* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
I have just got back from the opening ceremony of the child friendly spaces that Plan has set-up in Thatta District in the flood-affected Sindh province in Pakistan. Families who had to leave their homes in the neighbouring district of Badin were evacuated here by the local government.
Around 250 children were playing games outside in different groups according to their age. The noise was what you would expect in a playground: shouting and laughing followed by a loud applause when someone won. Except that we were in an Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDP) camp, not a normal playground. I started to get carried away when an impromptu cricket match was set up by some teenage boys and joined in. It was all going fine, and I was even using my basic cricketing Urdu language skills, learnt from spending too much time watching the sport on television, until I dropped a catch.
The day job is tough right now, developing projects with the response team and trying to raise funds so that we can provide an integrated response to all the IDPs we've registered. Badin district alone has one million people affected. It is no secret that funding for this emergency has been low so far. News reports have cited various reasons from donor fatigue to the attention on the Horn of Africa famine and 'bad brand’ issue faced by Pakistan. Out of USD 357 million funding target set by the UN for flood response, only about USD 9 million had been raised until last week.
When funding is as low as 3% of what is required, it is the activities that target vulnerable groups that usually suffer. For instance, the activities centred around children often become the first ones to be excluded and it is sometimes hard to get funding for projects dedicated to issues such as child protection. Don't get me wrong; shelter, health and hygiene, fresh water and basic living essentials are all essential life saving responses and Plan have prioritised them too. But children are the heart of everything we do and remain our main priority. A normal child-focused response in Pakistan will require substantial external support as children make up over 30% of the 5 million plus flood-affected population.
Children are commonly one of the most vulnerable groups in an emergency and the kind of children-oriented support we provide makes perfect sense. The child friendly spaces that were officially opened by Plan in Thatta are not costly: 60 kids, inside a very large tent, with a toy box, and two trained staff who will take the time to listen to them. It is a chance for the children to be themselves, in a safe environment away from the situation outside the tent.
Funding is scarce for Pakistan floods, but what we have is coordinated response to make the best use of limited resources. Let us ensure that the needs of children and vulnerable groups remain in focus.
