The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is coordinating with other relief agencies to provide aid to flood-ravaged Pakistan. The Church has partnered with International Relief and Development, International Medical Corps, and Saba Aslam Welfare and Trust to locally purchase and distribute immediate relief supplies. Additional supplies from the Humanitarian Center in Salt Lake City will be shipped in the coming weeks in partnership with Islamic Relief USA.
| Temple Square is always beautiful in the springtime. Gardeners work to prepare the ground for General Conference. © 2012 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved. | 1 / 2 |
Assessments are continuing to determine further support in the coming weeks.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Pakistan,” said Bishop H. David Burton, presiding bishop of the Church, who oversees humanitarian efforts. “The generous donations of Church members and others is allowing the Church to provide aid that will relieve the suffering of many people.”
Heavy monsoon rains in Pakistan triggered the worst flooding in 80 years beginning in late July. More than a third of the country has been impacted and over 1,500 people have died and 17 million others have been directly affected. More than 1.2 million homes have been destroyed, leaving an estimated eight million people homeless.
Given that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has no official presence in Pakistan, no Church members, missionaries, or meetinghouses are directly impacted by the flooding.
The Church provides relief and development projects for humanitarian purposes in countries all over the world. Projects operate without regard to the nationality or religion of the recipients. Donations, principally from Church members but also from others around the world, are used to make relief projects possible. One hundred percent of the donations given to the Church’s humanitarian services are used for relief efforts. The Church absorbs its own overhead costs.