Pakistan Flood Relief (Village Ghulam Hussain)

Recent floods in Sindh province in Pakistan destroyed homes, farms and roads in the village of Ghulam Hussain Pathan. This fundraiser will support approximately 600 desperate villagers (80 families) with food, clothes, temporary shelters and essentials as they survive the floods (it's still raining!) and as they plan to rebuild 35 houses and restart the farms. The community is at great risk of long-term hunger as their only source of income is from selling rice and wheat, and the floods destroyed the summer rice crop and water washed away most of the stored winter wheat crop. They're also at risk of getting extremely ill, especially the children, as families have little source of food and sanitation, and the flooding continues. Many people's belongings, including furniture and cooking supplies, got washed away and can't be salvaged, so this campaign will help them during one of the worst crises of their lives both now, during the relief phase, and in the future, during the re-building phase. Currently, no charitable organizations are supporting them.

A group of relatives and friends of the villagers started this two-month fundraising campaign. I am a part of this community, and all the affected people are fellow farmers, neighbours and friends. The goal of $40,000 out of the $66,000 (expected expense) we collect will be used to provide temporary relief, including food, clothes, tents, tarps, first-aid supplies and other necessities as people hunker down and wait for the rain to stop. Any extra money raised will be used for long-term relief to rebuild 35 houses when the rain stops and floods recede -- and the money will be sent to the community as we receive the funds. We‘ll send 100 percent of the money raised here directly to the villagers’ representative. The funds will be transferred to an account in Pakistan and then transferred over to the representatives (namely, Abdul Hussain and Saifuddin) account for different purposes to uplift the community; I will personally travel to Pakistan and make sure it is used efficiently. The representatives of this Village are the Mayor, the land owners and myself.

These monsoon rains typically end in October/November, when we hope the floods will decrease. The community has already started planning and collecting local resources to rebuild their lives and communities. With hope never dying, we hope for safe times ahead.

Food for approximately 600 people (80 families) for three months: CAD$24,000 (CAD$100 per family per month)

35 houses need to be rebuilt: $42,000 (CAD$1,200 per house.

Updates on all the developments will be posted regularly. Thank you for your time.