Out of sight, but still in their minds

KARACHI: As the second wave of floods threaten Sindh, some solace can be drawn from the fact that relief efforts are being made across borders and oceans.

The Muslim Students Association at Columbia University, New York is part of this struggle to help those affected thousands of miles away. Even though school is closed, students rallied to raise $15,000 (nearly Rs1.2 million) from different fund-raising activities, including going door-to-door, in Muslim communities, mosques and churches in New York city.

“This money will be donated to the great work being done by the Rural Support Programme and the Armed Forces of Pakistan, while the goods we have received will be air shipped,” Taimur T Malik, president of the Columbia Muslim Students Association told The Express Tribune via email.

Across the ocean, in London, four people, Adil, Fatima, Naz and Hammad, decided that they would hit 10 tube stations for donations and collections on Aug 19 at 8:00 am and Aug 20 the same time. The effort, aptly named ‘Tube Collections for the Pakistan floods’, will ultimately benefit the Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) Relief Fund. They can be contacted on facebook or at allforpakistan@gmail.com. Meanwhile on the home front, Iqra University (IU) is also stepping up its game. University management held a meeting with students to discuss relief efforts for people across the province. “We need to play our part as students,” said IU Registrar Akif Hasan. “We have a platform from where we can gather and make efforts to help those in distress.”