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The Salvation Army to provide aid in the form of tents, food, water and clothing to areas devastated by earthquake.
by Ted Horwood, Captain –
Lt. Colonel Cedric Sharp, Pakistan’s chief secretary, confirmed that the British High Commission has asked The Salvation Army to provide relief aid to the region devastated by the earthquake; trucks loaded with tents, food, water and clothing will travel under the protection of the High Commission to Abbotabad. International Headquarters (IHQ) made $60,000 immediately available to the Pakistan Territory for relief work.
According to Major Cedric Hills, International Emergency Services coordinator, the most needed donations at this time are funds, not goods. To help families who have lost everything, the Army will be distributing shelter items, kitchen sets and other useful items. Since Pakistan is the capital of the tent-producing world, and is where the Army sourced many tents for previous relief efforts in Mozambique and Turkey, the plan is to purchase tents and other supplies, as much as possible, locally or within the region.
A local team has assembled but has requested international assistance. Major David Wakefield (who has only just unpacked his case after leading the SARZCO—South Asia Relief Coordination Office—in Chennai, helping to coordinate the tsunami response) will be heading out for a month. He will be traveling with Captain McDonald Chandi, a Pakistani officer currently stationed at IHQ. McDonald is pleased to be going home to lead this relief response. He managed the large program in the northwest frontier town of Peshawar in 2002, when the Army launched a program to support Afghan refugees. A soon-to-be-named “media” person will be the third member of the international team, which will assess the overall need—determining what is really needed and where best the Army can work. The need is expected to be huge.
More news will be forthcoming on the Army’s international website: www1.salvationarmy.org.