The recent flooding in Pakistan has been rated by the United Nations as the greatest humanitarian crisis that the UN has ever faced. It has already affected more people than the tsunami in Southeast Asia and the recent earthquake in Haiti.

UN spokesperson Maurizio Giuliano said: “This disaster is worse than the Southeast Asia tsunami, the 2005 Pakistan earthquake and the Haiti earthquake.”

Although the current 1,600 death represents a fraction of the 610,000 people killed in the three previous events, some 20  million people  (6 million are children) have been impacted. We can help the living.

The UN estimated that over $1 billion will be needed to help Pakistan once the rains stop. The World Food Program said that 4 million people will need food supplies for three months after the rains stop.

We have  put together a partial list of credible and well known International charity organizations that prospective donors can support. For an extensive list of Relief organization please visit our Floods 2010 Wiki Page.  Additionally we  have partnered with OFF-ROAD PAKISTAN and BEHBUD ASSOCIATION in driving a grassroots relief drive in Sindh. For information click here.

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“The eyes see. The ears hear. Yet somehow, the mind struggles to grasp the full dimension of this catastrophe. Almost 20 million people need shelter, food & emergency care. At least 160,000 square kilometers of land is under water – an area larger than more than half the countries of the world. The needs are great, and this disaster is far from over.”

As the Pakistan Floods, the world’s worst natural disaster, unfolds and horrific images emerge, we cannot help feeling overwhelmed and also feeling a great sense of responsibility. 1,639 people are confirmed dead, 20 million people are displaced and at risk for disease and even death. Out of which 4 million children are at high-risk for water borne diseases. These staggering numbers just keep growing as this catastrophe keeps unraveling. To put this in context, Greater Los Angeles has 14 million people alone. If we knew of an impending disaster heading to our cities, wouldn’t we help?

I am collaborating with OPEN Chicago, a network of socially conscious executives in the Chicagoland area who are just as committed to this cause as I am. Together we are hoping to make a difference in the lives of these people. We will be reaching out to you in the next few weeks not just for your generosity in donations but your kindness and efforts in creating awareness about disaster relief.

As responsible global citizens, as Americans, as human beings we request you to open your hearts and purses. We see this as an opportunity to change the direction of a suffering nation, to show that we care and we stand with them in their desperate hour of need. So when they look back and this is a distant memory, they remember the helping hands. They will forget the politics of the times, but they will not forget their friends who showed them kindness, compassion and generosity.

I am working with Mercy Corps and Relief4Pakistan. These agencies get supplies, medicine, food and water to the local NGOs that are intimately familiar with the lay of the land. The need for immediate response and grass root efforts is tremendous. We appeal to you to donate any amount, to any organization of your choice and it will make a difference. We also encourage you to join and replicate local efforts to pack emergency relief and medical kits. This is only immediate term, Pakistanis will need our help medium-term and long-term.

I opened UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s address and in closing I leave you with his words:

“…we hear talk of so-called “fatigue”. There are suggestions that governments hesitate to contribute more to this part of the world. But let us remember: if anyone should be fatigued, it is the ordinary people I met in Pakistan — women, children and small farmers, tired of troubles, conflict and hardship. Instead of fatigue, I saw determination, resilience, the hope and expectation that they will not be alone under the darkest of skies.”

This is the time for US to act NOW.

Faran Tahir

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Oxfam America and its partners are currently working to provide safe evacuation to hundreds of thousands of people, and  providing clean water, food,  and sanitation facilities for tens of thousands of displaced and stranded survivors.

Reported by: Saibrina Akhtar

To find out if your company has a matching program, please visit our Corporate Response page here.

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Twitter users, wondering how you can help the Pakistan Flood Relief cause? Here is one way:  re-tweet one of the following tweets …

Twitter Campaign 1 …Corporate Matching Funds:

It’s about Us, Acting Now, for Them…HELP #Pkfloods victims. Get ur company to match: http://bit.ly/acNtU0 #<Companu> #<company> (via @arrafiq)

Replace <company> with names of a well known Fortune 1000 corporation. Make sure you to leave (via @arrafiq), that will enable us to track the campaign.

Twitter Campaign 2 … Call for donations:

It’s about Us, Acting Now, for Them…HELP #Pkfloods victims. Donate to: http://ow.ly/2xgBJ #<Popular Hashtag> #<Popular Hashtagy> (via @arrafiq)

Replace <Popular Hashtag> with a popular Twitter hashtag, preferably a trending tag

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By Judy Chang

To support those impacted by the Pakistan disaster, PayPal will credit transactional fees incurred from July 29 to September 23, 2010, to any US 501(c)(3) organization or Canada Revenue Agency registered charity raising money to aid Pakistan relief.

All organizations collecting for disaster relief in Pakistan are eligible to receive fee credits. These will be issued for qualifying US 501c3 and Canada Revenue Agency registered charities raising funds for Pakistan relief between July 29 and September 23, an extension of the standard 30 days since the disaster has unfolded over weeks. Please send an e-mail to nonprofit@paypal.com for fee credit consideration.  Continue reading.

Having said that online donations collected for the 4×4 OFF-ROAD Relief Campaign are being done by Paksef (Pakistan Science & Engineering Foundation) a 501(c)(3) non-profit Corporation in California.

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When: Saturday, August 28, 2010 at 10:30pm
Venue: Indus Valley School of Art & Architecture
Minimum Donation: Rs. 1,000
Passes Now Available: T2F, Espresso, Nando’s (Boat Basin & SMCHS), Indus Valley School
For information contact: PeaceNiche

PeaceNiche is collaborating with Omar Asghar Khan Foundation for urgent relief provision as well as long-term reconstruction, in an ongoing, planned effort for rehabilitation in key affected areas.

Omar Asghar Khan Foundation has deep experience of working in conflicted areas and was one of the many organizations that provided relief and rehabilitation assistance following the 2005 earthquake and continues to support longer-term rehabilitation worth an estimated US$11 million. The Foundation is also involved in a long-term humanitarian response to the IDP crisis.

We are grateful to Express Tribune, Express 24/7, Radio 1 FM 91, Future Leaders of Pakistan, Nando’s, and Espresso for supporting this event.

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As customary to our Relief trips to the flooded areas, Faisal Kapadia and I will be live GPS tracking and Live Tweeting all along the way. Our plan is to depart Karachi on the morning of Sunday 22nd August accompany a convoy of 8 relief good trucks, be joined by 7-8 accompanying vehicles with around 25 odd volunteers to head to Shikarpur. We hope to offload all the goods in a secure warehouse in Shikarpur and from there strategically disburse the relief to deserved people in the area.

As different from the previous CoverItLive we launched last time, our emphasis is to concentrate / share tweets from only the people taking part in this particular mission and the readers will not be bothered or overwhelmed by the other twitter chatter. Continue Reading.

GPS tracking powered by InstaMapper.com

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