Reference: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/local/countless-volunteers-at-work-in-city-to-help-out-flood-survivors-180

Countless volunteers in city to help out flood survivors

By Bhagwandas 
Saturday, 21 Aug, 2010

KARACHI: Countless volunteers belonging to all political parties and charity organisations, as well as a large number of well-known, little known and even unknown civil society groups are seen engaged in collecting donations and relief goods across the metropolis these days as the country is faced with the worst ever floods in its history. 

Several hundred stalls have been set up on major thoroughfares, streets and narrow lanes to enable donors to deposit the relief goods at any one of their choice.

About 10 to 50 volunteers man these stalls to discharge their duties on a rotation basis, packing various food, grain and other items in small packets for onward delivery to their respective points from where the consignments are planned to be dispatched to flood-hit areas across the country. 

The volunteers include, besides political activists, young male and female students, some of them also visit posh localities like Defence, Clifton and Gizri, and the areas dominated by upper-middle class such as North Nazimabad, Gulshan-i-Iqbal and Gulistan-i-Jauher to collect donations and relief goods for flood victims still stranded in marooned areas or those who have managed to reach temporary camps set up at safe places. 

Some of the parties, groups and organisations engaged in the relief work have been sending the relief consignments to their destinations on their own while the others simply hand over their collection to the armed forces or some major NGOs for distribution among the needy people. At some stalls, volunteers said they also obliged the flood victims coming to their stalls to seek assistance in cash or kind. 

Helping Hands Trust 

At a stall set up by the Helping Hands Trust on University Road, people were seen depositing packed food, powdered milk, flour, rice, sugar, bottled water etc, as well as money. Saqib Ilyas, who was managing the stall, said cash donation amounting to some Rs15,000 had been collected at the stall.

He said the Trust had already dispatched one truckload of relief goods to Sukkur a few days back and another one was planned to be sent there on Saturday. He said that only a small number of clothes bales were kept at the stall while all the other goods collected at the place were stocked at a warehouse of the Trust. 

A group of students living in Shanti Nagar had also set up a stall on University Road until a couple of days back. They said they could attract quite a few walk-in donors. Much of the relief goods they could collect came through their acquaintances, they said. 

The students, in reply to a question, said they feared that they might be robbed of the relief goods if displayed at the stall and, therefore, they stocked the same at their houses until the consignment was enough to make a truckload. They said they intended to dispatch a truckload of relief goods to some flood-affected area.

They said they had already sent a truckload of relief goods which included flour, ghee, rice, sugar, water, etc to Shikarpur four days ago. 

Pak Youth Movement 

The Pak Youth Movement had also set up a stall on University Road and collected about 20 tons of edible items, clothes and other relief goods in the last four days. Its volunteers said they had already sent about 50 tons of relief goods to Muzaffargarh and Sukkur. Mr Danish, who was managing the stall, said that his uncle, a retired army man, was helping the group transportation of the goods through the army. 

JSQM 

The Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (Bashir Qureshi group) has set up one of its stalls at the Mausamiyat traffic intersection on University Road and is running it for eight days. “People are donating flour, rice, sugar, ghee, water medicines, etc generously,” said a volunteer at the stall.

He said the party was collecting the relief goods and making arrangement for their distribution among the flood victims who had taken shelter in different parts of the city, such as the old villages, open spaces near the airport, Gulistan-i-Jauhar and its adjoining localities.

He said they would not give any relief goods to the internally displaced people who had been accommodated in any relief camp. “We distribute our collection among only those who were still shelterless,” he added. 

Food For Humanity 

A group calling itself the ‘Food For Humanity’ has set up a stall near Safoora Goth on University Road. They have collected a big quantity of pulses, flour, water, rice, sugar, clothes, etc and are planning to send the consignment to some flood-hit areas on Sunday. 

Asif Zardari Rehaee Committee 

The defunct Asif Zardari Rihaee Committee had set up a stall on University Road three days back and collected relief goods and cash donations. The committee is also looking after four affected families they had accommodated in the houses it had acquired on rent for a month. 

Jauher Foundation Welfare Association 

The Jauher Foundation Welfare Association has set up a stall in Gulistan-i-Jauher. It has been collecting relief goods for six days and distributing them among the affected people staying under the open sky at Bilal Colony, Bhitaiabad, Kamran Chowrangi etc.