Sada-e-Watan Sydney ™
sadaewatan@gmail.com
Mr.Iftikhar,Premier Kristina,Mr.Hamid & Mr. Zafar
$ 500,000
NSW GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR PAKISTAN FLOOD RELIEF
(Media Release No: 100827
to Sada-e-Watan Sydney)
The NSW Government is
supporting the Pakistan Flood Relief efforts with a donation of $500,000 ( Five
Hundred Thousand Australian Dollars) for
emergency relief assistance. Premier Kristina Keneally and Minister for Western
Sydney David Borger announced the NSW Government will provide $250,000 each to
the Australian Red Cross and UNICEF for their Pakistan Flood appeals. Both
organisations have been on the ground in Pakistan assisting with:•Medical
treatment; •Shelter; •Food and clean water; •Hygiene kits; and •Tracing missing
family members.
The NSW Government will also host a fundraising dinner to support relief efforts at Parliament House in the coming months. Ms Keneally yesterday met with the Acting Consul General of Pakistan, Mr Hamid Asghar Khan to discuss the crisis and ways the NSW Government can assist disaster relief. The President Pakistan Association of Australia Mr. Iftikhar Rana and Editor-in-Chief Sada-e-Watan Mr.Syed Zafar Hussain were also present during the meeting with the Premier.
At least 2000 people have been killed and around 750,000 homes have been badly damaged. A fifth of Pakistan is under water and the United Nations estimates that more than 20 million people are suffering in the worst ever national disaster. The World Health Organisation has estimated more than 10 million people are either suffering or at risk of infections including cholera and diarrhoea from drinking unsafe water. “Around six million people require immediate food aid and millions more are affected by public health issues as a result of this natural disaster,” Ms Keneally said. “The NSW Government’s contribution will go towards provision of frontline resources and helping those most in need.” “NSW has a large Pakistani community and many have experienced the impacts of this disaster through their family and friends,” Mr Borger said. “The Pakistan-born community in Australia has grown by 42.6 per cent since 2001, with around 51 per cent living in NSW. “The NSW Government is pleased to be able to assist with the Pakistan flood relief efforts.”
