Mennonite Weekly Review

WINNIPEG, Man. — Mennonite Central Committee is responding to flooding in Pakistan that has killed more than 1,600 people through sharing resources with like-minded, experienced organizations.

MCC is contributing $20,000 toward the distribution of food kits to 11,000 vulnerable households in some of the worst-affected areas. The kits are being distributed by Christian Reformed World Relief Committee and Presbyterian World Service and Development.

MCC also is sending a container of 2,000 relief kits to support the emergency response efforts undertaken by Christian Reformed World Relief Committee.

“Working in partnerships with church agencies allows us to combine our gifts, contacts and resources as we respond to this serious humanitarian crisis,” Reimer said.

The floods, the worst the country has had in 80 years, have disrupted the lives of more than 14 million people, about 8 percent of the population. About 2 million people are homeless, and there are fears that outbreaks of water-borne diseases such as cholera could create a health crisis.

These numbers are expected to rise as rain and flooding continue across Pakistan.

The floods, which began in late July after heavy monsoon rain over the upper reaches of the Indus river basin, have plowed a swath of destruction more than 600 miles long from northern Pakistan to the southern province of Sindh.

Many lost everything

“The floods have destroyed homes, farms, factories and the livelihoods of millions of people,” said Willie Reimer, director of MCC’s food, disaster and material resources program. “Many people have lost everything and are in desperate need of assistance.”

Although MCC does not have an office or staff in Pakistan, it has a history of relief and development efforts there, said Joe Manickam, director of MCC programs in Asia. Most recently, after the 2005 earthquake, MCC supported a large relief and housing reconstruction project implemented by Church World Service-Pakistan/Afghanistan.