Students fundraise for Pakistani flood victims

It has been four months since massive floods hit Pakistan, leaving more than 2,000 dead and about 20 million people homeless or injured — more than the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2010 Haiti earthquake combined.

Since September, student groups at IU have been orchestrating a fundraising effort to help the millions of people affected by the flooding.

The Muslim Student Union teamed up with the IU Student Association to sell wrist bands, emblazoned with “IU Helps Pakistan.”

In October, the two groups, along with the Pakistan Student Association, also sponsored a carnival-style fundraising  event in Dunn Meadow.

So far, the wrist bands, which are sold for a dollar each, have resulted in $2,500 in aid, said Rishibha Sanam Chadha, IUSA’s chief of coalitions. The outdoor event brought the total up to about $4,000. Chadha said she is pleased with the results of the effort so far.

“I’m really happy,” she said. “Especially about the event in Dunn Meadow. It was super cold that day, and the turnout was as great as expected, if not better.”

Junior Shaqib Habib,  the MSU’s webmaster, said he is also happy with how much money is being raised. Both Chadha and Habib stressed that the fight is not yet over, however.

“We’ve done quite well, but we’re not done,” Habib said. “We still have lots of wrist bands to sell.”

The Pakistan Student Association has also organized some fundraisers of its own. In September, its members sold pizza in Ballantine Hall, raising $326.

Earlier this month, the PSA partnered with Union Board and Hutton Honors College to sponsor a fashion show.

Students modeled traditional Pakistani clothing, and all proceeds from ticket sales went to the Edhi Foundation, which will provide homes and clothing to those affected by the floods.

Senior and fashion show coordinator Syma Raza said more than 200 tickets were sold.

International aid for Pakistan was slow-going at first, with some saying media coverage of the flood paled in comparison to that of similar disasters.

In September, as the fundraising effort was just getting off the ground, even MSU’s co-president, junior Baseer Ahmad, expressed concern over the way many Americans perceived Pakistan.

“A lot of people don’t want to help Pakistan because of the negative stereotypes around it,” Ahmad said. “On top of raising money, we also need to educate people.”

Four months later, Habib said he has not noticed any hesitation in donations based upon negative stereotypes.

“That could be happening in other parts of the country, but I haven’t noticed it here at IU,” Habib said.

In October, IUSA and its partners created a video to promote the fundraising effort. In the video, students use humor to try to dispel misconceptions about Pakistan.

Habib said the video has proven to be quite popular and could be one of the reasons stereotypes have not been an issue with raising aid.

“I think the video brought an awareness to IU’s campus,” Habib said. “It brought the flood closer to home.”

He said the video was seen by potential sponsors, who have now donated to the cause. It was also seen by people who actually live in Pakistan.

“We’ve gone international,” Habib said.