The Lord Mayor of Leeds has launched a Leeds appeal for the victims of the current flood disaster in Pakistan.
Severe floods have been affecting Pakistan since the end of July. The floods, triggered by unusually heavy monsoon rain over the upper Indus River basin, have ploughed a swathe of destruction more than 1,000 kilometres long from north to south.
Up to 1,600 people have died in the disaster and around 20 million have been left homeless. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said the Pakistan flooding is the worst natural disaster he has ever seen.
Disasters like the floods in north west Pakistan affect everyone. People in the United Kingdom are giving generously – the national figure raised by the DEC is increasing daily. The Department for International Development (DFID) have created a regular news update on their website, where people can access the latest news stories following the devastating floods in Pakistan
Many people in Leeds will wish to respond, to show their humanity and give support, especially given the strong links between the Leeds Pakistani population and extended family links in Pakistan.
Leeds City Council approved a donation of £10,000 to the DEC appeal on 12th August. Previously the council has launched three appeals with regard to natural disasters overseas; the tsunami in South Asia in December 2004 and the earthquake in Kashmir in October 2005 and the Bangladesh Cyclone in 2007.
What can you do?
Donations
To donate directly please go to the Disasters Emergency Committee's (DEC) website www.dec.org.uk or find one of the Lord Mayor’s collection boxes in council buildings.
In the city centre these boxes will be at the front desks of 2 Great George Street and the Civic Hall. Other collection boxes will be located in one stop centres around Leeds.
Fundraising
For more information on how to organise an event or ideas for fundraising activities please look at the documents on the right hand side of this page.
Any money raised can be donated directly through DEC at any high street bank, as they all have DEC collection points.
Please quote the Lord Mayor's appeal code when donating collected monies, which is PFAFUNDRO23.
Upcoming events will appear on this page as and when we hear about them, so please get in touch by emailing lordmayorsoffice@leeds.gov.uk