Pictures: A Glimmer Of Sunshine For Flood-Hit Chitral, Pakistan

The Elaj Trust and its volunteers have had a busy summer helping hospitals better handle the influx of heat stroke patients in Karachi hospitals. But, just as the weather cooled down across the country, devastating monsoon rains struck and triggered floods in remote areas of Pakistan.

Dr Talha Rehman is a young doctor from Karachi and a Trustee of the Elaj Trust. He has been on the front lines of the most devastating natural disaster of South Asia this year. He travelled to Nepal after the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in April, and spent several weeks volunteering with the JRM Foundation’s medical camps in rural Nepal.

Once again, Dr Rehman has stepped up to lead the mission to provide medical assistance to flood victims at Chitral District in Pakistan, accompanied by two doctors and a nurse.

“Many houses have been washed away in villages across Chitral District. The people here need immediate assistance to rebuild their homes before the harsh winter starts,” says Dr Rehman.

The relentless floods washed away a petrol station in this area of Chitral District. Two days after this photo was taken, this entire road eroded and collapsed into the river.

Houses destroyed by the floods at Reshun village.

Children wait for their turn to see the doctors at the health clinic organised by the Elaj Trust.

Dr Tariq (left) and Dr Munnawar (centre), volunteers with the Elaj Trust, meet with patients in Chitral District.

A young girl at the health clinic waits in line to see the doctors.

Dr Talha with a patient. “She came in with a toothache at the medical camp, and I told her to smile for the camera. This is what she did,” shared Dr Talha on Facebook.

Dr Talha Rehman, Trustee of Elaj Trust, documenting the damage and impact of floods in Dumshugur village, Chitral district.

“The devastation in Chitral District is much greater than I expected,” says Dr Rehman, adding that it’s become extremely difficult to access clean water. The Elaj Trust is currently raising 1 million Pakistani rupees, equivalent to US$10,000, for a water project in Chitral District. “The new water system will provide water to the villages in this region, and support 18,000 households — that’s approximately 100,000 people.”

The Elaj Trust posts real-time updates from Chitral District, and their relief efforts across Pakistan, on their Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Photo and video credit: Dr. Talha Rehman, Elaj Trust.

Oh, and this article was first published on Huffington Post India.