Children's futures shattered by 2022 floods
How the devastating 2022 monsoon floods upended millions of young lives across Pakistan, trading classrooms for child labor and forced marriages.
Asif Mahmood
Editorial
A school building left in ruins after the 2022 catastrophic floods, deeply impacting the educational future of thousands of children.
World Bank / File Photo
LAHORE: Following the devastation caused by the heavy rains and catastrophic flooding in 2022, many people rallied to provide humanitarian aid through food, clothing and medicine for the affected families.
However, no amount of aid could restore the futures of innocent children whose lives were upended. Muhammad Arsalan, a 12-year-old boy, was found working at a shop in Gulberg. Originally from Rajanpur, Arsalan had been living with a relative in Lahore for the past three years. Before the floods, Arsalan was a Class 4 student, but when the disaster struck in 2022, his home and school were completely destroyed, forcing him and his family to flee to Lahore.
"When the reconstruction of homes in my hometown was complete, my parents and four siblings return, but they left me behind since I had started working for Rs200 a day," Arsalan shared.
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