Container on its way to help Earthquake Victims!

Well over 1000 boxes of blankets, tents and vital supplies are on their way in a huge 40 foot container to the Bhimber District of Azad Kashmir. The container was filled in a frantic 2 hour effort last Friday involving dozens of local people. Volunteers came from as far as Warrington and Preston to join the local effort.

Central Rochdale Councillor - Shah Wazir, who was one the volunteers said, "The container sets sail tomorrow (Tuesday) - and the amount of things collected was simply astonishing. Vital supplies will arrive next month in one of the most affected areas of Kashmir. I am grateful to all the volunteers who gave up their time. The young people of Rochdale made a massive contribution to the effort and we are grateful to KYP for hosting the event."

Such was the size of the container - it took over 20 minutes just to manoeuvre it into position in the Car Park of the Kashmir Youth Project. Despite the appalling conditions the Container soon started filling up. The Container was provided by local company Olderburgh Limited, who also agreed to pay any shipping costs incurred by the huge container.

Spotland Councillor - Peter Clegg - made numerous trips to and from the Liberal Democrat Headquarters on Drake Street with vital supplies. The Lib Dem HQ had been used to collect donations, along with KYP and they soon stacked up. Peter Clegg said, "Despite the heavy traffic it was well worth it - I never thought that we could fill the enormous but box after box arrived. In the end it was a case of choosing what we felt was more important. Warm items like blankets, clothing and tents were given priority and the container could have filled again!"

Rochdale MP - Paul Rowen said finally, "Yet again the people of Rochdale have come up trumps - Brenda and the staff from Olderburgh were fantastic. Their effort during the recent Tsunami was remarkable but this even topped that! As the MP for Rochdale I would like to personally thank them for making this possible. When the Container arrives in Kashmir it will be gratefully received - we have been assured of that. It was important that we had a guarantee that the supplies we sent went to the right place and I am grateful to Ismail and Aftab at KYP for liaising with the Kashmir Development Foundation who will distribute emergency items when they arrive in Kashmir."