[asia-apec 1139] Cyclone victims of Sindh- Appeal to Intern. Agencies for help

[winner white]

Dear Friends,
A tropical storm in the northern Arabian Sea developed into a cyclone which reached the south-eastern coast of Pakistan 10:00 AM local time on May 20.
The cyclone, labeled 2-A, hit the coastal area of Sindh province with
reported winds of up to 170 miles per hour (270 kms per hour).
The cyclone caused massive destruction in three districts, damaging at least 50,000 houses in more than 600 villages. The number of dead had reached 300 on Friday 28, but it is feared the death toll will climb substantially as more bodies are recovered. It is estimated that as many as 500,000 people have been affected by the cyclone, but these figures are still unconfirmed due to the inaccessibility of the affected region. Communication with much of the area is still cut off and travel is difficult due to the flooding and damage caused to the infrastructure.

Please come to the  aid of victims of recent cyclone in Sindh.
So far, We have had mixed results from our contacts with several
international aid/charitable organizations to convince them to take
pro-active steps. The organizations that friends have already contacted include American Red Cross (International Relief Efforts), Directory Leaf International, UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and United way  (International). I will be contacting others in  the next few days. The following is a synopsis of the information/results obtained from these contacts:

1. Most international organizations are not taking any actions since the Pakistan government has not invited/appealed to international agencies to come to the aid of victims.
2. OCHA has issued an appeal for funding from UN and issued a detailed
report (parts of the report are attached below).
3. An official at the American Red Cross (International Relief Efforts) has promised to issue an appeal to Americans for donations and information on how to channel donations through Red Cross. Please donate few minutes of your time to contact the international aid agencies and urge them to help victims in Sindh.

The Disaster
More than 10 percent of the Sindh province was affected by the cyclone. In the worst hit districts of Thatta, Badin and Ketty Bandar, near the Indian border, at least 600 villages were damaged. The coastal towns of Jati, Sujawal, Mirpur Sakro and Raj Malik were also badly affected. People drowned or were crushed to death as their houses collapsed in the strong winds and tidal waves. At least 60,000 hectares of farmland has been seriously damaged and more than 2,000 livestock killed.
More than 1,200 people are still missing, but once again, the numbers are not confirmed and may be substantially higher. Among those missing are
approximately 450 fishermen, and according to the Pakistani Fisherman?
Association some 200 fishing boats and trawlers have been swept out to sea.
Assessment of needs Immediate  Needs Shelter Material : Tents and plastic
sheeting for emergency shelter; Food packs: Family food stocks have been
swept away or spoiled by the sea water. Markets and shops have also lost
their stocks, causing a very severe shortage of food in the area. The
immediate needs include rice, beans/lentils, cooking oil, sugar, tea, salt
and powdered milk; Water: Wells have been submerged or have collapsed. There
is a real danger
of the spread of disease, and water purification tablets and tankers
supplying fresh potable water are already being supplied;
Domestic needs: Families in need will be supplied with clothing, cooking
utensils, stoves, water containers, hurricane lamps, blankets, bed sheets,
ground and plastic sheets; Medicines: A number of medical items are needed
to ensure that water born diseases and other health problems are avoided in
the area.
Anticipated Future needs In general the people in the area are either
involved in fishing or small scale farming. The assessment of rehabilitation
needs for these families is still being conducted, but there will need to be
a distribution of agricultural tools, seeds, fertilizers, building tools for
reconstruction
and fishing equipment in order to assist the most vulnerable families in
rebuilding their lives. Estimates of these needs, which are not covered in
this appeal, are in excess of 9 million CHF.
The immediate needs are as follows:     Tents for 2,500 families;
     Food for 25,000 people for one month;
     Domestic needs for 5,000 families;     Medicines for 25,000 people;
     Basic building tools including buckets, wheel barrows, corrugated iron
sheets, picks and shovels;Procurement
All procurements will be carried out locally in Pakistan.
The operation will be completed within three months (assuming timely and
adequate funding).Budget summary see Annex 1 for details.

Conclusion
This appeal is intended to provide targeted support to the most vulnerable
person affected by this disaster. The most urgent need is for immediate
financial support to enable us to continue with the current immediate
relief and rehabilitation activities.

                                                            ANNEX 1
NON FOOD ITEMS Tents (2.500 units x CHF 160)              400,000
Building tool   120,000 Domestic needs (clothing/blankets/cooking sets/
stoves/water containers/lamps/plastic sheeting) 240,000 FOOD ITEMS
Food parcels (25.000 units x CHF 12,8)(rice,
beans, lentils, cooking oil, sugar, tea, salt, milk) 320,000
MEDICAL ITEMS                        160,000
Basic drugs / water purification tablet
TOTAL RELIEF NEEDS               1,240,000
Transport, storage & vehicle costs            80,000 Personnel
Personnel (1 expat staff x 3 months, RD support) 50,000
Personnel (NS local staff)25,000
Administrative, office & general expenses           60,000
Travel & Communication                   10,000
Monitoring/Survey mission/Evaluation         5,000 Printing
Costs/Information
11,000 Secretariat operational support             59,000
TOTAL OPERATIONAL NEEDS                 300,000
TOTAL APPEAL CASH & KIND         1,540,000
NET REQUEST CASH & KIND          1,540,000
All items are going to be purchased locally, quantities of relief supplies
will be indicated in the confirmed budget.


Khalid Hashmani
Sindhi Association of North America (SANA)
KHashmani at aol.com


Abid Shah
oxfamsnd at hyd.compol.com

Ayaz Latif Palijo
Sindh Research Council (SRC)
LEAD Cohort 7 Pakistan

Addr:  B-48,  Prince  Town,  (QA),  Hyderabad,   Sindh,
Pakistan.       Phone:    92  -  221 -  651947,     651725
Email :  ayazl at paknet3.ptc.pk, src_st at hyd.netasia.com.pk, fsr5st at hotmail.com
Sindh Research: http://www.angelfire.com/az/Sindh/index.html


Forwarded by
M Ismail





______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com