IBBY Appeal for Pakistan August 2010
The images coming from Pakistan are tragic. For three weeks the county has been experiencing flooding beyond all recent memory. An estimated 20 million people are affected! The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Mun said after his visit to Pakistan that it is the worst disaster he has ever seen.
Aid has been slow to come. What can IBBY do? With financial support, our friends at IBBY Pakistan, who are based at the Alif Laila Book Bus Society, are looking at bibliotherapy projects that can be set up as soon as it is possible to reach the children in need. This section has previously carried out two excellent post-disaster projects. After a massive earthquake in 2005 they built and stocked an outstanding children’s library in the heart of the earthquake region. Later on in 2008 following Benazir Bhutto's assassination, they created a reading and peace-themed poster campaign that was used in public places, such as bus shelters, across the country. Basarat Kazim who so ably leads the section, will present a sustainable project at the IBBY Congress in Santiago de Compostela in September.
Please help us to help Basarat bring relief to the children caught up in this latest disaster that has struck again at the very people who struggle throughout their normal lives. Let us show the people of Pakistan that IBBY really is a worldwide family and that when one of us is suffering so much, the rest of us will do whatever we can to come to their aid.
All donations are welcome. You can donate through the IBBY website by using a credit card or by making direct transfers using your bank: follow the following link: IBBY Children in Crisis Fund.
As during our Haiti appeal, we shall be sharing news with you as we get it. This tragedy has again touched us all: Basarat is an active member of IBBY and an inspiring advocate of children's literature and as always the children are suffering the most.
Please use the IBBY website to make a donation, marking it clearly Pakistan 2010 Appeal.
Thank you.