Jamila, 67, Pakistan

Jamila with her new crutches. (c) Amber Abbas/HelpAge International 2010 Jamila is 67 and has been unable to use her legs since childhood after contracting polio.

Her disability led to her never marrying and now she is reliant on her brother, a labourer, who struggles to support his family of ten members.

Being a disabled woman, Jamila never got an education and has lived a life confined to her home.

The attitude of her community is not kind or sympathetic to disabled people, especially women.

No money for crutches

Things got worse when she fractured her left leg after slipping in the bathroom. She didn't have enough money for crutches and had to use just one low-quality crutch that someone gave her. But it was difficult to walk with and caused her more pain as she tried to move around her home.

She said: "I didn't get married due to my disability and faced severe problems. We faced hard economic conditions as my brother was the only person supporting ten members of our family including me and another ill sister."

Weeping, she added: "When the flood came I was unable to run away so my brother took me on his shoulders and sheltered me in a safe place. My brothers worked hard to move me to our relatives' house.

The house and everything is destroyed

"From there, we came back home when the situation had improved a bit. Now we are suffering a lot as the family cannot pay much attention to me. I feel isolated with no friends to talk to. Thanks to Allah our lives were saved but the house and everything is destroyed."

A team from HelpAge then visited Jamila's village and were able to provide her with a pair of crutches and a personal kit which contains items such as bedding, a torch, a shawl and a shalwar suit.

She said she was grateful for getting the crutches and said she is able to walk better because they are the correct size for her and can be adjusted for when she is walking on uneven ground.

Thank you to HelpAge

She said: "I got a bag from Helpage that contains a shawl and a bed sheet. This is very useful for me. I have spread out the bed sheet and I use the shawl to cover me at night.

"I received a torch and it's useful at night as there is no electricity. And I received all this on my door step. I would like to say thank you to HelpAge for helping people to move towards a life with more dignity."