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Caritas Pakistan will benefit from a solidarity grant of NZ$10,000 from Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand.
The money is to help with humanitarian relief efforts in Pakistan.
At least three million people have been directly affected by devastating floods, which have left over a third of the country under water. More than 1,200 people are known to have died and over 1,500 people have been injured.
One-hundred-and-sixteen of Pakistan’s 160 districts have been affected.
Families and children are at particular risk of disease and homelessness.
With thousands displaced, Asif Shirazi, Islamic Relief’s country director in Pakistan, says many are living in makeshift tents or fragile old buildings “that could collapse at any moment”.
The majority are farmers who lost their lands and livestock to the floods.
“The humanitarian situation is terrible and could deteriorate without immediate international intervention,” Shirazi says.
Planes carrying fresh supplies are surging across a humanitarian air bridge to the flood-ravaged country.
The supplies and money from New Zealand and other aid agencies will help with the country’s recovery and ongoing relief efforts.
So far, Pakistan has received aid from many countries including China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Uzbekistan, UAE, New Zealand, and the US which has promised US$30 million (NZ$49m) of aid.
Megan Gilbert, a spokesperson with Catholic Relief Services (CRS), says the organisation has set up a relief fund.
It will begin distributing funds by the end of the week. Gilbert expects to provide immediate cash assistance to 2,300 families.
Two Catholic Relief Services staff members are in Pakistan, she says.
“What they’re describing is total devastation.
“For a lot of people, everything has been wiped away. People have lost their homes, their food, their livelihood. People lost a lot of livestock. Any planting has been washed away.”
“It’s heartbreaking.”
Islamic Relief USA has committed $340,000 toward the emergency response. They hope to reach 30,000 families in the hardest-hit regions.
The nonprofit has provided 1,120 cash grants; 1,610 food packs containing flour, rice and oil; 1,070 hygiene kits; and hundreds of kitchen sets, and tents for shelter.
Omar Suleiman, an Islamic scholar and founder and president of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research, is urging everyone to help.
“The whole world needs to come together to help them through this, and do our part to not make the already vulnerable even more vulnerable with our neglect,” Suleiman says.
The International Federation of Red Cross has launched an emergency appeal to support Pakistan Red Crescent.
Red Crescent aims to assist 324,040 people across the four most affected provinces. It is asking for donations to help those in need.
Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand will be accepting further donations towards the Pakistan floods to help with ongoing relief work:
- Donations can be made to Caritas online through the Pakistan Flood relief fund (www.caritas.org.nz/donate-online) or via our bank account 03-0518-0211216-00.
- Please include first and last name in the reference as well as email address, and put “Pakistan” as the code.
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