Pakistan is currently suffering the worst natural disaster of its history, with gigantic floods spreading over one fifth of the country, leaving 1500 dead and millions unsheltered.

Among the victims are members of a good number of endangered linguistic communities who partner with the Forum for Language Initiatives (FLI), a non-government and non-profit organization working to enable the language communities of northern Pakistan to preserve and develop their mother tongues. Thus FLI has set into motion an initiative in favor of the stricken, though the organization is not usually involved in relief work.

So far, the situation in the area where these language communities live is the worst. Their sources of livelihood: small terraced fields, vegetable and fruit gardens and livestock have been washed away by the flood. Single approach roads to the narrow valleys in the mountains have been completely damaged. One has to travel for days to come out from the valley to get any food. Many people partnering with FLI in community development programmes have lost their homes, property and most of their personal belongings, and at least one multi-lingual education school has been destroyed, reports FLI.

The government of Pakistan alone being unable to face the needs of all the communities, FLI calls out to international generosity, be it institutional or individual, in hope of providing these populations with survival kits, food, water and medicines.

For more information: www.fli-online.org

Or contact FLI Assistant Director Mr Fakhruddin at: fakhruddin@fli-online.org