Lahore: Christian voluntary organizations have come forward to provide basic facilities including food and medicine to the flood-affected people of Pakistan. Apart from ‘Caritas’, the official charity organization of the Catholic Church, monasteries and parish communities are willing to share what they have in the field of relief. It is also noteworthy that most of the beneficiaries are Muslim brothers.
More than 1,500 people lost their lives in the floods that started in June due to heavy rains. Many people lost their homes, lives, and livestock in the floods that affected more than three crore people. It is in this situation that the Christian community in flood-affected areas came forward to share what they have despite their poverty.
Caritas, which began its efforts to deliver emergency aid within days of the floods, has already handed over 11 million rupees ($46,420) in cash to 250 affected families in southern Sindh province. 20,000 was made available to each family through mobile money transfer. This action is aimed at helping to provide emergency food and shelter.
Caritas is trying to provide financial assistance to 300 more families in the region in the coming days. This is in addition to delivering food kits, drinking water, medicines, cleaning materials and tarpaulin sheets for the huts. Apart from this, medical camps were also organized. Apart from this, the parish communities and the monastic congregations have devised small aid projects.
The most important of these are the services of parishes in the Islamabad-Rawalpindi metropolitan area. Sacred Heart Church has already delivered emergency aid to 350 Muslim families. Punjab. The Congregation of Oblates of Mary Immaculate has provided emergency assistance to 675 affected people in Sindh and Balochistan provinces. Although most of the local Christians are poor, they will continue their efforts to provide the help they can regardless of caste and religion, said Fr., who serves the area. Nasir William said.
