ABBOTTABAD, Oct 6: People affected by last year’s earthquake still needed help and their problems needed to be effectively addressed, Graham Strong, national director of the World Vision, said here on Friday on the eve of the first anniversary of the quake.

“We need to be engaged in this part of the world. Western nations need to be engaged with the Muslim world in a participatory manner.

“This is our opportunity, through development, to be able to have a respectful and peaceful dialogue. It can keep us contacted. We build a relationship by addressing the issues of poverty. This is how we are going to see change,” Mr Strong said.

He said World Vision’s relief and recovery work was a tremendous success, adding that 95,000 people were provided food, 284,000 were helped through the winter with non-food items like tents, mattresses and blankets. Livestock, seeds, tools and fertilisers were also distributed.

“We are encouraged by the change we have made in children’s lives and I encourage the support offices as well as individual donors to invest in Pakistan. There is tremendous need here. World Vision could be here for the next 20 to 30 years,” said Mr Strong.