One year on Red Cross Kiwis plough on in Pakistan

One year on - Red Cross Kiwis plough on in Pakistan

One year on from the devastating October 8 earthquake in Pakistan, Kiwi Red Cross aid workers are preparing local people to face a second winter without permanent shelter.

Fleet manager Nick Murdoch, from Ashburton, and communications coordinator John Tulloch, who previously worked in Wellington, are helping to ensure that the 66,000 families without permanent shelter have tents, corrugated galvanised iron, shelter repair kits and tarpaulins.

As well as the forthcoming winter, recent landslides and flooding have also left many quake survivors in a precarious position, as they work to rebuild their homes and livelihoods.

New Zealand public donations of more than $850,000 and a further $1 million from the New Zealand government are helping to ensure that the international Red Cross is able to provide these shelter items, as well as the reconstruction of education, medical and community centres, irrigation schemes, water and sanitation facilities, skills training, and farming tools.

Since the earthquake struck, the international Red Cross has provided assistance to more than 1 million people including more than 70,000 tents, 132,000 tarpaulins, 22,000 shelter repair kits, and medical support for half a million people.

The total budget for Red Cross activities in Pakistan through to 2008 is NZ$192 million, and funding of $27 million is still required. New Zealanders can donate online at www.redcross.org.nz.

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