October 1 2010
No sign of relenting in Pakistan floods crisis
30/09/2010 - The flood waters have now reached extensive areas of land in the southern province of Sindh in Pakistan. And thousands more people have been forced to leave their homes. In recent weeks SOS Children's Villages Pakistan has distributed around 20,000 relief packages containing food and personal hygiene items, as well as medication and tents.
The disaster, which has been called a "slow-motion tsunami" by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, will have shown its full effect only when the flood waters reach the sea in the coming days.
SOS Children's Villages has been involved in the relief efforts in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the Punjab and Balochistan since August. SOS Children's Villages Pakistan is now organising food parcels and deliveries of medication for people who've fallen victim to the flooding in Sindh because "it is still a case of saving lives," says Souriya Anwar, the President of SOS Children's Villages Pakistan.
As in other regions, SOS Children's Villages is working with partner organisations which are taking over and actually distributing the relief supplies. In the south that is the NGOs Aitemaad Pakistan, Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO), and Art of Living.
Around 20,000 food parcels have already been distributed to thousands of families in the Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Gilgit Baltistan, Swat and Sindh. That adds up to more than three million meals.
Enough medication to care for around 60,000 people was also provided in cooperation with other aid organisations and the Pakistan army. SOS Children's Villages Pakistan has also provided 1,500 tents for homeless families.