Flood Relief Drive
United for Pakistan Flood Relief Drive is a
campus-wide/city-wide coalition established by the Organization of
Pakistani Students at Columbia University in collaboration with
on-campus organizations such as (in alphabetical order)
Ahimsa,
Columbia/Barnard Hillel,
Club Zamana, CU Unicef, Hindu Student
Organization,
MSA,
Sigma Lambda Gamma
National Sorority Incorporated, and
SIPA South Asia Association to act immediately to the devastation
occurring in Pakistan due to massive flooding. The coalition builds on the success of an
earlier initiative by Columbia students, who raised more than $17,000 and used it for distributing relief supplies through a local NGO. An account has been set
up by Student Affairs
Central Business Office (SACBO) to promote the entire University's full support of the
initiative.
Our goal is threefold:
- 1. Fundraise to reach our goal of $100,000. The
beneficiary will be
UN Emergency Response Fund and Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
- 2. Spark community involvement via inter-faith
alliances, intellectual discussions, fundraisers and vigils.
- 3. Remove the negative stigma and stereotypes
surrounding Pakistan. We seek to educate the community that Pakistan is a
country going through unimaginable levels of suffering and poverty and
has been the victim of corruption and terrorism itself. We should be
concerned about Pakistan's health as human beings first and foremost for
the disaster is quickly unfolding into a long-term human tragedy.
Main project:
Volunteers fundraise at NYC/Long Island/NJ
mosques, churches, synagogues, temples, restaurants, bazaars and other
places of gathering throughout the fall semester to reach our goal of
$100,000, starting 8/30.
How to get involved?
As an individual:
1. Sign up NOW to volunteer- we will send you an email with a schedule for shifts:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dEJzUV9qYVp1RVpkb2tabjBIXzhPX2c6MQ
Flyers are available at:
http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~salman/pakistanflood/
2. Attend the facebook event and invite all your friends to volunteer too http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=119044921477603&ref=ts
3. To be notified of other events/news information send your contact information to opsfloodrelief@gmail.com
4. If you cannot volunteer, text SWAT to 50555 to donate to UNHRC.
As a campus organization:
5. If you are a part of a
campus faith group other than MSA and would like to be a part of our
steering committee, please email your contact information and
organization to opsfloodrelief@gmail.com
Ways to donate:
1. Cash. Attend our events to place cash in donation boxes.
2. Check
Checks should be made payable to Columbia
University and include "Pakistan Relief" in the memo. Mail to:
Henna Mahmood
Columbia University
3442 Alfred Lerner Hall
2920 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
* Henna is the President of the Organization of Pakistani Students
3. Online. Purchase a ticket online
via Columbia’s TIC Center (will act as a PayPal account).
All ticket sales aka donations will go straight to our account for the flood relief
Important statistics:
* Worst flooding in 80 years; an area the size of Italy submerged by floods
* Estimated 20 million people affected (more than one-eighth of country's population)
* Affected more people than Haiti quake, 2004 Asia tsunami, 2005 Pakistan quake combined
* More than 1,600 dead
* 6 million people in need of life-saving assistance (WHO)
* More than 200 hospitals and clinics destroyed
* Thousands of homes destroyed; thousands of acres of farmland uprooted
Why the disaster is escalating:
According to WHO fact sheet, floods can
potentially increase the transmission of both water-borne and
vector-borne communicable diseases such as typhoid fever, cholera,
leptospirosis, hepatitis, malaria, dengue, dengue haemorrhagic fever,
yellow fever, and West Nile Fever. They also increase the number of
snake bites.
Frequently asked questions:
Please follow
this link.
Press:
Panelists Urge People to Donate to Pakistan
Flood Victims
Pakistani student group raises funds, awareness
Student uses Facebook to raise money for Pakistan
Pakistani students bring aid from New York
Acknowledgments:
SIPA Student Association
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