Ottawa, ON—World Vision announced that as of 2 p.m., it had raised $3.6 million for Pakistan earthquake relief, with $1.1 million coming in thus far—on the final day that the government will match donations to registered charities. Thousands of calls flooded the organization’s telephone centre as Canadians rushed to give before the deadline. The October 8 earthquake killed an estimated 80,000 people and left 3.5 million homeless.

“World Vision would like to thank individual Canadians and our government for their generosity that has come through once again,” said Dave Toycen, president of World Vision Canada. He was speaking at an Ottawa reception attended by Minister of International Cooperation Aileen Carroll. “There have been so many disasters this year, but Canadians have continued to give. They are obviously moved by the plight of Pakistani people who lost everything. Coupled with the government’s matching funds, their gifts will double the money available for desperately needed aid. This will enable us to get more help to homeless children and their families before winter descends in the next few weeks.”

The funds raised will support World Vision’s work in the hard-hit Northwest Frontier Province, which will include providing shelter, essential household items, food, water and child protection programs.

To date, World Vision has provided tents, tarps, and blankets to thousands of families, and distributed food to quake victims from its bases in Balakot, Mansehara and Islamabad. Over the coming months, World Vision plans to help meet the basic needs of 75,000 people. The organization will assist communities to rebuild homes, restore services, and help people re-establish their livelihoods through activities such as small-loans programs.  

“The barrage of disasters this year—beginning with the tsunami and hopefully ending with the Pakistan earthquake—highlighted the vulnerability of the poor,” said Toycen. “These crises confirmed that relief aid is only one part of humanitarian assistance. Developing countries also need long-term, community-based aid programs if we are to break the cycle of poverty that keeps three billion people living on less than $2 a day.” Such development relies on both effective government bilateral aid, and support from individual Canadians to make poverty history, said Toycen.

“World Vision, and other relief and development organizations, depend on partnership: partnership with people in communities where we work, partnership with Canadians who entrust us with their donations, and partnership with our government,” said Toycen.   

W orld 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.