Earthquake Relief Update

Almost 9 months after the South Asian earthquake that killed 80,000 people and left 3 million homeless, the New York Times reports the reconstruction effort is progressing slowly, too slowly considering monsoon season is less than a month away. There has been some progress, with many of the families at the camps returning home and receiving their cash reimbursements from the government. They are focusing on rebuilding rural homes first, then urban homes, and only then will they start to focus on public buildings such as hospitals and the needed 8,000 schools.



As many of you know, YOUR DIL's fall 2005 fundraiser focused on building schools for the children affected by the earthquake. As an update, we spent the past six months working with the temporary schools established for children in the relief camps and have now shifted our focus to building two permanent schools in Mansehra on the border between NWFP and Kashmir. These will be model schools with handicapped access (very important for the number of children injured in the earthquake), and computer labs. Approximately 400 children, all of whom come from the earthquake affected region, will attend. Thank you to all of you who came out to our Fall Gala and donated money, we want to make sure you know it is being put to good use, and we are starting to make a dent in the significant loss of educational facilities faced by the region.

Adrenalin Pumping

It was that kind of a night. We were consistently surprised. After only two months notice to get it all together, we couldn't have been happier with the outcome of the concert. I'm normally a big stickler for time, and was fairly anxious about getting everyone seated and giving the band enough time to perform, but once we were underway, the energy was amazing. The audience embraced Strings, our cause, danced, had a great time, it was all we could have hoped for.

The Band: Damn, did Strings bring the house DOWN! What an incredible concert and perfect finish! I was at the back organizing, and was dying to be in the first row, dancing, singing along with everyone. Strings really knows how to put on an incredible rock concert (and as a big fan of good live rock music, I couldn't have been more impressed). Bilal and Faisal were such great, nice guys, staying late, despite their exhaustion, to take individual photos with about 100 fans. We're so grateful to them for bringing out the crowd, introducing them to YOUR DIL, and being the center of one of our best events ever.



The Crowd: The night began with the sweetest group of young fans who had taken the bus down from Rhode Island (their cousin was the kid called up on stage). They came by around 5pm and Kashif (event head) introduced them to the band. "I'll never wash my hand again" one said after meeting Faisal. They were so excited, and it really helped get us in the mood for the night that lay ahead. I was backstage as the entire audience stood up for the Pakistani national anthem. What an unexpected, lovely, hilarious moment - thanks to Kashif for making it happen. The rest of the night, everyone stayed put, there were only a couple of people at anytime outside the venue, a testament to the strength of the band and the enthusiasm of the crowd. Everyone sang along to their songs, stood up and danced, it was awesome to watch. And the bidding war! Wow, not only did people pledge, but they have all been following through with the money. And quite a few handed us cash, all of which will go to building new schools and sponsoring the education of children in Pakistan. The generosity was inspiring, and made me very proud to be a South Asian, a part of such a thoughtful, caring group of people. A huge thanks to Babar Satter, who not only donated $12,000, but was the inspiration for the crowd giving money. He's extremely committed to the cause of literacy in Pakistan and we're looking forward to getting him more involved. And thank you to all of you who followed his example by raising your hands and pledging money. (If you want to donate please go to www.yourdil.org/contribute for more info).



The Team: The best group of volunteers I've ever worked with. They fanned out to every major desi area in the metro area, hitting Queens, Brooklyn, Jersey, all parts of Manhattan. We managed to draw almost double the amount of attendees as the last time Strings played NYC, and a huge part of that is the ten or so people who spent their every free moment getting the word out about the concert. Kashif, who led it all, worked tirelessly and everyone at YOUR DIL is grateful to him for being the backbone of the success of the concert. So a public thank you to him, the Strings committee and the YOUR DIL board.


The Stats: Close to 700 people came out and we made a 100% profit of almost $30,000. That equates to the education of 600 children or the building of 24 new schools. Every educated generation positively affects the next, and the success and future of thousands of Pakistanis rests on the contribution you made.

Thank you to our sponsors, to every one of you who came, spread the word and contributed. We hope you will continue to support us and attend our other events. We have our annual gala coming up in September, a fun party everyone can dress up a bit, listen to some good music, meet new people and learn more about what we do. Keep an eye on www.yourdil.org/events for more info. If you would like to join our wonderful crew of volunteers please send an email to kashif@yourdil.org or madeeha@yourdil.org.

Thank you always,
Peace.
Samar
President, YOUR DIL