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Pakistan Donates One Million Dollars in Cash and 0.5 Million in Goods for Katrina Victims
Ambassador Jehangir Karamat has announced the establishment of a Task Force to help the Pakistani and Pakistani-American affectees of Hurricane Katrina.
The Katrina Response Task Force will provide a platform to the community organizations and philanthropists to extend relief to the affectees of this massive disaster in a coordinated manner. The Task Force’s efforts will include fund raising, coordinating temporary housing, health-care and emotional crisis intervention services and arranging provisional jobs.
As a gesture of solidarity and sympathy with the people of the United States, the Government of Pakistan has announced a cash donation of one million dollars in addition to a donation of relief goods worth half-a-million for the hurricane affectees. Edhi Welfare Trust will donate another $100,000. Several community organizations are also extending a helping hand. The Government of Pakistan has earlier offered to send a team of doctors and paramedics to the hurricane hit region to provide support to the American relief agencies.
The Ambassador has appealed to residential properties and hotel owners to provide free or subsidized housing to the Pakistani-American families affected by the disaster. Details about the nature, location and duration of the housing availability may be forwarded to the Embassy.
In order to enable the affected families to earn their livelihood as a stopgap arrangement before these families can actually reestablish their lives, the Task Force has introduced a temporary job replacement program. Anyone able to offer a temporary job to an evacuee is requested to contact the Embassy with following information:-
i) Location of the work; ii) duration for which job is available; iii) compensation; and iv) required qualification.
Pakistani doctors who wish to volunteer to provide health care services to the victims of the disaster are requested to contact the Embassy with their specialization and location where they could provide care to those affectees who do not have medical cover.
The Consulate General of Pakistan in Houston is in constant contact with the affected Pakistanis, who are temporarily relocated to Texas, and is providing them every possible assistance. The Relief Center set up by the community in Houston is providing relief goods not only to the Pakistani community but also to other affectees of the disaster. The Relief Center is also providing help in finding jobs for the affected persons.
A large number of Pakistani community organizations are providing humanitarian aid for the victims of the worst hurricane disaster in the history of America. The Embassy is compiling a database of these organizations.
The Ambassador has also requested the community members to provide information about Pakistanis who have been affected by the disaster and are in need of help.
All information regarding Katrina affectees and offers for help may be provided at KatrinaResponse@embassyofpakistan.org.
Washington, DC September 7, 2005
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