After my blog post in August on Pakistan's flood crisis, you responded. Six of my friends back in the U.S. wrote in to ask how they could help. There are tons of great relief organizations working in the area of course, but my friends were looking to do something a little more "hands on."
Enter our grand plan: collect some funds, gather supplies, and get the stuff driven to the flood relief areas ourselves to deliver items by hand to families there. A wee bit more ambitious, but totally do-able with the support of a few friends stateside, a rented car, and my energetic house guy who took three days off from managing my life in Islamabad to launch operation flood relief.
The flood-affected families have been receiving a lot of food and water, thanks to the aforementioned flood relief organizations, but it's starting to get cold in Pakistan (yes, it gets surprisingly cold here) and warm clothes are an unmet concern for people who have lost everything. So we concentrated on getting as many fluffy sweaters, comfy sweatshirts, and woolly pants in the hands of people who would be needing them soon.
Our stash looked pretty good before send-off, in Islamabad, complete with (subtly American color-coded) sign. Coming Next: Part II, Handing Out the Clothes. Thank you, everyone who pitched in!!
Great work, Sullivan (and to your devoted house guy)! Nice to see warm clothes going to the families who need them. Thanks for the update.
ReplyDeleteBTW, your care package is still here in my office... I'm working on it though.
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ReplyDeleteThanks, Sara! I love seeing that pile of clothes and knowing that we're helping make a tangible dent in such an overwhelming crisis. Relief comes one person at a time.
ReplyDeleteKeep it coming!
I know there are large organizations who do important work, and I'm all for it, but it's nice to see something tangible result from a donation. Thanks for creating the opportunity for giving and seeing it through. Looking forward to hearing more of the story....
ReplyDeleteAndrea
Andrea again.... was having trouble posting and just went with anonymous for time's sake. Will figure out how to do this properly...
ReplyDeleteThank YOU guys for making this happen! Roger ("my house guy") came back from the trip glowing with stories of handing out the clothes and being able to help. I'll post more details and the second round of photos as soon as I can load them...probably after I get back from my Vietnam vacation. Yes, tangible does make a difference, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteSullivan, you are an inspiration. Thank you for doing this, and writing about it. We love to hear from you. Write more soon:)
ReplyDeletehttp://goodintents.org/aid-debates/1-million-shirts-campaign
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure who the last anonymous post was from (obviously, since it's "anonymous"), :) but just a note: these clothes were not donated, they were purchased (with donated funds), and they were not shipped overseas. They were purchased in Pakistan, where I live, and given out in Pakistan (to people who needed them). Just wanted to clarify. And thanks again you guys who supported this! More photos to come after I get back to town next week...
ReplyDeleteOh man, this is rad.
ReplyDelete