began my summer vacation backpacking around Pakistan, and saw some of the most remote and destitute parts of my country. Rural areas which have long been forgotten by our corrupt politicians; neglected for generations. Isolated communities with no clean running water, poor sanitation and no access to public health services; vulnerable at the best of times. These were the regions which were devastated by the flood waters.

Aptly dubbed the "flood of the century", this summer’s rain has caused damage on a colossal level. Within 24 hours Pakistan had seen it’s highest measure of rainfall in 35 years, resulting in the worst floods experienced in the last 83 years. 20 per cent of the country has been submerged, and an estimated 1.2 million homes damaged or destroyed. According to United Nations estimates, over 21 million people have been displaced. Riverbanks have burst, wiping out crops, livestock, bridges and roads. Officials estimate the total economic impact to be as much as $43 billion. Victims of the floods have lost everything and remain unsure of what the future will bring. Those fortunate enough to have survived the floods are now faced with surviving the aftermath.

Having seen with my own eyes just how fragile these communities were, I found myself asking who was going to help. Undoubtedly as a consequence of recent strains on political relations, international response to the floods has been slow and disproportionately reliant on expatriates and Pakistanis helping their fellow countrymen. At the end of August, according to Relief Web financial tracking service, total commitments amount to less than $700 million – less than $30 per affected person – compared to $32 billion in the first month after the earthquake in 2005.

I decided to raise funds for the relief effort in my home city Faisalabad, fortunately affected to a lesser extent by the waters. Through spreading the word amongst friends and family at home and abroad, I managed to quickly raise £16,000 and was able to pack 560 food and hygiene kits for affected families. Disappointed with the high proportion of money donated to international organisations going towards administration and running costs, I decided to distribute the aid personally, with the help of a few friends.

We focused our efforts on Rajanpur, one of the poorest areas in Pakistan where about 100,000 people had been uprooted by the floods. Many parts of the district were still unaccessible because road transport systems had completely collapsed. As I approached, I saw housing reduced to debris on both sides of the road. Many of the people had come out into the streets because they no longer had a home. One female flood victim told me: "We used to be good people, the kind that give to beggars. Now, we are the beggars."

We identified five severely damaged areas where there was little or no response from aid agencies, and set up our camp in a Primary school alongside the Falah-e-Insaniyat arm of the banned Jama’at-ud-Da’wah (JuD), who had established a medical point for flood victims. When we were distributing food in the Primary school, people were outside the school wall expecting that they will get something as well. I had never in my life seen people so helpless. I wish I could have done more.

Rather than simple people trapped by corrupt and inept government, it seems the international community has labelled Pakistan a "terrorist state", hindering the relief effort. Ironically, the floods have given the notorious Islamic organisations an opportunity to rebuild their support. Pakistanis have long been fed up of militancy and want peace, but help has been thin, access difficult and communication limited. Destitute flood victims have no other option but to get medical attention from who ever they can. Banned Islamic organisations such as the JuD have engaged in relief efforts and are making inroads, where the government is absent or seen as corrupt, to win public support.

Floods have submerged 17 million acres of Pakistan’s most fertile crop land, killed 200,000 herds of livestock and washed away massive amounts of grain. Total agricultural production has been brought down by more than 15 per cent, and loss of crops will hit textile manufacturing, the country’s largest export sector. Moreover, long term food shortages are a major concern, with farmers being unlikely to be able to meet the autumn deadline for planting new seeds.

Infrastructure has also been devastated, with reports suggesting an estimated 2,433 miles of highway damaged and 3,508 miles of railway. Public building damages are estimated at $1 billion. Earlier this month the International Labour Organisation reported that more than 5.3 million jobs have been lost due to the floods. The GDP growth rate of 4 per cent prior to the floods may turn negative, with estimates ranging from -2 to -5 per cent. It will be several years before the economy will return to pre-flood levels.

In recent years, a lot of media attention has been devoted to terrorism, bombings and match fixing scandals, but when it comes to American drones accidentally killing hundreds of Pakistanis, Europeans are not informed. Pakistan is by no means a perfect country, but the failures of government do not mean that the international community is right to turn a blind eye to people in need.

Long suffering from serious shortage of basic amenities, terrorism, corrupt politicians, hyper inflation, high rates of unemployment and worsening International reputation, Pakistan is simply not capable to cope with the monstrous scale of this disaster. An entire country was brought to its knees in just a few days, the most severely affected areas being the poorest. I will continue to raise funds and awareness for the victims (for more information, please join my Facebook event "Funds for Pakistan Floods"), and hope that the international community will drop its prejudice and provide the support needed so desperately.