'It's a catastrophe': Pakistan Association Dubai holds donation drive for flood victims

The campaign is being carried out in partnership with Dar Al Ber Society

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  The Pakistan Association Dubai is collecting donations for flood victims in Pakistan. All photos: Antonie Robertson / The National

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  The donation campaign is being undertaken in partnership with Dar Al Ber Society.

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  The campaign is focusing on collecting tents, dry food supplies, blankets, towels and bedsheets.

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  The donations are being collected at the Pakistan Association Dubai's headquarters in the Oud Metha district from 9am to 9pm.

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  Dr Faisal Ikram, president of the Pakistan Association Dubai, said that about 33 million people have been affected by the floods in the country.

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  Residents have been coming throughout the day to donate relief supplies.

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  Many people are donating hygiene supplies.

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  Residents are bringing boxes of supplies in their cars.

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  This weekend, the Pakistan Association Dubai sent 42 tonnes of relief supplies, with more to be shipped as donations continue.

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  The second phase of the campaign will be to rebuild communities.

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  The organisation will aim to rebuild homes, schools, mosques and hospitals.

A donation drive headed by the Pakistan Association Dubai is under way to help millions of people who have been affected by the devastating floods in the country.

The organisation sent more than 42 tonnes of relief aid to the South Asian country at the weekend, but hundreds of UAE residents continue to donate to the cause.

The campaign is being carried out in partnership with the Dar Al Ber Society, with donations being collected and packed at Pakistan Association Dubai headquarters in the Oud Metha district.

Pakistan has received a record amount of rainfall over the past several weeks, triggering floods that have affected 33 million people and killed more than 1,300. With one third of the country now underwater, half a million people are living in tents.

One third of the country is underwater and a lot of these areas are where people depend on crops or cattle for livelihood. It’s going to be a massive effort required to rebuild them

Faisal Ikram,
president of Pakistan Association Dubai

Relief efforts by the Pakistan Association Dubai are currently focusing largely on accruing tents, dry food items, hygiene kits, blankets, towels and bedsheets.

“We’ve had a great response from the community so far. Lots of schools and corporations have reached out to us and want to join the campaign,” Faisal Ikram, president of the Pakistan Association Dubai, told The National.

“I was in Pakistan in the 2010 floods and I know the experience of these floods.

“I think this is a much bigger catastrophe than the 2010 floods. One third of the country is underwater and a lot of these areas are where people depend on crops or cattle for livelihood. It’s going to be a massive effort required to rebuild them.”

Dr Ikram expects that the donation drive will continue for another two or three months.

More than 200 residents across the UAE have volunteered to help with the campaign, including delivering and packing the relief items.

Abdulla Osama, 21, is one of the volunteers who has been turning up almost daily to pack clothes.

“I feel it’s my duty. What is happening in Pakistan right now is terrible. I want to help as much as I can,” he said.

“I’m happy to come every day and help where it is needed. I’m also very happy to see how many people are volunteering and donating. It’s a great community effort.”

The Pakistan Association Dubai is accepting donations from 9am to 9pm, and people have been coming in throughout the day, bringing in boxes filled with relief items.

Dhruv Bhatt is an Indian businessman who brought donations on Monday.

“I’ve brought non-perishables like rice and lentils. We’re trying to do as much as we can by collecting from families and friends,” he said.

“It’s really sad seeing the kind of events that are unfolding there. People are really struggling.”

Pupils from schools across the UAE have created their own packages for the victims, with handwritten notes and small stationary items.

Drawings made by children in Dubai to be sent with special packages for flood victims in Pakistan. Antonie Robertson / The National

Dr Ikram said that the next stage of the campaign would be to rebuild communities.

He said they are also collecting cash donations, which are routed through the Dar Al Ber charity, and will be mainly used for rebuilding infrastructure.

“Phase two will involve rebuilding houses that people have lost, villages, schools, small hospitals or dispensaries and mosques,” he said.

The UAE has been providing assistance to Pakistan since the floods struck.

On Saturday, hundreds of volunteers helped to pack thousands of urgent relief kids and food supplies.

The nationwide community event, called “We Stand Together”, was held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, Dubai Expo City and Expo Centre in Sharjah.

By the end of the day, volunteers packed 1.2 tonnes of supplies into 30,000 boxes.

The food supplies included flour, rice, lentils, tomato paste and oil, while relief kits consisted of essential toiletries for women and children, such as diapers, sanitary pads and soaps.

The UAE is operating an air bridge to transport humanitarian aid.

On August 27, President Sheikh Mohamed ordered urgent aid be sent to Pakistan.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, also ordered aid worth Dh50 million ($13.6m) be delivered to the country.

Latest images of devastating floods in Pakistan — in pictures

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  Nearly a third of Pakistan is flooded — an area the size of the United Kingdom — following months of record monsoon rains, which have killed 1,300 people and wreaked havoc. AFP

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  Makeshift tents for people displaced due to the floods, which were caused by heavy monsoon rains in Sohbatpur, Balochistan, Pakistan. AFP

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  People have been left to wade through floodwaters in order to return home in Dadu District, Sindh Province. AFP

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  Women carry belongings salvaged from their flooded home in the Qambar Shahdadkot District of Sindh Province. AP

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  Pakistani railway workers repair the track in flooded areas in Sehwan, Sindh Province. EPA

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  Families gather outside their tents at a makeshift camp in Sukkur, Sindh Province. AFP

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  Men perform ablution with the flood water in Bajara village, at the banks of Manchar Lake, Sehwan. Reuters

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  Nur Mohammad has taken refuge at a school after the rains in Jacobabad, Sindh Province. AFP

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  A girl carries her sibling as she walks through floodwaters in Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Reuters

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  A Pakistan soldier drops tents and food aid from a helicopter in Jaffarabad District, Balochistan Province. AFP

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  People wait for relief supplies being dropped by Pakistan army helicopters. AFP

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  Roads across the country have been damaged by floodwaters, including a vital route in Kalam Valley, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. AP

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  A Pakistan Air Force doctor examines a patient displaced by the floods at a makeshift medical camp in Rajanpur District, Punjab Province. AFP

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  A family sit with their belongings as floodwaters rise in Sohbatpur, in Jaffarabad District. Reuters

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  Makeshift tents in Sohbatpur. AFP

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  People affected by floods move to higher ground on the outskirts of Quetta, Balochistan Province. EPA

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  Displaced people join a food queue at a tent city set up by the Government of Sindh, Hyderabad. EPA

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  Children attend classes in Sukkur. AP