AGENCY SENDING EARTHQUAKE AID.Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer Islamic Relief USA expects to fly about $1.6 million in emergency medical supplies today from Amsterdam to Islamabad to help victims of the weekend's devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. earthquake, officials of the charity said Monday. The supplies were being sent as part of a local response to Saturday's magnitude 7.6 earthquake that left tens of thousands of people dead in Pakistan, India and Afghanistan. In the Burbank offices of Islamic Relief USA, workers scrambled scram·ble v. scram·bled, scram·bling, scram·bles v.intr. 1. To move or climb hurriedly, especially on the hands and knees. 2. to help. By Monday, the group had collected more than $350,000 in cash donations over the Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the and from mosques A list of notable mosques around the world: Asia Afghanistan
``We're in emergency-collections mode,'' said Islamic Relief spokesman Arif Shaikh. ``If people are going to donate, we're encouraging them to do it right away. The immediate response is what matters most.'' In addition to the medical supplies, the group has four trucks delivering food, blankets, and tents in Islamabad, Muzaffarabad and Neelum Valley Neelum Valley The Neelum Valley is a Himalayan gorge in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan along which the Neelum River flows. This green and fertile valley is 206km in length and stretches and snakes its way from Muzaffarabad all the way to Athmuqam and beyond , Shaikh said. Islamic Relief has already treated some 2,000 survivors, Shaikh said. The local chapter joined those across the country that mobilized to help during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The group called for a total of $10 million in donations worldwide, and hopes to raise $2 million from cities in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . ``We've been here all weekend,'' said Sarah Gossage, the vice president of operations for Operation USA, another relief organization. ``We're just now starting to get off the ground.'' HOW TO HELP The following charities are raising money to help victims of Saturday's earthquake along the Pakistan-India border: --American Red Cross International Response Fund, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013. Call (800) HELP-NOW or see www.redcross.org. --Islamic Relief USA, P.O. Box 6098, Burbank 91510. Call (888) 479-4968 or see www.irw.org or http://www.islamic-relief.com. --Operation USA, 8320 Melrose Ave., Suite 200, Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. 90069. Call (800) 678-7255 or visit www.opusa.org. CAPTION(S): box Box: HOW TO HELP (see text) |
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