Flood survivors face tough winter

DERBY: Months after floods devastated Pakistan, millions of victims are facing winter with insufficient food and heat, an aid organization says.

At a fundraiser Sunday night in Derby, England, Adnan Sohail of the Minhaj Welfare Foundation said it was the worst disaster he had ever witnessed.

"Seeing the disaster with my own eyes set me back, having to look in the eyes of young children who had lost parents and not eaten for more than a month," he said. "I saw families who were feeling so helpless because everything which they owned no longer remained."

The dinner and charity auction at the Heritage Hotel raised more than 30,000 pounds ($46,000) for the foundation, organizers said.

Local organizer Amer Saleem said the event drew "an excellent response" from Derby's Pakistani community. The proceeds will go to build homes for families left stranded for more than four months.

Dawood Mashhadi, chief of MWF UK & Europe, said the British public's response has been "very generous."