FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MADRE, An International Women's Human Rights Organization

MADRE Partners with the Shirkat Gah Women's Resource Center to Deliver Earthquake Relief to Women and Families in Pakistan

November 3, 2005—New York—MADRE, an international women's human rights organization, is partnering with the Shirkat Gah Women's Resource Center in Pakistan to deliver emergency aid to women and families in remote regions devastated by the October 8th earthquake.

The earthquake in Pakistan is responsible for over 50,000 deaths, hundreds of thousands of injuries, and over three million people left homeless. Efforts to bring aid to remote regions have been woefully inadequate, and winter is fast approaching. UNICEF fears that at least 120,000 children are without aid in inaccessible villages and 10,000 children may die of hunger, hypothermia, and disease if relief does not reach them soon. Relief organizations are in a race against time to put roofs over people's heads before the winter arrives, and provide food and clothing to families without homes.

Shirkat Gah is part of a network that has worked with remote, rural communities in Pakistan for decades. They have 30 years of experience working specifically to promote women's rights. As a result, Shirkat Gah has access to local social networks that can distribute aid in remote communities, which government and large relief organizations have failed to reach, and an awareness of the specific challenges facing women in crisis situations, including: increased violence and rape, disproportionate responsibility for injured family members, and the special needs of pregnant and nursing women.

MADRE Executive Director Vivian Stromberg commented, "The Shirkat Gah Women's Resource Center has been a long-time friend of MADRE. During the height of the US attacks on Afghanistan, MADRE worked with Shirkat Gah to channel funds to women's groups there. Our friends in Pakistan have turned to MADRE again, this time for support in delivering urgently needed humanitarian relief to women and families struggling to survive the disaster caused by October's earthquake."

To make a contribution towards emergency relief for Pakistani women and families, please follow this link or call MADRE at (212) 627-0444.