Mubashir Niaz in Pakistan

Mubashir with some of the families he helped in Muzaffarabad

Earthquake aid

In response to the destructive South Asian earthquake in October 2005, Abu Dhabi staff member Mubashir Niaz went to the epicentre of the quake to work with communities whose homes and livelihoods were devastated.

The six month assignment for Oxfam – a relief charity – in the Muzaffarabad district, saw Mubashir working on the Pakistan earthquake disaster relief programme, leading a team of engineers and technicians.

Mubashir was helping to provide clean water and adequate sanitation to displaced families as well as working with the Kashmir Public Health Department to rehabilitate the municipal water treatment and supply system of Ghari Dupatta town. He installed more than 60 gravity fed water supply schemes, erected 22 cable bridges for pipe crossings spanning up to 350m, constructed six hand dug wells and 2000 plus latrines and bathing cubicles reaching around 140,000 beneficiaries in the Muzaffarabad area.

Mubashir recently completed the Mott MacDonald Charitable Trust sponsored MSc course on ‘Water and Environmental Management in developing countries’, which proved very useful for his assignment.