Is There a Better Refugee Camp Design?

Five days ago, the great river Indus continued its rush to the sea and flooded the plains of Thatta and Sujawal, towns located about 90 minutes outside of Karachi. Dr. Rashid Bhajwa hosted my husband, Chris Anderson, and me to visit the camps his organization is supporting there. Dr. Bhajwa, a thoughtful man in his mid-fifties with salt-and-pepper hair, a mustache and intelligent eyes, trained as a medical doctor. In 1992, he founded the National Resource Support Program (NRSP) to bring services to the poor across the country. Less than 20 years later, his nonprofit company employs 5,000 professionals, manages a $200 million budget and serves four million individuals.

We drive north along the old highway from Karachi to Lahore. The road is uneven; the colorful trucks, as big as buildings, are overstuffed with sugar cane and wheat and even rocks to such a degree that they look unreal. We pass ragged communities of people living in makeshift tents along the roads. That there is any organization at all is extraordinary -- in the past four days, 650,000 individuals have left their homes and 100,000 houses have been lost. People were given a day's warning to evacuate, so most people were able to hold onto their belongings. I'm struck by how little they have even in good times: a roped bed, a few blankets, some pots and pans, a few items of clothing, maybe a cell phone, although I don't see a single one all day -- right now, they are too expensive to use.

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