Relief Work
Boxed and labeled, the 350 to 400 blankets collected to help victims of the October earthquake in Pakistan are on a truck heading south to Los Angeles. There, the boxes of blankets will be packed away on an ocean freighter and shipped halfway around the world.
On Thursday, Karen Amarotico and two friends loaded the boxes of blankets onto wooden pallets and affixed stickers that read “Blankets to Pakistan with love from Ashland, Oregon” and included Amarotico’s e-mail address.
Oak Harbor Freight donated the shipment of the blankets from Ashland to Los Angeles, where a large relief effort is underway. Amarotico’s blankets will be added to supplies already collected and ferried to Pakistan before winter ends.
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Winter weather is slowing down the relief and support activities, in earthquake affected areas. Thierry Lakahinsky of Belgium’s Skytech said that with winter setting in, the death toll will probably rise. “Everybody is anxious to see how the flying conditions will be affected by the incoming weather.”
Skytech is under contract to the International Committee of the Red Cross, which currently has one Mi-26T, an Mi-8T, two Puma 330s, a Super Puma and three Mi-17s under renewable monthly contracts. The UN’s World Food Program was said to be organizing a tender for three more Mi-17s, and Russia’s state emergency response ministry has an Mi-26T in the affected region, after flying to Islamabad four days after the earthquake. Pilots estimate that as many as 70 smaller helicopters are also involved in the relief effort.
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Peter Gabriel, the renowned musician famous in this part of world for his collaboration with late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, came up with an appeal for earthquake victims in Pakistan.
Peter has provided a Digital Download of 2 MP3 format tracks (256kbs). All sales proceedings, after deduction of transaction charges, will go to charities working for relief and support of earthquake victims.
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United States Agency For International Development (USAID) would provide dollars 66.6 million to Pakistan to assist in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of quake affected areas.
The USAID has funded eight NGO partners to provide shelter assistance for a targeted 75,500 households.
The Agency has also provided nearly 6.3 million dollars in emergency relief commodities, including transportation cost for earthquake affected areas.
The Agency has also delivered a total of 47,500 blankets, 1,570 winterized tents, 8,050 rolls of plastic sheeting for 36,672 families, 15,000 water containers, 2 water purification units.
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In a bid to provide extra support for quake survivors during the inclement weather, International Organization of Migrants has enlisted 100 volunteers to staff Rapid Response Teams in Muzaffarabad to answer calls for urgent assistance.
Through round-the-clock announcements on Power99 FM and Azad Kashmir Radio, IOM received more than 250 ‘hotline’ emergency calls on Sunday alone in Muzaffarabad. The 10 teams deployed erected collapsed tents, provided 700 tarpaulins to cover the tents and replaced wet blankets, according to a press release.
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Water and oil painters from Lahore have donated paintings worth Rs 0.9 million for the October 8 earthquake victims and more art shows have been planned to assist the victims, one of which will be held at the Lahore Fort.
In addition to donating the Rs 0.9 million, the painters are holding more exhibitions to send aid to the affected areas. The Punjab Archeology Department (PAD) is holding a paintings exhibition, water and oil mediums, at the Lahore Fort in collaboration with leading painters of the city. PAD Director General Oriya Jan Maqbool told Daily Times on Saturday that the theme of the exhibition would be ‘Historical Monuments’, but the dates for the exhibition had not yet been finalised. The exhibition could be held in the second week of February, he said, adding that the exhibition would also be part of an awareness campaign to educate people about historical monuments.
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The United Nations has notified that it had suspended aid missions to two areas in Pakistan quake-hit Kashmir region after dozens of survivors stormed two UN helicopters and forced an airlift out of the devastated area.
Also on Saturday, Pakistan said it has prepared “contingency” relief camps - stocked with food - to cope with a fresh wave of refugees if they decide to flee the chilling winter. The Pakistan Meteorological Department, meanwhile, warned of more snowfall over the next 72 hours, following days of heavy storms that dumped up to 3 metres of snow in some areas of Kashmir and northwestern Pakistan, forcing the suspension of helicopter flights and aid deliveries.
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Chief Minister Punjab Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has said that a comprehensive programme has been initiated in the earthquake-affected areas for the training of local people in various construction-related skills to enable them to build their houses and earn respectable livelihood.
Talking to a delegation of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) led by its president Mian Shafqat Ali at Chief Minister’s Secretariat on Tuesday, Elahi said that the process of identifying affected families for the Punjab government’s Support a Family programme was being undertaken expeditiously. He said that the loss of lives due to the earthquake was much more than initial estimates but the people had displayed commendable spirit of unity and solidarity at this critical juncture.
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