Rahul Bhattarai
Auckland, 5 October 2022
Seven-year-old Ashlyn Surani with a collection of candles on sale for Pakistan flood victims (Photo Supplied)
A seven-year-old Kiwi-Pakistani is selling candles to raise money for the flood victims in Pakistan.
Ashlyn Surani, a West Auckland girl, said that her parents were helping to make Enchanted Candles of different colours and fragrances and selling them on their Facebook page.
Ms Surani said that she got the idea of selling candles to fund raise while she heard a lot of discussion about floods in Pakistan at her school.
“I shared the idea of collecting the funds by selling the candles and supporting the flood victims with my parents. They were very happy and supported the idea. We purchased all the resources for candle making and started making the candles for this cause,” she said.
“We made 30 candles in the first batch that sold out very quickly and now we are making some more. We made Jasmine and Vanilla scented candles, and they are peach, orange, brown, and lavender-colored candles,” she said.
The candles have been popular, and the stocks are running low, people can buy them directly by emailing Saniya.surani1@gmail.com
The candles cost between $6.99 and $16.99, Ashlyn’s mother Saniya Surani said.
Abnormal about of heavy rain pour started in Pakistan in mid-June and by end of August a state of emergency was declared in the country.
In late September, UNICEF reported, “Torrential monsoon rains triggered the most severe flooding in Pakistan’s recent history, washing away villages and leaving around 3.4 million children in need of assistance and at increased risk of waterborne diseases, drowning and malnutrition.”
“The record-breaking torrential rains have washed away villages and critical infrastructure in all four provinces of Pakistan, killing more than 1,600 people, a third of them children. This massive climate disaster has affected the most vulnerable with at least 33 million people, including millions of kids, plunged into desperation and danger,” UNICEF reported.
About 8 million people have been displaced and urgent access to shelter, safe drinking water, food, hygiene and medical services is needed.
Without immediate help, the risk of outbreaks of waterborne diseases such as diarrhea and cholera, is high and many children could die as a result, the report said.
PANZ President Naveed Hamid
Pakistan Association of New Zealand (PANZ) President Naveed Hamid said that the Association has created a Givealittle page with a goal of collecting $500,000 to send it to Pakistan.
Many other ethnic communities have come together to support the cause, Mr Hamid said.
He told Indian Newslink that the organisation has raised about $230,000 so far and encouraged more people to support in anyway possible.
PANZ is the oldest registered Pakistani organisation in New Zealand, serving the Pakistani Kiwi community since 1989 with about 10,000 registered members.
Rahul Bhattarai is an Indian Newslink Reporter based in Auckland.
