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Both local and international non-profits have been toiling to pool resources in conjunction with government rescue operations and we’re listing the funds you can donate to.
News channels are being dominated by visuals and hourly updates of floods in Pakistan as reporters apprise viewers of the havoc engulfing the country, driving home the fact that the climate crisis is here, and is now inescapable. The human toll of this natural disaster is astounding— in over eight weeks of flash floods, buildings and entire villages have been washed away, an estimated 4 million acres of crops have been decimated and over 1,100 people have lost their lives.
While the rest of the world watches this environmental disaster unfold on their screens and finally registers that the climate crisis we were hoping to avert is at our doorstep and will cause weather events in the future to become even more catastrophic, it’s important to address the immediate problem at hand: that we need to come together in support of the people of Pakistan. Emergency rescue, temporary shelter and basic needs like food, water, hygiene and medical assistance are of paramount need for displaced locals at the moment, and both local and international non-profits have been toiling to pool resources in conjunction with government rescue operations. Below we’ve listed the funds you can donate to in order to help our neighbours across the border.
Once you’ve donated to a fund of your choice, do consider becoming a climate advocate in your area, joining global climate activists and donating to organizations campaigning for meaningful policy change. Remember that Pakistan is responsible for 1 per cent of global emissions, and the fact that it has to bear the brunt of climate change so severely is deplorable, to say the least. It has been posited that even if the country becomes totally renewable and cuts tiny carbon emissions of less than 1 per cent further, global warming won’t abate. It’s up to the entirety of humanity to aid and adapt.
Save the Children
Save the Children has stationed humanitarian response teams across severely affected areas to set up temporary shelters and distribute kits with basic household necessities, hygiene and menstruation supplies, as well as food. At the moment, donations to Save the Children’s Emergency can’t be directed towards Pakistan flood relief but is a part of several emergency efforts.
International Rescue Committee
The International Rescue Committee arranges for emergency relief for refugees and those impacted by humanitarian crises. The organization’s focus is on providing clean drinking water, food, safe sanitation for women and girls, hygiene products, and critical healthcare for those affected.
CARE
CARE is an international nonprofit working to tackle poverty, provide access to education, and address on-ground humanitarian crises. Organization members are distributing emergency relief supplies, including tents, tarps, emergency latrine kits, and hygiene items like toothbrushes, soap, period products, and underwear, among other aid.
Disasters Emergency Committee
By way of international assistance to provide humanitarian aid, ten Disasters Emergency Committees are delivering life-saving aid both directly and through local partners via providing temporary shelter, emergency food support and clean drinking water. The UK government will match pound-for-pound up to £5 million donated by the public to this appeal.
32 Auctions
A bunch of Pakistani artists and creatives including writer Fatima Bhutto, designers Misha Japanwala and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and visual artist Hiba Schahbaz among others have come together to donate custom-made and original pieces to raise funds via 32 Auctions for foundations and organizations that are working on-ground to provide aid to flood-affected victims. Among the merch and experiences being auctioned is a private screening of Jemima Khan’s new film What’s Love Got To Do With It, an hour in the studio with British musician and producer Nitin Sawhney and a Rupi Kaur world tour ticket which includes a meet and greet with the poet. You can also bid on a bespoke Reemies cake, have bestselling author Elizabeth Day name a character after you in her next novel and receive signed, personalized books from Fatima Bhutto.
This post was originally published on Vogue India
