Abdul Sattar Edhi International Foundation

The “monsoon on steroids” in Pakistan has brought unprecedented suffering to my country. A third of the nation is under water, while floods and landslides have killed more than 1,100 people and impacted approximately 33 million. Immediate health threats include diarrheal diseases like cholera, skin infections and mosquito-borne viruses like dengue and malaria. Missed vaccination campaigns also increase the potential for deadly outbreaks of preventable diseases like measles and polio.

Pakistan has been hit hard by the climate crisis, which it did little to create. The next few days may see the emergency get even worse. We request everyone to do their bit, support the effort to save lives now, and help rehabilitate them. Proceeds from the collection shall be donated on the ground via Abdul Satta Edhi Foundation.

What's happening in Pakistan right now:

1/3 of the country is underwater

1300 deaths (a third of them are children)

33 million people displaced

1 million houses destroyed

750,000 livestock deaths

Pakistan produces 1% of global emissions but is in the top 10 countries affected by climate change.

We, Hamza Ahmad and Usama Lali, are graduate students at the University of Washington. As Pakistanis in the United States, the one and perhaps only thought that’s brought some comfort in the last few weeks has been that Pakistanis are a resilient people. We’ve survived much and we will survive this too. We write this post from a comfortable place. Our immediate families and friends back home are safe, if one can use the word anymore, but we amongst many others have realized how the safety we think we have is at best precarious if not illusory entirely. We are making this post to offer an organization like Edhi Foundation that works on the local level and has distinguished itself by almost a century of public service within Pakistan. We know many amongst us want to support Pakistanis in this time of need but are understandably skeptical of a lecherous NGO economy, which is why we are creating this page. This is an organization with impeccable credibility, the largest free ambulance service in Asia and most importantly boots on the ground and longstanding engagement with the community.

There's a LOT that needs to be done both in the short-run and the long-run. The international community has to acknowledge and address climate racism and how those least responsible for climate change stand to lose the most. The government's long-standing priorities have to be interrogated and redistributed but at the moment millions displaced are left without services and are vulnerable to waterborne diseases, hunger, and a lack of basic survival supplies. A Dollar is 220 Pakistani Rupees (you can buy four cokes in Pakistan for the price of one in the States) and donations made by the international community can make a world of difference. Please donate as much as possible and spread the word. We would be grateful!