7:36am Thursday 2nd September 2010
By Emma Streatfield
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.
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