Fine City comes to aid of Pakistan after devastating floods

Torrential monsoon rainfall has washed away villages as makeshift mud roads have been built so those affected have access to medical and food supplies.

And fundraisers from the One Ummah charity travelled from Birmingham to the Fine City last Saturday to set up a stall outside The Forum.

Qasam Faraz, a fundraiser for One Ummah, was among those helping to raise nearly £3,000 to send food packs to Pakistan.

One Ummah was raising funds for Pakistan in Norwich after devastating flooding (Image: David Cross)

Mr Faraz's parents live in the Pakistan capital of Islamabad but the most severe flooding is in the south of the country.

The Birmingham-born fundraiser said: "The people of Norwich were great and we did not expect such a large response as the city is not massively populated.

"There were a lot of eclectic backgrounds and people interested about what was going on in Pakistan.

"Some had not even heard about it before and wanted to know more."

One Ummah is currently raising funds for emergency supplies but has long-term plans to rebuild the flood-hit nation though housebuilding and providing water pumps when the rainwater has eased off.

The charity has two teams based in Pakistan and Mr Faraz has heard of families sheltering in schools which have closed down to provide a safe space for people to stay.

Yacoub Saleh of One Ummah fundraising outside The Forum (Image: David Cross)

Mr Faraz said: "Around 33 million people have been affected by the flooding and nearly 1,500 people have passed away.

"We are currently fundraising to send food packs with rice, flour, oil, lentils, sugar and teabags.

"The flooding was totally out of the blue. The weather does change with more rain towards October normally.

"For that amount of rain to fall in August was totally unexpected and it completely wiped out buildings and carried cars away - even in the mountainous areas.

"It was horrific to see and there are people just trying to save their children's lives."

Brownies and sweet treats being sold outside The Forum in aid of Pakistan (Image: David Cross)

Mr Faraz, who last visited Pakistan two years ago, will be fundraising in Birmingham this weekend then Newcastle next weekend.

Brownies, cupcakes and savoury snacks were sold outside The Forum, while there was also face-painting and calligraphy writing.

One Ummah raised nearly ?3,000 in Norwich on Saturday, September 24 (Image: David Cross)

Visit oneummah.org.uk for more information on the charity.