September 12, 2022
Hundreds of volunteers gathered at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, Dubai Expo City, and Expo Centre in Sharjah to collect donations and pack thousands of urgent relief kits and food supplies for flood-affected Pakistanis, reported The National.
The nationwide volunteering initiative "We Stand Together" brought together hundreds of emiratis including children on Saturday to collect boxes that were to be sent to Pakistan.
By the end of the activity, volunteers made 30,000 boxes with 1.2 tonnes of supplies packed in them.
Children who were part of the community event made drawings and wrote uplifting messages which were added to the relief boxes to express solidarity with the crisis-hit country and produce a sense of hope.
Nearly 1,400 people have died in flood-hit Pakistan with at least 33 million displaced.
Last week, UN chief António Guterres visited the country and called for "massive financial support" from the world.
Nearly 500 volunteers gather at Expo Centre in Sharjah alone. Relief boxes included food items like tomato paste, oil, and rice and essential toiletries like sanitary pads and soaps.
Led by Emirates Red Crescent Authority, Dubai Cares, and Sharjah Charity Association, the initiative was in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation and the Ministry of Community Development.