Canadian generosity is still needed to help families survive the winter

Mississauga, ON—To date, $5.6 million has been raised by World Vision Canada to provide aid to victims of the South Asia earthquake. Generous Canadians stepped up to the plate in late October and enabled World Vision Canada to exceed its original goal of $3 million, donating a total of $5 million in time for the government matching funds deadline. But more funds are desperately needed in order to help children and their families survive the harsh winter conditions in mountainous Pakistan.

"World Vision has provided crucial relief supplies such as tents tarps and blankets to more than 1,800 families in 99 villages primarily in the hardest hit North West Frontier Province," said Dave Toycen, president of World Vision Canada. "Our target is to provide for some 10,000 families."

More quantities of emergency supplies are still needed including shelter materials, food, water and sanitation, cooking sets, and water containers. 

Residents of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Kashmir are resilient people, however, thousands are suffering as night temperatures plummet below freezing and day temperatures dip to three degrees Celsius. Children are especially vulnerable and acute respiratory infections leading to pneumonia are becoming more common in quake-affected areas. The high mountains where World Vision is operating can get as much as three metres of snow. The imminent snow could drive thousands of people to move from the mountains to the towns, putting further burden on existing over-crowded camps. 

While the current focus is the race against time to provide shelter and blankets, World Vision is also planning for the future. The October 8th quake destroyed 5,905 schools and damaged another 5,500. The organization will assist communities to rebuild schools and homes, distribute 4413 metric tonnes of food, restore services, and help people re-establish their livelihoods through activities such as small-loans programs.

World Vision is an international, Christian relief and development organization working in more than 90 countries around the world, providing help to more than 85 million people each year.