|
Counterpart teams with Somalia diaspora |
|
|
|
|
Saturday, 17 September 2005 |
Volunteers abound in Minnesota to send much-needed help home to the African nation. Children's books and medical stethoscopes are equally familiar objects to Abdurashid Ali, the president of Somali Family Services in Minneapolis, Minnesota. However, he knows many people back in his homeland of Somalia are not as fortunate, writes Counterpart International, Inc., Minneapolis18 Sep 2005 in Relief Web at http://www.reliefweb.int/
Forwarded by Budhi Mulyawan 200905.
Along with other concerned Somali Diaspora volunteers, Ali and Somali Family Services, working with Books for Africa and Counterpart International, helped load a forty-foot container with more than US$110,000 worth of such commodities to be sent to Somalia.
The shipment, which included six pallets of primary school books, medical supplies and equipment, was loaded at the Rotary Hospital Medical Supplies for International Distribution site in St. Paul.
Organizing the logistics was Rang Hee Kim, program manager and export specialist with Counterpart's Humanitarian Assistance Programs who comments, "After years of droughts and floods, Somalia's difficulties were only complicated by the tsunami last year. The Diaspora in Minnesota has teamed up with Counterpart and Somali Family Services to send critically-needed items so their families back in Somalia can resume a normal life."
Since 2000, Counterpart has delivered more than $1.7 million worth of humanitarian assistance to Somalia. The African nation, which borders the Indian Ocean, lost nearly 200 people in the late December tsunami when the waves thundered onshore from across the Indian Ocean.
To help the war torn country, Counterpart staff, family and friends collected and assembled 543 emergency kits and sent them along with self-deploying shelters donated by INMED Partnerships for Children.
Following the shipment, many members of the active and growing Somali Diaspora in the Twin Cities attended the second annual Somali Family Resource Day conference and awards ceremony at the University of Minnesota where Kim received a humanitarian award in recognition of Counterpart's tireless efforts to help the people of Somalia, presented by General Mohamed Abshir Musa. Other awardees included Patrick Ploski, Executive Director of Books for Africa; Zahra Nur, Program Officer for Daikonia Sweden; and John Harrington, St. Paul Police Chief.
As she was leaving the conference, attendees enthusiastically approached Kim about volunteering with Counterpart. "Their combined energy and the dedication of people like Ali will ensure this shipment is not the last," she concludes.
Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. Powered by AkoComment! |
Home 
All the News 
