Elderly people are proving to be among the most vulnerable in flood-hit Pakistan, according to a Belfast charity worker in the country.
By David O'Hare in Pakistan
"We have just enough food to last for a few more weeks, but after that I don't know how we will cope," 70-year-old Dhani Buksh told me when we visited him in the flood-devastated province of Sindh in Pakistan.
"We have lost everything. Our home is gone. I am 70 and my wife is 71. She is ill and we are living in a tent at the side of the road," he said.
"I had planted a cotton crop which was due to be harvested soon. My whole family - sons, daughters and grandchildren, 35 people in all - were depending on the crop. Now it is under water. All of it is destroyed."
The elderly man added: "We borrowed the money for the seeds and fertiliser to plant the crop and now it is gone. We cannot pay back the money and have nothing with which to start again.
"We hope the government will compensate us but I think this is very unlikely. I don't know what we will do."
Dhani is one of millions who have lost everything in the floods. All of his neighbours from the village of Chhachhar are in the same terrible situation.
Trócaire will be providing seeds and fertiliser for this community when the waters subside so they can feed themselves and their families.
This province is one of the poorest parts of Pakistan and there are real fears that, because so many crops have been destroyed in the area, there won't be enough food for people in the months to come.
Trócaire is supporting our partner in this area, Indus Resource Centre (IRC), which is doing all it can to help the people who have been caught up in the disaster.
Saleem Lashari of IRC said: "We are not only trying to deal with the ongoing emergency, but trying to think ahead to how we can help people start again.
"They have lost their houses, crops and livestock. It will take years to recover from this. Trócaire's support is crucial if we are to avoid a food crisis here."
David O'Hare works for Trócaire in Belfast. His updates from Pakistan are being serialised for UTV's website. More information on the relief effort in Pakistan, including how to donate, can be found on Trócaire's website.
© UTV News