Students to help Pakistan flood victims

Call for more volunteers to pack boxes with relief aid to disaster area Saturday

by Madhura Mukhopadhyay

United Nations relief organisation UNICEF is to send medicines and health kits to flood-struck Pakistan as part of a large-scale volunteer event Saturday in Nordhavn, the northern harbour area in Copenhagen.

Coming from a country which has been repeatedly struck by natural disasters, Iranian student Saeedeh Moyaedinia is no stranger to the chaos and distress such a crisis can cause.

»I’ve been following the news on the BBC, but I can not feel their suffering directly. It’s hard to imagine what they must be going through,« says Saeedeh, who has come from Iran to attend the Master’s program in International Health at the university.

His city is now safe

Saeedeh heard about UNICEF’s campaign through a friend and hopes that the medicines, that she will help pack, reach the people in Pakistan and not go to waste because of bureaucratic red tape.

She recalls that much of the aid sent to Iran during the Bam earthquake did not reach the people.

His city may be safe now, but Pakistan still needs all the help it can get, says Pakistani student Abdul Ghafar at the Faculty of Life Sciences.

Far away, but fired up

He has signed up for UNICEF’s volunteer programme and has invited all his friends to do the same. Although Abdul’s friends and family in Pakistan are safe, there are many more who need immediate help, and this, he says, is what makes him look forward to Saturday.

»I’m ready for all the hard work. My countrymen need medicines and health kits to help them recover. I’m charged up at the thought of making a difference, even though I’m so far away from Pakistan,« he says.

Abdul has volunteered before with other organizations before during the earthquake in Pakistan. He feels that NGOs like UNICEF which collaborate with the Government play an enormous role in disaster mitigation in any country.

Come and lend a hand…

Saaedeh, from Iran, urges others to sign up before it is too late. It is important to give back what you receive from society, she says.

Volunteering is one of the best ways to make a difference. It gives a sense of self-satisfaction and is a fun way of meeting new people and making friends, she explains.

»Now is the time we can help. It doesn’t matter if I’m from a different country. Borders are man-made. I will do my best to ensure that I have done my bit,« she states.

To volunteer, send an email to aehrhardt@unicef.org

Uni-avis@adm.ku.dk

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