Work done by Project Topi GIK Institute during Floods 2010

From quenching a thirst to help starting a new life

www.projecttopi.org

Project Topi activated its emergency relief efforts as soon as the student returned to GIKI for

the fall 2010 semester. Regarding the flood situation in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,

Project Topi immediately started taking measures which included a call for donations, in and

outside the Institute. The faculty and staff members along with the residents of GIK Institute

rose up to the task and donated a generous amount of about Rs. 400,000/- within a few days.

Helping the starved: Supplying food items

With the collection of initial funds, the necessary items of daily use like Flour, Cooking Oil, Rice,

Beans, Pulses, Tea and Sugar were purchased for 200 flood affected families. These items were

packed in sets and were distributed among the flood victims. The first installment of relief

goods was dispatched on 25th August 2010 from GIK Institute to the village of “Mian Essa”

located near Jahangira, district Nowshera. The distribution was made under the guidance and

supervision of Dr. Tariq S. Khan and Dr. Siraj-ul-Haq, student volunteers and a couple of staff

members. Pre-registration was done before we actually went for distribution of goods. Since it

was not possible for Project Topi to extend full support to all affected families, so during pre-

registration trip, preference was given to widows, orphans and disabled affected persons.

Quenching the thirst: Providing the clean water

As the clean water was unavailable in the flood affected areas it was a necessary to supply

water to the people. A campaign was launched at the GIKI campus for the collection of bottles

which could be refilled with water. During this campaign hundreds of bottles were collected,

washed and refilled to be sent to the calamity stricken people.

The First Aid: Medical Camp

Project Topi arranged a free medical camp at a flood affected village of Charsadda. Due to

floods different diseases like cholera and diarrhea spread. These diseases can be a fatal.

Keeping this in mind, members of Project Topi, with the donations from students and help from

some Doctors arranged this medical camp. More than 1,000 people were checked for free and

were given medicines. Two male and a female doctor volunteered their services for full day.

Healing the wounds: Distributing clothes and gifts

In another round of the relief work Project Topi distributed 1000+ school bags with complete

set of notebooks, drawing books and other necessary stationary items like pencils, erasers,

sharpeners, colour pencils etc. This was an effort to bring the life of flood affected children back

to normalcy. The distribution was made among the children of Jahangira, and a village in

Charsadda. Project Topi next targeted a small village near Charsadda. Sewn clothes collected by

the students of GIKI were distributed among more than 200 children and women as a gift of

Eid. School children were also given school bags and stationary. Children cheered up at the

sight of new clothes and stationary.

The society also carried out the task of giving away cash worth Rs, 1500 to 2000 each affected

family in the unfortunate region. Project Topi also extended financial support to GIKI staff

members who were affected by flood directly.

Help starting a new life: The Micro-Finance Project

A software consultancy firm named Enablistics, provided a generous amount of Rs.80, 000/- to

Project Topi which helped us initiate a "Micro-Finance Program for Flood Affected People"

aimed at helping those poor ones who had lost their livelihoods, businesses and shops etc due

to floods. For this purpose, on Wednesday 8th December 2010, members of Project Topi,

accompanied by a local volunteer representing Al-Khidmat Foundation (an NGO working for

Flood Affected People in Charsadda) and led by Dr. Tariq Saeed Khan of Faculty of Mechanical

Engineering (Advisor Project Topi), went on to a village called 'Prang' near Charsaddda. Project

Topi helped 6 different people in this village, which were shortlisted by the Project Topi with

assistance of Al-Khidmat Foundation Charsadda. These people were provided with the basic

financial help needed to resume their business activities. In this regard, a Taxi Driver whose taxi

was damaged due to water from severe flood was given the opportunity to repair his taxi and

buy new engine for it.

Among others was also an owner of a small electric store, whose shop was washed away in

flood and he had lost all his equipment and instruments in the water. New equipment and

other electric store items were bought for him so that he may restart his business. Similarly a

crockery store owner, whose utensils were lost in the flood, was helped by buying new crockery

items for his shop. Also a Milk-man was helped by buying him 3 large milk cartons and 80 liters

of milk to revive his business. A fruit-seller who had lost everything in the floods was bought

fruit items and the food cart to help him set up his fruit business again. Also, an independent

(individual) electrician cum refrigeration technician was helped by providing him his necessary

electric items (electric board, instruments etc.) to facilitate a fresh start of his professional

activities.

Project Topi continues to work passionately for the development, health and education of the

deserving people in and around GIK Institute. It is true that when performing a deed of helping

a needy or someone in distress, one should not flaunt and brag about it. But the fact is that it is

also the right to let students of GIK Institute and people outside GIKI have the knowledge of the

amount of efforts that the members of this noble society are putting up in order to revive the

sense of ‘helping others’ and striving to provide more and more opportunities to the people of

the under-developed area around their GIK institute.

Special Thanks

Project Topi is indebted to:

The GIK Institute’s higher management, faculty and staff

GIKI Alumni

Al-Khidmat Foundation, KPK

Dr. Ikram (Mardan)

Dr. Zia-ur-Rehman (Charsadda)

Mrs. Zia-ur-Rehman(Charsadda)

Enablistics, Lahore

GIKI Student’s body