UNITED SIKHS

Winner of the Sikhs and Charities Award

August 1, 2011
17^th Savan (Samvat 543 Nanakshahi)

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Press Release

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One Year On – UNITED SIKHS Distributes Rice to Pakistan’s Flood Victims of 2010

UNITED SIKHS and NATPOW distributed 25,000 kg of rice to Pakistan’s flood affected IDPs

“We are thankful to UNITED SIKHS and the Bangkok Sikh Community who remembered Pakistani brothers during these trying times and friendly gestures would never be forgotten in such conditions and we hope that community will further support flood victims in this in such dire conditions” said Senator Suriya Amiruddin, Chairperson of National Trust for Population welfare ( NATPOW).

Peshawar, Pakistan Monsoon flooding recurs almost yearly, even before the flood victims can recover from their previous loss. To mitigate last year’s losses, UNITED SIKHS, in collaboration with a local NGO, National Trust for Population welfare (NATPOW), recently visited last year’s flood affected victims to distribute rice donated by the Bangkok Sikh community.

“During our survey, we found that thousands of flood affected Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are still homeless and seriously affected in Pakistan due to flash flood in Khyber Pakhtukhwa, Punjab, Baluchistan and different areas of Sindh,” said Herdyal Singh, UNITED SIKHS Aid coordinator in Pakistan, who led a seven member team to distribute rice to Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Sikh communities in Bunner, Punja Sahib, Charsadda and Lala Kalai. You may watch a film of the rice distribution at www.youtube.com/user/UnitedSikhsTV#p/u/12/FEVj9gcF7Iw

The Sri Guru Singh Sabha (Bangkok) Sikh community shipped a container of 25000kgs of rice from (Bangkok) Thailand to Pakistan for flood affected IDPs in Pakistan. UNITED SIKHS and its partner NGO, NATPOW, then distributed 1500 bags of rice-10kgs each among the flood victims in Thatta, Dadu and Jacobabad of Sindh and 1000 bags -10kgs each in Sardaryab (Charsadda), Lala Kalai (Peshawar), Gurudwara Sari Punja Sahib (Among the host Community IDPs Hasan Abdal) and Bunner/Swat of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.


Christian families receiving rice at Lala Kalai, Peshawar.		UNITED SIKHS distributing rice at Gurdwara Punja Sahib

Flood victims receiving rice at Charsadda

“We shared the pain and grief of our brothers and sisters and families in Pakistan as they endured the worst flooding in recent history. The Bangkok Sikh community will not let down our brothers and sisters in troubled times,” said Pinderpal Singh, a Bangkok Sikh community representative, who arranged the shipment.

The monsoon season has started and it is highly likely that the 2011 monsoon season will see heavy rains, anticipated to affect central, southern, northern and north-western parts of Pakistan. The affected communities would be at further high risk, causing further negative impact on their lives, properties and livelihood if no urgent humanitarian relief intervention reaches them or if urgent humanitarian aid is not delivered.

UNITED SIKHS is doing everything we can, but we need your continued support!Please donate generously; and no amount is too little. Your donations will help provide basic needs for disaster victims.

Make a donation by cheque made payable to UNITED SIKHS. These can be sent to your local UNITED SIKHS office. You can find the details at www.unitedsikhs.org/contact.php

Encourage friends and family to donate online at www.unitedsikhs.org/donate

You can make a monthly donation or raise money for those in need by creating your own fundraising page visit www.justgiving.com/unitedsikhs

UK donors can donate via text by sending text to SIKH13 £ (AMOUNT) to 70070

To read a previous press release on UNITED SIKHS’ relief efforts for the Pakistan and Panjab floods last year, please visit:

www.unitedsikhs.org/PressReleases/PRSRLS-05-10-2010-00.html
and
www.unitedsikhs.org/PressReleases/PRSRLS-20-08-2010-00.html

Issued by:
Sun Kaur
Director
UNITED SIKHS
sikhaid@unitedsikhs.org
+448701993328

Twitter Facebook Blog

You may watch a film of the rice distribution at www.youtube.com/user/UnitedSikhsTV
#p/u/12/FEVj9gcF7Iw

You can make a montlhy donation or raise money for those in need by creating your own fundraising page visit www.justgiving.com/unitedsikhs

UK donors can donate via text by sending text to SIKH13 £ (AMOUNT) to 70070

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reports that a total of 83,996 flood affected IDPs are still living in 98 camps in Balochistan and Sindh. However, an estimated 97 per cent of the millions of flood affected IDPs have returned to their areas of origin (100 per cent returns in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan Administered Kashmir (PAK) and Gilgit Baltistan (GB); 90 per cent returns in Balochistan and 96 per cent returns in Sindh). Assessments show that basic health, nutrition, education and other social services are still disrupted in flood affected villages.

“We don’t have enough words to express their gratitude towards the generosity of the UNITED SIKHS and Sri Guru Singh Sabha Bangkok, Thailand, for their much-needed and quite-timely support towards the victims of floods in Pakistan. You have not only won the hearts and minds but also the souls of every Pakistani in and outside Pakistan.

We're thankful for this help. But we still need help, as the magnitude of the disaster is huge — 20 million people have lost their livelihood." Said Sant Singh, Member of Pakistan Sikhs Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC)

You may view photos of rice distribution at the following links

https://www.unitedsikhs.org/PressReleases/ricepics
www.natpow.org.pk/ricesikhs.htm
www.natpow.org.pk/imagesmehreenbhutto.htm
www.natpow.org.pk/rice.htm

You can help those affected by countless crises around the world each year by making a financial gift to the UNITED SIKHS, which will provide immediate relief and support to those in need. You may donate online at www.unitedsikhs.org/donate or send your donations to a UNITED SIKHS office nearest to you, whose details can be found at https://unitedsikhs.org/contact-us/ .

Ordinarily only 10 percent of your donation is spent on admin costs.

OUR MISSION

To transform underprivileged and minority communities and individuals into informed and vibrant members of society through civic, educational and personal development programs, by fostering active participation in social and economic activity.

UNITED SIKHS is also an avenue for networking between like-minded organisations to establish and nurture meaningful projects and dialogues - whether social, cultural or political- to promote harmony, understanding and reciprocity in our villages, towns and cities.

UNITED SIKHS is a coalition of organisations and individuals, who share a common vision based on the belief that there is no greater endeavour than to serve, empower and uplift fellow beings. The core of our philosophy is an unwavering commitment to civic service and social progress on behalf of the common good.

Accordingly, UNITED SIKHS has sought to fulfil its mission not only by informing, educating and uplifting fellow beings but also by participating in cross-cultural and political exchanges to ensure that the promises and benefits of democracy are realized by all.

We at UNITED SIKHS believe that the development of enlightened and progressive societies can be made possible by socially conscious groups of people who make a commitment to develop and direct human potential. Our work, efforts and achievements stand as a testament to our faith in this vision.