Swat Valley Flood Appeal 2025 Project
We embarked on a project in early September 2025 once we heard about the floods that devastated the Swat Valley region of Pakistan. We set up a JustGiving campaign and set ourselves an initial target of £10,000. We quickly surpassed this target and set the bar a little higher. Our fundraising campaign included street collections in the Whalley Range area of Blackburn. The generosity of the Blackburn Community shone through, with people open heartedly donating, some without questioning where the money was going. We raised just over £22,000.
Through a little networking, we found some contacts in the Swat region and made plans on how best to distribute the money raised. So on our first visit, we distributed food packages, gave out cash. We then visited the worst hit area in Buner, called Banoshi and visited some of the people whose houses were destroyed and also lost loved ones. We gave out cash to help them rebuild their houses.
Our second trip, we visited 4 sites where the water facilities had totally been destroyed. We hired a team to drill deep into the ground, as far as 225ft to install new motorised water facilities in these areas. (Videos in the gallery section). We also provided more cash to those that were suffering from the aftermath of the floods.
We also took on a project that Pakistan & Türkiye had started, where local shops were being rebuilt, which was abruptly stopped for reasons unknown. We took over this project and rebuilt 5 shops. At the time of writing this, the shops have been re-opened, with just the sign boards to go up. We still have approximately £5,000 left, which will be put towards a new project…stay tuned!
I have to give a special mention to the people who helped with the fundraising and spent countless hours on the roads collecting. Firstly those who took their time out and helped with the street collections; Imran Saddique, Sajjad Dar, Mazhar Hussain, Nadeem Ilyas, Aaryan Dar, Sami Butt, Aiyla Dar. Then to those who helped fundraise on JustGiving; Sofia Butt, Salaar Butt, Danial Hussain, Belqeez Begum, Zain Mahmood, Ume Butt, Sajjad Dar, Sahira Rashid, Nadeem Ilyas, Shazad Jameel, Mehran Choudhry, Lakeisha Butt and finally Iman Jabeen
Then we had the team that endured the long journey to Swat Valley. Firstly, Wasim Mohammed (Wasim Bhai), who has been an anchor for CRUK and ensured any projects in Pakistan run smoothly. Then we had Mudassar Chaudrey, Danial Hussain, Zain Mahmood and Hamza Dar who were key in ensuring this project ran efficiently by providing us with the man power required. Finally, I have to show a huge gratitude to FGRF, which is apart of Dawat-e-Islami, for allowing one of their volunteers, Hamza, to join us and help us from minute one until now in completing these projects. Finally, to all the donors….THANK YOU!