The Brooke - Pakistan earthquake rRelief

Brooke mission helps to save quake victims

The earthquake lasted only moments – but the devastation was huge. The earthquake that struck north-west Pakistan on 8 October 2005 killed an estimated 73,000 people and left three million homeless. It levelled entire towns, destroyed roads and left countless mountain communities completely cut-off.

It also killed 500,000 animals and injured millions more, sparking a Brooke emergency response that was recognised by the United Nations. Many casualties were the working horses and donkeys on which people in this poor, rural region entirely depend. While aid agencies helped survivors endure the winter, we strove to make sure their only hope for a better future – their animals - survived too.

The Brooke lifeline

Our existing operations in Pakistan meant that we were quickly working with the Pakistan Army to organise a ‘donkey train’, ferrying food, clothing and medicine to desperate survivors stranded in the mountain villages above Balakot, the worst hit area.

The 40 donkeys were loaned by local owners grateful for the treatment their animals had received from the Brooke. In just 13 days they carried an astonishing 50 tons of aid.

Dr Sher Nawaz accompanies the donkey train carrying vital supplies to stranded villagers

Brooke paravet gives injection to a sick horse

We sent three mobile vet units to Balakot, and Muzaffarabad.

In the three months following the quake, the Brooke:

launched a mass vaccination programme
distributed 1,200 feed sacks
treated an incredible 34,000 working and livestock animals
treated 3,000 human casualties who had no other medical help.


	In the areas affected by the earthquake, many people rely on animals for their very survival. In the weeks after the disaster, as the winter snow was starting to fall, many people were using the remains of their homes to build winter shelters for their animals, often before they made any provision for sheltering their own families. It was a stark reminder of how many people in developing nations depend almost entirely on the health and welfare of working animals.
	John Greany, Head of Asia, Brooke International Team

After the quake

With some financial support from Humane Society International (HSI) – the international arm of the largest US animal welfare charity – the Brooke supplied materials to help survivors build over 350 winter shelters for their animals.

All in a fragile environment still at risk from aftershocks.

A typical house rebuilt to provide shelter for animals

The Brooke taught women long-lasting skills in animal care including disease prevention, hygeine, nutrition, stabling and hydration

Brooke’s work in north-west Pakistan continued and we collaborated with international humanitarian organisation Mercy Corps in a unique venture to help thousands of women and their working animals in the region.

As the people in the region struggled to rebuild lives against tremendous odds such as torrential weather conditions, landslides and economic instability, Brooke and Mercy Corps identified women as holding the key to the region’s long-term development. Never before had women been the focus of such a large-scale integrated programme aimed to protect livelihoods and the welfare of animals.

Community workers laboured across 30 villages in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), bordering Afghanistan, teaching 1,500 local women long-lasting skills in animal care such as disease prevention, hygiene, nutrition, hydration and stabling.

Consent was secured from local religious leaders and village elders and the women readily accepted our help.

Whole families depend on their animals for their income. The Brooke teaches women how to care for their animals so that they have a healthier, brighter future


	This region of Pakistan is very conservative so we are very privileged to be allowed access to the women, and the results have been amazing – after everything they’ve been through it gives the women hope for the future. Jules Lang, Economic Development Director for Mercy Corps.

Following the success of the project in the regions of Dadar and Mansehra in NWFP, sessions expanded into the Bagh and Muzzafferabad districts in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Pakistan earthquake relief