PESHAWAR: The young volunteers affiliated with different political parties, civil societies, artists, rights bodies and charity organisations swiftly responded to natural calamity-hit districts including Swat, Shangla and Buner, the latter being the most devastated by the catastrophic cloudburst.

The KP youth exhibited their extraordinary courage and strength while responding to the post-flood situation in Buner, Ajmal Wali, chief of Blood Donation Society in Peshawar, said.

The areas, prone to sudden disasters due to their mountainous terrain and climatic vulnerabilities, benefitted hugely from the vigor, local knowledge and resilience of young volunteers who bridged the gaps in emergency response and recovery, Kamran Momand, a university graduate heading a volunteer organisation observed.

Experts say the young volunteers from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including merged tribal districts were the first to respond to the affected areas after relief agencies and volunteered their services in the rehab activities. Most young social media influencers played a significant role in raising awareness about the relief operations in the affected areas, with locals pinpointing the required assistance.

The spirit of young volunteers from merged tribal districts is worth -appreciating as most hailed from the areas still reeling under the specter of militancy, Fazal Rahim, a volunteer from Bajaur district told this scribe. He stressed training youth in volunteer services in critical situation would further improve their crisis management skills.

Anwarzeb, a journalist from district Buner, stated though all the charity organisations comprised young volunteers were working without having connectivity and coordination network but still their active participation helped boost morale of the affected communities, making the relief operation a great success.

Dr Muhammad Shahzad said members of Kudai Khidmatgaar organisation from Kurram, Khyber, Dir and several other areas set up medical camps in Buner. The Young Doctors Association (YDA) KP led by Dr Hafeez Orakzai as well as the volunteers of Al-Khidmat Foundation as usual served remarkably in the flood-affected areas.

Shafeeq Gigyani, a rights activist, maintained the young volunteers from KP and the tribal districts were indispensable in managing natural disasters because their role in rescue, communication, preparedness and recovery supported by relevant organisations strengthened the community resilience and resolve.

The artists’ welfare society (AWS) also set up a relief camp in the city asking people to donate cash money, relief goods including water bottles food items, and medicines for the flood-affected people of Buner.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2025