August 23 (Day 176) Helping Pakistani Families

Up to 21 million Pakistani children and women are affected by the worst monsoon flooding ever in northern Pakistan. Over the past four weeks floods have damaged, destroyed or cut off thousands of villages and communities and caused extensive damage to roads and bridges. Tens of thousands of children and families remain marooned in villages without clean water, adequate shelter, medical care and dangerously low supplies of food.

Children are always among the most vulnerable during emergencies. They are watching their family’s livelihoods wash away, leaving their parents with the difficult task of rebuilding their lives and feeding children. The UN also reports that some 5,600 schools have been damaged and that over 4,000 others are being used to shelter displaced families. Children’s access to education has suffered a major blow.


Pakistan's worst flooding in 80 years has claimed at least 1,600 lives and left more than 4 million people homeless. The Pakistan flooding disaster is going from bad to worse, especially for millions of children and vulnerable elderly people who are at risk of cholera and other deadly waterborne illnesses.

Continued rains hamper access to Pakistan's northwest region, leaving entire villages cut off  from relief efforts and raising the level of urgency to reach many in desperate need of basic supplies. With more rain on the way, officials fear that the flooding will extend  further into the more populated provinces of Sindh and Punjab over the coming days.



Please support one of the organizations working to bring help and hope to Pakistan.

AmeriCares has mounted disaster relief efforts to help sick and injured people affected by the floods. Hospitals and clinics report rapidly depleting existing stocks of medication, wound care supplies and hygiene items. In response, AmeriCares continues to deliver medical aid to local partners and the airlifted aid is en route to health care providers helping flood survivors.

Since 1990, AmeriCares has delivered nearly $57 million in assistance to Pakistan including relief supplies ranging from medicines, medical supplies, equipment, health care facilities and nutritional support.

 
Donate to AmeriCares Pakistan Floods Relief Fund.

With the monsoon season expected to continue though September, Save the Children’s highest priority for the coming weeks is to save children’s lives and rush food, water, shelter materials, medical care and other essentials to affected communities. Once our recovery phase begins, we plan to address children’s longer-term needs in shelter, health and nutrition, education and child protection. We will also help families regain incomes and help restore their ability to produce food. Our goal is to reach 2 million children and adults within the next six months.

Save the Children is working with national, district and local governments and is using all means of transportation available, including helicopters, mules and boats, to send health staff and supplies to communities that have been cut off.



Donate to the Pakistan Children in Emergency Fund.
 
You can donate any amount through the link above, or by calling 1-800-728-3843 or 1-203-221-4030.
 
Donate $10 by Texting  "FLOOD" to 20222 (U.S. Only).





Source:  Americares
               Save the Children