Right now the situation is so bad that initially we were targeting 32,000 individuals and now the number of the displaced individuals within the place of our work (two Union Councils and 40 villages in Mardan) rose up to more than 300,000 in just three days. Maybe in a week it will swell up to more than half a million. Majority of these are women and children who had walked miles to reach the safe havens and who had to trek the distances with nothing with them but the clothes on their backs.

"And it pains us much to be unable to help because of very limited resources.

"Right now we are building 40 mercy centers providing food, medical services, counseling, place of refuge and a children activity point to address trauma caused by war. And we are operating just next to the conflict zone.

"We will start providing food to more than a hundred thousand people on a daily basis (if you could just imagine the burden on this activity alone). But Insha'Allah, God is on our side as you at Islamic Relief USA are much on our side.

"Please pass on the message to our brothers and sisters in the US of our deep appreciation of their support.

"Yours and their prayers will help us a lot to weather through with this challenge."

-Jerome Akram, Islamic Relief staff member in Pakistan