Author: SA Relief

Over the past several days torrential rains have left deaths, destruction, and devastation in several parts of Pakistan. According to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) the  late spell of Monsoon rains has damaged over 7,000 homes, claiming 75 lives, and injuring another 68.

To date the following regions have been affected: Rajanpur and Dera Ghazi Khan, Rahimyar Khan in Punjab province (read more here), Jacobabad, Dadu, kandhkot, Shikarpur in Sindh province, and several districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (read more here)

SA Relief is closely monitoring the situation and has setup the #PKALERT call sign on twitter where communities or individuals looking for help can connect with possible care givers. Also individuals can reach to SA RELIEF directly via email at pkfloods@sarelief.com. Accordingly SA Relief will circulate and solicit support through our respective channels.

Additionally we encourage our civil society, NGO, and government partners assistance in keeping the following wiki page updated as a means to better facilitate and coordinate between stakeholders on the ground.

KARACHI, JAN 2012: Team SA Relief pledges continued support for the School Of Britainnica education initiative, led by Mrs. Yasmin Nigar for children affected by the 2010 and 2011 monsoon flooding in Sindh, Pakistan. The school is situated along the Super Highway (Karach-Hyderabad M8 Motorway).

Yasmin Nigar, is an educationist and social activist from Pakistan. She is the owner of School of Britannica, a place built specifically for girls whose parents cannot afford or think of providing quality education to their daughters.

Watch Mrs Nigar tell you how she used to knock on every door in her neighborhood and convince the people there to educate their daughters. She also takes care of kids from flood affected areas, without any government assistance.

While initially the assistance for these people included rations, they have now been asked to find work, and the women and some men have been provided loans on a payable when able basis to sell water or tea at the nearby sabzi Mandi, or sell small towels etc at the gas stations on the highway, while the women were given bangles and mehndi etc to sell.

The main thrust for Mrs. Nigar is to see that the children do not loiter about and get into bad company, whilst commuting between the school and their homes. As a result Mrs Nigar has been personally transporting as many children as her Suzuki HiRoof can accommodate.

SA Relief has agreed, as part of our continued support to provide $1.500 (Rs 133,500) for three months to cover the cost fuel, driver’s salary, and also provide warm clothing to children and elderly folks. In exchange Mrs Yasmin Nigar has agreed to furnish SA Relief with a monthly status report that would include detailed accounting of the funds. Earlier on October 16, 2011 we handed Mrs Yasmin Nigar a check for Rs 120,000 (approximately $1,348).

Mrs Yasmin Nigar informs us  that about $340/month (approximately Rs. 30,000/month) would cover these expenses and has requested long term commitments from prospective donors. Other than that there are recurring expenses for meals for the children, books, uniforms and stationary items. For information on donating to this cause email pkfloods@sarelief.com

Following is a documentary on Mrs Yasmin Nigar and her work:

SA Relief, a DBA operating under Paksef (Pakistan Science and Engineering Foundation) is a 501(c)(3) tax-deductible non-profit Corporation registered in California, U.S.A.