Hundreds of people left homeless by the South Asian earthquake are being re-homed thanks to money raised in Bradford.
Architect Sharjeel Hassan, who is based in Mirpur, has been working around the clock to help survivors rebuild their lives and their homes after the devastating quake rocked Pakistan's North West Frontier Province and Azad Kashmir almost three months ago.
The 38-year-old architect, whose uncles live in Bradford, has built 50 homes with a team of workers in the past two months in the village of Khorichana near Rawalakot, where 462 homes were destroyed.
"This has provided homes for 50 families and we are still working," said Mr Hassan. "The temperature in this area is now below zero. We have also rebuilt some damaged houses and one school and now about five families are living in the school."
Mr Hassan hopes to have completed 75 houses by the middle of January, which will be part of the final target of 462 homes.
Each house, which is made from wood and stone, provides homes for six to seven people. For many of the families moving into the houses from tents in camps, the homes have offered their first night's sleep under a proper roof in months.
Mr Hassan said: "After moving in, one man said it was the first time since October 8 (when the earthquake struck) that he had slept properly and his children love it. They are really happy and that makes me happy."
As temperatures plummet across the affected region, builders are now in a race against time to build as many homes as possible as their efforts become hampered by heavy snowfall.
Mr Hassan's uncle, journalist Zafar Tanweer, of Denholme, said: "A lot of people from Bradford have shown interest in the project and they are helping financially."
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