Support the Flood Victims in Pakistan

Pakistan is hit by the worst flood disaster in the country's history. Millions of people are affected, amongst them thousands and thousands of carpet weavers and their families. The people in Pakistan are in urgent need of your support.

August 12th, 2010. According to the UN 13.8 million people are affected by the massive flood. After the North of Pakistan the flood has now arrived in the central and southern provinces of Punjab and Sindh. Punjab is the province with the highest population and it contributes 70% of the country’s food production. In Punjab alone the floods have destroyed 1.4 millions of agricultural land; 500,000 people are homeless.

The floods are disastrous for the carpet weavers as well. In Pakistan carpets are mainly produced by women in rural areas. Their families live from farming and the women make an essential contribution to the family earnings by weaving carpets at home. Thousands of these families have now lost their homes, their crops and their livestock.

The people in Pakistan are in urgent need of humanitarian aid and long-term support by the world community. Label STEP asks for your support and recommends the following sources to find an organisation for your donation:

UK:

The Disaster Emergency Committee DEC (www.dec.org.uk) is an umbrella organisation for 13 humanitarian aid agencies:
DEC Pakistan Floods Appeal

USA/International:

CNN list of charities mobilizing aid for flood victims in Pakistan

Read also: Interview with Sher Zaman from Label STEP Pakistan on swissinfo.ch