Boxer Khan in Pak flood aid appeal

LONDON: Boxer Amir Khan is helping Oxfam raise funds to ease the plight of people caught up in the aftermath of the Pakistan floods.

Bolton's WBA light-welterweight champion held a fundraiser in the town on Sunday to help rebuild schools in the Shahdad Kot area of Sindh.

Khan who visited the worst-hit areas with Oxfam in September has called on the public to donate.

Oxfam is helping nearly 1.9m people still affected by the disaster.

Khan said: "The Pakistan floods were a massive disaster and it will take time for people to rebuild their lives.

"Even today some people's fields are full of waist-high flood water. Thousands of families are still living under canvas in the camps and the temperatures are plummeting.

"We should not forget the families caught up in the floods. They still need our help to recover."

Oxfam said that land is still underwater since the floods first devastated the country six months ago and that food prices are increasing and malnutrition is rising across south Pakistan.

About 20 million people were affected by the floods which destroyed 1.6 million homes, 2.2 million hectares of crops and 10,000 schools.

Neva Khan, head of Oxfam in Pakistan, said: "Oxfam and the families in these villages are hugely grateful for Amir Khan's support."