Sarah, Pakistan

The grant Sarah received from HelpAge helps her pay for her medication, as well as food. (c) Rosaleen Cunningham/HelpAge International Following the floods in Pakistan six months ago, HelpAge set up Older People's Associations (OPA). Through the OPAs, we have distributed cash grants to older people, as well as relief items such as hygiene kits and mobility aids.

Most of the people living in villages outside Jacobabad are landless haree (peasants).

Most of the land they work on was destroyed by the flood and very little is currently cultivable. Many also lost their livestock on which they depend as their main source of income.

Losing livestock is losing everthing

Sarah told us: "I've been a widow for seven years. I have four daughters and two sons. None of them are married because I cannot afford the dowries - even the sons need dowries here. My son was about to marry before the floods but we lost all our livestock and so had nothing to give for the dowry.

"I lost two cows and six goats. Losing livestock is losing everything. We used their milk for ourselves, and didn't sell because in this family there are lots of children. Now we have to buy the milk which costs 50 rupees (£0.40) a day.

"I was voted onto the older people's association because I'm active in the village. In my own language I'm very confident and speak out!

The flood water is still here

"We were told when the floods were coming but were reassured 'it'll never reach us'. But it did. We escaped and took all our essentials and travelled to Karachi with my father, who is very elderly, and my brother, and stayed with my other son.

"We stayed there three months but when we got back we were shocked to see the flood water still here. It's still here in patches. There wasn't too much damage to my house, but I can't afford to repair it. We weren't here when the government came to do the first assessments so we missed out on the government "token money" - (25,000 rupees (£200) compensation given to all people affected by the floods).

Lots of older women work for as long as they're healthy

"I was tenant farmer, and worked for the landlord on this land. I usually sowed rice, wheat, vegetables and pulses. We bought the seed, cultivated the land, and then when we harvest, we kept one third and give two-thirds to the landlord. Lots of older women stay working in the fields for as long as they're healthy.

"I stopped working in the fields some time ago because I have a chronic stomach problem, so I stay and look after the children and I depend on my sewing for an income, which is physically easier.

Sewing from dawn until dusk to earn an income

"My sewing machine was lost in the floods so I borrowed this one from a friend. I do the sewing of rilli (traditional patchwork quilts) and my daughters do embroidery. This is our only income now so we work all day at it.

"We do about ten to twelve hours a a day, until its dark. The embroidery we sell on to a broker (middle man). The middle man pays us 55 rupees (£0.40) for one piece. It takes four to five days to make this one piece. The broker probably sells it on for 500 rupees (£4.00). I get 250 rupees (£2.00) for the rilli and I can do two a week. We depend on this person, we can't do anything about his price!

One meal a day

"My greatest needs are dowries for my children, money for medicine and a new sewing machine. I'm interested in a micro-loan, but if I die who will pay my instalments? I don't want to leave my debt to my daughters.

"As a widow the village sometimes help provide me with meals. Before the floods we ate twice a day, and had better food because we had poultry. Now we, including the children, eat once a day. Mainly rice, naan, and vegetables with pulses. We haven't eaten meat for four months.

"Food is very expensive now. Some land can be cultivated already, but the yields are low so this pushes up the price. The floods came in the rice harvest, so we lost everything form that harvest and won't see another for at least one more year.

The money from HelpAge helped me keep working

"I recieved the cash grant of 10,000 rupees (£73) from HelpAge. It was "unconditional" so I could spent it on anything - I spent it on the necessities - rice flour, vegetables, and medicine for my condition.

"My medicine costs 1,300 rupee (£9.50) for eight days. If I don't take the medicine I am in severe pain. And if I'm I pain I can't work. Most of the time I need to borrow money for the medicine. So the money from HelpAge for medicine helped me keep working.

"The HelpAge grant, winter kits and hygiene kits are all we got. Without this, we would have had so little."