PESHAWAR: King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) distributed winter packages in Khyber district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday, bringing aid to the poorest families in the region amid the worst cold spell in decades, a local official said.
The district’s Zakat chairman Ihsan Ullah Junaidi, who was involved in delivering the relief to the most overburdened households, told Arab News that 1,500 winter kids with warm clothing and blankets were distributed in the region.
“We have reached to the poorest communities in remote, freezing mountainous hamlets of Khyber. This winter is the coldest in the last five decades and most of the families were lacking of warm clothing,” Junaidi said.
He described the winter packages as “gifts from brothers.”
“Saudi Arabia and Pakistan have great religious, historical and cultural bonds and these packages are the best of example of brotherhood,” he said.
Muhammad Irshad, 45, a helper at a grocery shop at Landi Kotal bazaar near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, was among the aid recipients. “With my tiny salary it would not be possible for me to buy such things. KSRelief won many hearts and prayers,” he told Arab News. “My children along with my wife are glad and we have words to thank KSRelief. They supported us in this very difficult time,” he said.
Haji Rahman, 27, a daily wager and father of four also considers himself lucky as he received the KSRelief’s winter package. “Not only me, but my family is also offering prayers for this generosity,” he said. “Because of the very cold season I couldn’t work properly and due to that I could not mange to earn enough money to keep my kids warm,” he said.
In early January, KSRelief launched a $1.5 million winter relief project to distribute 30,000 winter bags containing 180 tons of goods in 21 districts across Pakistan. The initiative is expected to benefit 150,000 people.
With one of the largest humanitarian aid budgets in the world, KSRelief has been working in 46 countries. Pakistan is the fifth-largest recipient of its assistance and has received more than $117.6 million in aid since 2005.
