CRWRC Aids Pakistan Flood Survivors

The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) is responding to widespread devastation in northwest Pakistan resulting from weeks of rain that caused mudslides, collapsed buildings, and covered entire villages in water and mud.

The agency plans distributions of immediate aid to flood survivors in hard-hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, including food assistance to 64,000 individuals displaced by the disaster.

The monsoon rains that started July 21 have caused unprecedented flooding that has killed more than a thousand people, stranded hundreds of thousands, and displaced or otherwise affected more than 1.5 million people, according to news reports. The United Nations, United States and Canadian governments have pledged more than $10 million in humanitarian assistance.

CRWRC's initial emergency response includes 4,000 mosquito nets, 1,500 hygiene kits, and psychological services. CRWRC will also apply for immediate funding for additional emergency aid to supply 8,000 families with food for one month. These distributions will include wheat flour, cooking oil, lentils, sugar, salt, and spices.

CRWRC has significant experience in Pakistan's northwestern provinces, responding to previous disasters in 2005, 2008, and 2009. The agency's Pakistani partner, the Interfaith League Against Poverty (ILAP), is based in Islamabad.

In 2009 CRWRC and ILAP conducted a three-month relief program to provide emergency food aid to families fleeing violence between military forces and insurgents in Malakand, Swat, and the NorthWestern Frontier Province. ILAP provided food supplies at that time, along with CRWRC non-food relief items to displaced persons and their host families.

CRWRC will assess its flood response in the coming months based on need and available funding. Financial donations for "Pakistan Flooding 2010" can be made online at www.crwrc.org or by calling 1-800-55-CRWRC or by check mailed to CRWRC, 2850 Kalamazoo Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49560.

CRWRC is a non-profit agency of the Christian Reformed Church in North America ministering to people in need around the world with relief, development, and justice. To learn more about CRWRC’s international relief programs, visit www.crwrc.org.