18 August 2010 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL
The Cansuyu Aid and Solidarity Association has sent humanitarian aid supplies to Pakistan, which has been fighting to recover from the disastrous floods that hit the country last week.
A press release from Cansuyu stated that it had started an emergency donation campaign for Pakistan and that it sent some of its officials to the area to oversee the distribution of supplies. The association also said the supplies mainly consisted of food and clothing. In the first leg of their aid campaign, Cansuyu officials distributed food supplies to 1,000 families in Peshawar, and then moved on to the Mutlan region, where they hope to help 2,000 more families. Cansuyu Foreign Affairs Coordinator Turgay Ayvazoğlu, who was quoted in the press release, said at least 20 million had been affected by the flood according to official figures. He added that 2,000 had died and 3,000 were reported missing. Ayvazoğlu noted that they were facing many logistical difficulties due to the collapse of most bridges and blocked access to roads in the country. Ayvazoğlu said at least 10 million had been rendered homeless by the flood. He emphasized that the country had a major shortage of clean drinking water, noting that as a result they expected to see an outbreak of several diseases likely to affect children under the age of 5.
