. All of them have lost kin and property.
'Buildings in my village are completely damaged. Everything's gone. We are in hell for the third straight day.' (A resident of Urungua village)
The immediate assessment has shown that older people need food, shelter, sanitation and other non-food items. HelpAge India will shortly supply further medicine and blankets, and special high altitude tents capable of protecting people from the extreme cold that will hit when the weather changes in the next few weeks.
We are also working through HelpAge International with a partner in Pakistan to assess the needs of older people in other affected areas.
Research in other emergencies demonstrates that while older people are commonly accepted as being a vulnerable group, humanitarian interventions often ignore older people's special needs using systems that discriminate against them and, on occasion undermine their capacity to support themselves.
'We spent the night out in the rain. We need tents and food. The army and the local police are helping us but there is nobody else who will help us.' (An Urungua resident)
Steve Jones, Director of Communications for Help the Aged said: 'Our Mobile Medical Unit operating in the area was on hand so that Help the Aged and its partners were amongst the first organisations to provide immediate help to the people of Uri.'
'It is essential that older people are treated as a group with special and particular needs in these emergency situations as they usually get forgotten when disaster strikes. We have seen this all too frequently this year in other disasters such as the tsunami and Southern Africa.'
Help the Aged and its partners are now undertaking detailed assessments of the needs of older people in India and Pakistan, and would be grateful for any donation you wish to give to provide emergency relief and sustainable ways of helping people to re-build their lives.
To give to the Asia Earthquake Appeal, please donate online via the Help the Aged website.