Brethren contribute $40,000 to flood relief in Pakistan.

The Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund has given $40,000 to the work of Church World Service (CWS) in Pakistan following monsoon-related floods. The grant is assisting CWS and the ACT Alliance in supplying flood survivors with emergency food, water, shelter, medical care, and some personal supplies.

Today’s situation report from CWS said that "the torrential rains and flooding that have affected Pakistan in recent weeks continue, with at an estimated 1,600 dead and 14 million affected. Some 1.5 million people are now homeless." According to CWS, the floods that began in the northern parts of Pakistan have now spread to four provinces covering about 82,000 square miles, out of the country’s total area of 340,132 square miles.

"As the rains continue, the waters are moving downstream like a rolling earthquake affecting Punjab and Sindh provinces further south," the report said. "The continued rains and flooding are creating difficulties in rescue and relief operations; bridges throughout the country have been washed away from flooding and landslides; poor weather has also grounded relief helicopters. Delays in relief supplies reaching distribution points means that the affected communities must wait longer for the shelter, food, and other items which are immediately required for their survival."

CWS is coordinating a response in a wide geographic area, working in Swat, Kohistan, D.I. Khan, Shangla and Mansehra districts of Khyber Pakhtoonkwa Province; Sibbi district of Balochistan Province; and Khairpur district of Sindh Province. As well as directly implementing aid, CWS is partnering with Participatory Village Development Program, Help in Need, VEER Development Foundation, and Nation’s Capacity Building Program. A total of 99,000 individuals or approximately 13,500 households are being served through the CWS response.

As of Aug. 6, CWS has distributed food items to thousands of households, and plans to dispatch 2,500 tents in the coming week. It is providing emergency health assistance through a mobile health unit, with two additional units to be mobilized. CWS health units under the Afghan Refugee Program have conducted educational activities and preventive measures against water-borne diseases, which have increased significantly in the aftermath of the flood. In the next few days CWS plans to distribute several hundred more tons of food with the assistance of the Royal Netherlands Embassy and the Canadian Food Grains Bank.

Contributions to the flood relief work in Pakistan may be made through a donation to the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund, go to www.brethren.org/site/PageServer?pagename=give_emergency_disaster_fund.

Source: 8/12/2010 Newsline