Fleeing Home

Sadja's family is one of more than 20,000 families who received assistance from Mercy Corps to buy food, clothing and medicine. Photo: Batul/Mercy Corps

Sadja's family of six has been living in an overcrowded high school for almost two months. Gunfire, bombs, and aerial shelling drove her from her home in Pakistan's Swat Valley, where intense fighting between the army and Taliban militants has displaced roughly three million people.

What did Sadja carry with her? "Nothing," she replied. "We didn't have much time to plan or pack. And I had to carry the baby."

Sadja's family is one of more than 20,000 families who received assistance from Mercy Corps to buy food, clothing and medicine. Today we're delivering urgent care to pregnant women in a newly opened birthing centre and dispatching mobile health teams to schools and other shelters.

"We need food, always," Sadja said. "People are generous, but we cannot accept food forever. We prefer to buy our own, but there is no work. We need clothes and other things for the children."