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Pakistan volunteer effort

star gazer · 2010-08-26 21:18:22

It has been a traumatic time for Pakistan. The river that usually supports life has been flooding severely for the past few weeks. It has destroyed homes, farmland and clean drinking water supplies. It has killed thousands and displaced millions and the effort to reconstruct will take years. Very specific skills are…

26-08-2010 10:18pm

#1

star gazer

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It has been a traumatic time for Pakistan. The river that usually supports life has been flooding severely for the past few weeks. It has destroyed homes, farmland and clean drinking water supplies. It has killed thousands and displaced millions and the effort to reconstruct will take years. Very specific skills are required at the moment and it isn't likely that more generalised new volunteers could be effectively utilised on the ground for some time to come.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) help with medical needs as well as some logistical and project management areas.
Irish aid has the Rapid Response Corps which had its recruitment earlier this year so it may take time for a new intake. Discussion thread with more detail on the rapid response corps.
The politics of the situation are complicated but the devastation is extreme. It is important that the world shows that it can respond to natural disasters in an effective way and get passed politics to reach families who have lost everything and face new dangers in the aftermath.
In helping nations to develop, their ability to withstand disasters and recover more quickly is enhanced so maybe beyond the immediate crisis it is worth thinking about developing nations and helping to put them on a stronger footing.
UN Volunteers
VSO
Comhlamh.org

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