Call to get clean water to victims of flooding

THE Edinburgh Disaster Response Committee has launched an urgent appeal to raise money to fund clean water sources for millions of people affected by the devastating floods in Pakistan.

The city-run committee, which raised more than 430,000 for victims of the Haitian earthquake, has appealed to residents to give what they can to help to fund water sources for 50,000 people in the hardest hit areas.

The DRC, chaired by Lord Provost George Grubb, has joined with Mercy Corps, whose European headquarters is based in the Capital, to co-ordinate the appeal.

The international aid agency currently has around 350 disaster relief and aid workers on the ground in Swat valley, Sind province and other areas struck by the floods.

John Cunningham, director of fundraising at Mercy Corps, said that he hopes that, with city funding, 50 water sources to serve 50,000 people can be established.

He said: "Access to clean water is critical to prevent potentially lethal water-borne diseases like cholera spreading, particularly in areas overcrowded with those made homeless by the flood waters.

"If untreated, cholera can kill a child in less than 24 hours.

"Immediate emergency aid is crucial, but it is just as important to make sure that people have access to a clean water supply once the flood waters recede and the rebuild effort begins. With the help and generosity of the people of Edinburgh, we will build 50 lasting, sustainable water sources that will benefit more than 50,000 people in Pakistan."

Mercy Corps, which is based in Sciennes, has been working in Pakistan since the 1980s, but it has increased the number of aid workers on the ground since the floods struck in July.

Since then around 1500 people have been killed and 4.5 million have been displaced from their homes.

United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon has said the Pakistan floods are a "slow-motion tsunami" due to the threat of disease and appealed for swifter aid.

Lord Provost George Grubb said: "I would ask the people of Edinburgh to give everything they can to support Mercy Corps' efforts.

"It will make a real difference to the lives of thousands of families in Pakistan. The Capital has a long and proud tradition of reaching out to those in less fortunate circumstances, and I hope we will see that compassion and generosity in action as a response to this appeal."

The DRC is calling on people to donate through Mercy Corps at www.mercycorps.org.uk or by calling 0845 245 0686.