Finnish tents and heaters delivered to Pakistan

Winter shelter for 15,000 people

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Cargo containers were being loaded onto a Boeing 747 at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport on Thursday evening. Soon after that, the 1,000 tents suitable for winter use, and heaters for those tents began their journey to Pakistan. Also flown to the earthquake-stricken area were blankets and sweaters. The aid was donated by the Finnish Ministry of the Interior.
      An estimated 3.3 million people in the area have lost their homes, and with the winter coming to the mountainous region, emergency accommodation is desperately needed. The Finnish tents will provide shelter for 15,000 people.
      The Ministry of the Interior decided last week to donate EUR 900,000 for the tents and stoves, which were taken from stockpiles of the Defence Forces in different parts of Finland.
     
The flight was organised by Finnchurchaid, the foreign aid organisation of the Finnish Evangelical-Lutheran Church, along with the corresponding organisation of the Norwegian church, and Britain's Christian Aid.
      In addition to the tents donated by the Ministry of the Interior, the plane carried tents and other supplies from the Norwegian Lutheran Church and the Finnish Red Cross, as well as a couple of tonnes of bedding material and sleeping bags provided by the Defence Forces.
      The plane took off from Helsinki to Islamabad at 10:00 PM on Thursday. Finnchurchaid along with Church World Service will be responsible for the distribution of the supplies, which will be transported directly from the airport to the stricken area.
      Antti Pentikäinen of Finnchurchaid praised Finnish officials for their rapid action. "Few countries have winter tents ready in their emergency stockpiles."
      The death toll in last month's devastating earthquake has exceeded 73,000, and is feared to increase sharply. Aid agencies say that aid is not being delivered fast enough, and that the disaster is much worse than officials initially estimated.
     
Finland has provided EUR 5 million to help the victims of the Pakistani earthquake. One major effort was the staffed field hospital operated by the Finnish and Norwegian Red Cross organisations, which was set up in Muzaffarabad.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finnish-Norwegian Red Cross field hospital opens in Pakistan (24.10.2005)

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