austraLasia #2702
ASMOAF director visits Pakistan
BRISBANE: 27 August 2010 -- (The following excerpted from a larger report which appeared in the Brisbane Catholic Leader 22 August 2010).
"CARITAS Australia and several Australian Catholic religious orders are urgently calling for support as they respond to the escalating human tragedy unfolding in Pakistan where more than 20 million people are affected by the worst floods the country has seen in decades.
Caritas chief executive officer Jack de Groot said the floods were impacting on "more people than the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir and this year's Haiti earthquakes combined".
Australia's Salesian Mission Office (ASMOAF) director, Br Michael Lynch, who arrived in Lahore on August 14, said food shortages were a major problem with crops destroyed and livestock drowned.
The floods, the worst in 80 years, triggered by July's torrential monsoonal downpours, have engulfed Pakistan's Indus River basin, killing more than 1600 people, forcing an estimated 20 million people from their homes.
Mr de Groot said the situation was becoming more precarious for everyone as the days passed. "The sick, old, frail and very young are the most susceptible to disease and illness," he said. "Water-borne illnesses and diseases like cholera and diarrhoea are threatening the survivors."Mr de Groot said much of Caritas' work was focusing on Shangla, one of the most affected districts in the KPK province.
Br Lynch said the Salesian presence in Pakistan "was very small - just two houses - one in Quetta and the other in Lahore". The Salesian Brother said he had been invited to Pakistan to participate in a ceremony to open extensions to the Don Bosco Technical School in Lahore on August 16.The school has 220 students and the rector and principal is Fr Miguel Ruiz.
The disastrous floods have occurred since Br Lynch received the invitation.
"The main problems I'm hearing about are the shortage of food and shelter and the threat of disease," Br Lynch said. "After night prayers on my second night in Lahore, I spoke to a group of lads from flood-ravaged districts; they said it was the worst flooding they had seen. Some climbed trees to escape the torrent of water. Old and fragile people unable to move quickly were swept away and died. Oil refineries and power plants were destroyed in the floods. In some areas two political parties (both Muslim) were fighting each other on what should be done."
Br Lynch said that, once floodwaters subsided, Fr Ruiz planned to work with students to rebuild homes and agricultural projects, assisting in the first instance families who have lost everything and whose sons are in Don Bosco Technical School, Lahore. "There are more than 100 such families," he said.
The Jesuits also have religious in the area. Fr Phil Crotty, Bro Lynch's counterpart for the Jesuit Mission Office, says: "Fr Zecchin, formerly of South Australia, has been involved with the mission there for the past 20 years. He's been in Australia for the past few months but now is returning to Lahore. The plan is to first start looking at rebuilding houses that have been destroyed and to also link up with the Salesians".
Meanwhile, a fuller report on the work being spearheader by Fr Zago and his team of volunteers is available from ANS. Fr Zago sends the following information for anyone wishing to provide direct assistance:
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . Use Bosconet-wiki to be interactive. RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2009 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Or be interactive with the EAO blog Cetera Tolle. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at http://sdl.sdb.org
ASMOAF director visits Pakistan
BRISBANE: 27 August 2010 -- (The following excerpted from a larger report which appeared in the Brisbane Catholic Leader 22 August 2010).
"CARITAS Australia and several Australian Catholic religious orders are urgently calling for support as they respond to the escalating human tragedy unfolding in Pakistan where more than 20 million people are affected by the worst floods the country has seen in decades.
Caritas chief executive officer Jack de Groot said the floods were impacting on "more people than the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, the 2005 Kashmir and this year's Haiti earthquakes combined".
Australia's Salesian Mission Office (ASMOAF) director, Br Michael Lynch, who arrived in Lahore on August 14, said food shortages were a major problem with crops destroyed and livestock drowned.
The floods, the worst in 80 years, triggered by July's torrential monsoonal downpours, have engulfed Pakistan's Indus River basin, killing more than 1600 people, forcing an estimated 20 million people from their homes.
Mr de Groot said the situation was becoming more precarious for everyone as the days passed. "The sick, old, frail and very young are the most susceptible to disease and illness," he said. "Water-borne illnesses and diseases like cholera and diarrhoea are threatening the survivors."Mr de Groot said much of Caritas' work was focusing on Shangla, one of the most affected districts in the KPK province.
Br Lynch said the Salesian presence in Pakistan "was very small - just two houses - one in Quetta and the other in Lahore". The Salesian Brother said he had been invited to Pakistan to participate in a ceremony to open extensions to the Don Bosco Technical School in Lahore on August 16.The school has 220 students and the rector and principal is Fr Miguel Ruiz.
The disastrous floods have occurred since Br Lynch received the invitation.
"The main problems I'm hearing about are the shortage of food and shelter and the threat of disease," Br Lynch said. "After night prayers on my second night in Lahore, I spoke to a group of lads from flood-ravaged districts; they said it was the worst flooding they had seen. Some climbed trees to escape the torrent of water. Old and fragile people unable to move quickly were swept away and died. Oil refineries and power plants were destroyed in the floods. In some areas two political parties (both Muslim) were fighting each other on what should be done."
Br Lynch said that, once floodwaters subsided, Fr Ruiz planned to work with students to rebuild homes and agricultural projects, assisting in the first instance families who have lost everything and whose sons are in Don Bosco Technical School, Lahore. "There are more than 100 such families," he said.
The Jesuits also have religious in the area. Fr Phil Crotty, Bro Lynch's counterpart for the Jesuit Mission Office, says: "Fr Zecchin, formerly of South Australia, has been involved with the mission there for the past 20 years. He's been in Australia for the past few months but now is returning to Lahore. The plan is to first start looking at rebuilding houses that have been destroyed and to also link up with the Salesians".
Meanwhile, a fuller report on the work being spearheader by Fr Zago and his team of volunteers is available from ANS. Fr Zago sends the following information for anyone wishing to provide direct assistance:
Bank name and address: Askaribank / Jinnah Road / Quetta 87300 / Pakistan
Account owner : Peter Zago/ Palmieri Cristobal
Euro a/c no.: 030413400108 / USD a/c no. : 03213000142
Swift: ASCMPKKA
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . Use Bosconet-wiki to be interactive. RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2009 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Or be interactive with the EAO blog Cetera Tolle. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at http://sdl.sdb.org
