Support the Southampton Flood Relief Campaign (From Daily Echo)
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Support the Southampton Flood Relief Campaign
7:36am Thursday 2nd September 2010 in
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- By Emma Streatfield » Senior Reporter
DEVASTATING floods in Pakistan have united people behind a Southampton-based mercy mission.
But organisers of the Southampton Flood Relief Campaign now fear they are rapidly running out of space to cope with the response to the appeal.
Mohammed Ansar, who is co-ordinating the effort, is appealing to businesses to come forward and offer them somewhere to store their mounting collection of aid boxes.
Mr Ansar said: “We had a great response to the appeal but the problem is we need more space to store all the boxes. We would ask anyone who has space in a business unit for example to get in touch.”
The campaign has already snowballed from a few families in Chandler’s Ford to a county-wide scheme.
Instead of donating money, residents are being asked to put together a box of basic essentials, which will be shipped out to the worst hit areas of Pakistan.
An evening production line has been set up in the city’s Medina Mosque with around ten men, women and teenagers joining in at any one time to put boxes together ready for the next shipment, which leaves at the weekend.
Around 2,000 people died during the floods at the end of July, with an estimated 20 million people affected and over a million homes washed away.
The risk now is that without proper sanitation, water-born diseases will spread. The international community’s response has been criticised for being too slow and some families remain without aid.
Many in the Southampton Pakistani community are still struggling to get information on their loved ones.
Mr Ansar hopes to involve businesses, community groups and schools in the project as it gathers pace. The Medina Mosque, off St Mary’s Road, is offering people different ways in which they can help.
For a £1 donation they can get a box, in which to fill the essential items needed, but, if preferred, they can also give £10 for a box to be made up on their behalf.
■ To help email aidpacks@gmail.com or leave a message on 023 8098 6998.
Comments(13)
Brite Spark
says...
7:58am Thu 2 Sep 10
As we and the US have learnt to our cost however, the enemy already lies within.
MartinWellbourne
says...
9:07am Thu 2 Sep 10
.
It might actually improve the look of the place.
freemantlegirl2
says...
9:10am Thu 2 Sep 10
Let's see a storage warehouse come forward and offer help. I am getting my children to pack up our boxes, they have been really distressed watching it on TV, more than some 'adults' it seems!
Ohreally!!
says...
10:35am Thu 2 Sep 10
MartinWellbourne
says...
10:52am Thu 2 Sep 10
Cyber-Fug wrote:There are already plenty of organisations doing this for UK based homeless - if you can find any genuinely homeless that is.
Why not save the transportation costs and distribute the parcels to the homeless and needy in THIS country !
88hythe
says...
11:18am Thu 2 Sep 10
B. L.
says...
3:28pm Thu 2 Sep 10
freemantlegirl2 wrote:OK fmg2, I'm trying to understand why you posted this. Something upset you?
oh well that's ok then, let's let everyone drown, starve to death or die of disease because their peers insist in indulging in terrorism! We have a WELFARE system in this country, Pakistan don't. But, what I will say is that these countries do need to put disaster systems into place, PS has clearly been caught out with this disaster. That means we can't help anyone across the world because there are Warlords/Terrorists doing things in the names of innocent people.
Let's see a storage warehouse come forward and offer help. I am getting my children to pack up our boxes, they have been really distressed watching it on TV, more than some 'adults' it seems!
binman1234
says...
6:59pm Thu 2 Sep 10
88hythe wrote:thats the best one so far very funny
If the mosque puts a few bets on the cricket they will be able to raise even more money to help.
driverbelcher
says...
7:47pm Thu 2 Sep 10
B. L.
says...
9:18pm Thu 2 Sep 10
driverbelcher wrote:I like that one ! Creased myself laughing at that because I was stumped for a response, went bats trying to think of something but I'm over that now.
I think that any efforts to help Pakistan are extremely No Ball in the current climate.
Condor Man
says...
10:21pm Thu 2 Sep 10
driverbelcher
says...
10:33pm Thu 2 Sep 10
B. L. wrote:Thank you sir! Unfortunately you have taken me for six with your comments, however I now feel that this conversation is over.
driverbelcher wrote: I think that any efforts to help Pakistan are extremely No Ball in the current climate.I like that one ! Creased myself laughing at that because I was stumped for a response, went bats trying to think of something but I'm over that now.
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DISASTER: People in Pakistan need your help.
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Cyber-Fug says...
7:48am Thu 2 Sep 10