06-11-2006, 07:03 AM
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Des Moines opened its heart to Pakistan
By Mashal Husain
Since moving to Des Moines from a large urban setting seven years ago, I have enjoyed living in this community for its friendly people, sense of security, the âjust rightâ pace of life, short commutes and relatively light traffic. Now Iâve discovered yet another reason to love Des Moines: the kindhearted generosity and compassion that the people of this community have shown for those halfway across the world in Pakistan.
Six months ago, a devastating earthquake in Pakistan caused the worst emergency in the history of that country. According to UNICEF reports, nearly 4 million people have been directly affected: 3.3 million people lost their homes, more than 75,000 individuals were killed and 125,000 were injured. As Pakistan works to rebuild rural villages and helps the survivors of this catastrophe, it is with the collective help of communities like ours that these rehabilitation efforts have been facilitated and expedited.
Shortly after the earthquake, my fellow Pakistanis and I received calls from many community members as well as from local civic and church organizations in Des Moines wanting to donate warm clothing, sleeping bags and medical supplies, and willing to make financial contributions to help the earthquake victims. Many well-wishers called from other communities such as Pella, Corydon and Carroll, willing to drive to Des Moines to give their donations. Local schools held clothing drives and raised money, and schoolchildren spent hours packaging boxes of clothing after classes. Some children even offered to set up lemonade stands, hoping to make a difference in their own way. By making local relief efforts a priority and by finding ways to help victims in a distant land, what a wonderful message we sent our youth about the importance of global well-being.
The response was so overwhelmingly positive that we considered finding a warehouse in which to temporarily store the warm clothing, which was coming in faster than we could send it. Six months after the earthquake, we still receive calls from individuals and local organizations wanting to do more and looking for opportunities to provide ongoing help. Because of our communityâs caring spirit and generosity, many in the remote villages of Pakistan were able to receive warmth, food and shelter, and it might have saved their lives.
<b>
Relief efforts in Pakistan have now shifted from the more immediate need for clothing and medical supplies to the more long-term building of homes, schools and the reconstruction of entire villages. Being the mother of a young child, I worry most about the thousands of orphaned and amputated children -- the future generation of Pakistan. Children under 18, making up 50 percent of the population, were the most affected by the earthquake. Striking during school hours, the earthquake killed at least 17,000 schoolchildren while destroying more than 10,000 schools. For those children who survived this calamity, the world they once knew ceased to exist in a matter of moments.</b>
As safe shelters and protection centers are secured for orphaned children, as pediatric rehabilitation programs are formalized for those who lost limbs in the disaster, as social workers struggle to provide psychosocial support to these traumatized children and bring some degree of normality to their lives, it is evident that the need for relief and support from communities like ours will be ongoing and tremendous. Whatâs comforting to me is the desire and compassion of those in my community to step up to the plate and help in whatever way they can.
Through this unfortunate tragedy, I have discovered that our community understands the importance of embracing a global vision. We are âworld citizensâ who have looked beyond the walls of our Iowa community in an effort to help those halfway across the world and, together, we HAVE made a difference.
Mashal Husain is manager of business development and strategic planning at Blank Childrenâs Hospital.
Des Moines opened its heart to Pakistan
By Mashal Husain
Since moving to Des Moines from a large urban setting seven years ago, I have enjoyed living in this community for its friendly people, sense of security, the âjust rightâ pace of life, short commutes and relatively light traffic. Now Iâve discovered yet another reason to love Des Moines: the kindhearted generosity and compassion that the people of this community have shown for those halfway across the world in Pakistan.
Six months ago, a devastating earthquake in Pakistan caused the worst emergency in the history of that country. According to UNICEF reports, nearly 4 million people have been directly affected: 3.3 million people lost their homes, more than 75,000 individuals were killed and 125,000 were injured. As Pakistan works to rebuild rural villages and helps the survivors of this catastrophe, it is with the collective help of communities like ours that these rehabilitation efforts have been facilitated and expedited.
Shortly after the earthquake, my fellow Pakistanis and I received calls from many community members as well as from local civic and church organizations in Des Moines wanting to donate warm clothing, sleeping bags and medical supplies, and willing to make financial contributions to help the earthquake victims. Many well-wishers called from other communities such as Pella, Corydon and Carroll, willing to drive to Des Moines to give their donations. Local schools held clothing drives and raised money, and schoolchildren spent hours packaging boxes of clothing after classes. Some children even offered to set up lemonade stands, hoping to make a difference in their own way. By making local relief efforts a priority and by finding ways to help victims in a distant land, what a wonderful message we sent our youth about the importance of global well-being.
The response was so overwhelmingly positive that we considered finding a warehouse in which to temporarily store the warm clothing, which was coming in faster than we could send it. Six months after the earthquake, we still receive calls from individuals and local organizations wanting to do more and looking for opportunities to provide ongoing help. Because of our communityâs caring spirit and generosity, many in the remote villages of Pakistan were able to receive warmth, food and shelter, and it might have saved their lives.
<b>
Relief efforts in Pakistan have now shifted from the more immediate need for clothing and medical supplies to the more long-term building of homes, schools and the reconstruction of entire villages. Being the mother of a young child, I worry most about the thousands of orphaned and amputated children -- the future generation of Pakistan. Children under 18, making up 50 percent of the population, were the most affected by the earthquake. Striking during school hours, the earthquake killed at least 17,000 schoolchildren while destroying more than 10,000 schools. For those children who survived this calamity, the world they once knew ceased to exist in a matter of moments.</b>
As safe shelters and protection centers are secured for orphaned children, as pediatric rehabilitation programs are formalized for those who lost limbs in the disaster, as social workers struggle to provide psychosocial support to these traumatized children and bring some degree of normality to their lives, it is evident that the need for relief and support from communities like ours will be ongoing and tremendous. Whatâs comforting to me is the desire and compassion of those in my community to step up to the plate and help in whatever way they can.
Through this unfortunate tragedy, I have discovered that our community understands the importance of embracing a global vision. We are âworld citizensâ who have looked beyond the walls of our Iowa community in an effort to help those halfway across the world and, together, we HAVE made a difference.
Mashal Husain is manager of business development and strategic planning at Blank Childrenâs Hospital.