By Todd Shea | Executive Director
Dear Friends of CDRS,
A lot has happened in just a few short months. We’d like to share just a few of our notable achievements and experiences with you. CDRS owes a very special Thank You to every one of you who have supported our work and made all of this possible!
KASUR FLOOD MISSION
We concluded our emergency relief deployment in Kasur at the end of September. The area had been hit by massive flooding in early August. CDRS mobile medical teams (assisted by GDRO, UKMAP and Wali Trust) were sent in shortly after to assess the impact to the health and well-being of local men, women and children. Our primary diagnoses consisted of upper and lower respiratory infection, acute diarrhea, malaria, a range of skin diseases, muscular aches and weakness, tonsillitis, arthritis, anemia, urinary tract infection, asthma, hypertension, gastritis, acid peptic disease, and various eye and ear infections. These (along with a host of other ailments) were treated across our seven medical camps, which cared for a total of 1,757 patients. See Kasur photos, patient contact and diagnosis reports here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.607891875900235.1073741832.300942176595208&type=1
DENGUE FEVER OUTBREAK IN SWAT
On September 11, 2013, WHO declared an outbreak of Dengue fever in the province of Swat. Saidu Sahriff Hospital in Mingora was overburdened with 2,727 affected persons. With support from MAP, a small team of one doctor, one operation theatre technician, one pharmacist and two male nurses were dispatched to perform operations on site. Seven volunteer medical students from The Sindh Medical College CDRS Student Chapter were also sent to provide support and educate residents on prevention. See Saidu Shariff Hospital photos here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.603977286291694.1073741831.300942176595208&type=1
MEETING WITH PAKISTAN'S UN AMBASSADOR
CDRS founder Todd Shea and son TJ Shea met with Masood Khan, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United Nations at his office in Manhattan. They discussed CDRS achievements and ongoing work in his homeland. Ambassador Khan agreed to speak at a future fundraiser to be held in New York City sometime in the future.
CDRS FEATURED IN WONDERFUL FILM SERIES ABOUT PAKISTAN
Check out “Setting up clinics in Pakistan the Todd Shea Way” http://www.thersa.org/events/video/pkcalling-videos/pkcalling-videos/todd-shea-interview
for a brief overview of our founding and approach to disaster relief and long-term healthcare rehabilitation. This interview was produced under the “Pakistan Calling” Programme, a joint effort by the RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) and The Samosa (www.thesamosa.co.uk). Here you can view a series of videos that discuss the societal ills plaguing Pakistan and the work of wonderful groups and individuals addressing these issues: http://www.thersa.org/events/video/pkcalling-videos
PHILIPPINES DISASTER RESPONSE
In our continuing commitment to respond to large disasters wherever they happen, CDRS sent a team to The Philippines within days after Typhoon Haitan with our longtime partners EMAPCT NW, who we have collaborated with in Haiti, Japan and Pakistan. Our team provided critical information and logistics support to dozens of emergency responders in the field and teams that are soon deploying to engage in long term rehabilitation project and provided logistical support and trucks to get shipments of food, water, clothing to villages in Tacloban, Samar, Sebu and Bantayan Island. We also liasoned with Rotary Club leader in the Disaster Zone and connected them to Rotarians in the US who want to help (This mission was funded directly by individual donors who wanted to support this specific mission, no funds earmarked for our Pakistan projects are ever used for any other reason). See Photos here:
https://www.facebook.com/toddsheacdrs/media_set?set=a.10152051958736955.1073741834.642171954&type=1
https://www.facebook.com/toddsheacdrs/media_set?set=a.10152030882011955.642171954&type=3
We sincerely appreciate your taking time to catch up with our latest efforts. It is only because of the generous support of fantastic people like you that CDRS has been able to accomplish any of our great works. Pease make a contribution or pledge of any amount. Even if 5,000 people contributed $100 every year, we would have more than enough to continue our current projects and have enough left over to expand and help even more deserving people.
FUNDING SHORTAGE THIS WINTER
Right Now CDRS is short of funds for our Pakistan Projects this winter due to the unforseen postponement of large fundraising events until the Spring, and due to having no choice but to cancel two fundraisers in Toronto and Detroit in order to respond to the The Philippines disaster.
Here's some photos of our main project in Pakistan that I'm really struggling to pay for salaries, medical supplies, medicines and operational costs...
CDRS Mother & Child Health Center in Swat: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.500186853337405.112203.300942176595208&type=3
And our other important projects that despertately need help: https://www.facebook.com/CDRSPK/photos_albums
It is my humble request that you help with any amount possible to bridge our funding gap of 40,000 USD until March and share this message with your friends.
If you are satisfied with our progress and wish to help us continue our work, please consider making a tax-deductible donation here: http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/sustainable-healthcare-for-pakistan-disaster-areas/
CDRS ON FACEBOOK
Please visit us every couple of weeks at www.Facebook.com/CDRSPK or www.cdrspakistan.org to make sure you don't miss any of our Zabardast photos and reports !!! :)
CDRS WEBSITE WITH DETAILED INFO AND REPORTS ON OUR OPERATIONS
Please take a few minutes to browse our new website (links to a treasure trove of amazing photos, videos, info and reports are provided below). Please read about the work of Dr. Rukhsana Chaudhry, one of our amazing volunteers who worked with our team to provide mental health services and healing to children who've suffered from severe emotional trauma: http://cdrspakistan.org/volunteers-stories/
We have great volunteer opportunities in the field and in your city. See all the info and fill out our volunteer form here: http://cdrspakistan.org/volunteer/
CDRS has a proven track record of success in Pakistan for nearly eight years, responding to floods, earthquakes, conflicts and outbreaks in some of the most challenging environments and tragic circumstances that any relief organization has ever had to face- and when needed, we stay years after an emergency to provide long term assistance towards the re-establishment of destroyed healthcare delivery systems. Please review the following links at the new website:
See our photo galleries here: http://cdrspakistan.org/image-gallery/
View videos featuring our work here: http://cdrspakistan.org/video-gallery/
Read our 2012 Annual Report here: http://cdrspakistan.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/CDRS-Annual-Report-2012.pdf
CDRS has managed over 600,000 patient visits and served over 2 million Pakistanis in their most urgent times of need. Our patient numbers and reports are documented and verified. View them here: http://cdrspakistan.org/patient-reports/
CDRS is supporting many wonderful, positive and life-changing projects in Pakistan:
a) Our Mother & Child Health Center In Northern Swat provides medical care to about 2,500 poor patients per month ever since their only health facility was washed away in the floods of 2010.
b) Our Special Patients Project provides extra support to poor and deserving patients who need a medical procedure or ongoing care that they could never afford on their own: surgery, physiotherapy, medicines and educational support.
c) Our School Health Program provides basic health screening and classes in health, hygiene and first aid for students, their Moms and their young siblings.
d) CDRS / HUM TV House Reconstruction Project near Mirpurkhas, Sindh provides new well-built houses for families who lost their homes in the 2011 floods.
e) We are supporting Saba Home for Orphan Girls and assisting their expansion to provide a proper home to 1200 boys and girls in Rawlpindi, Peshawar, Multan, Lahore, Faisalabad, Quetta and Karachi.
Read more about all the above projects here: http://cdrspakistan.org/current-projects
CDRS has a long list of partners who have been very satisfied with our work. Some of them have collaborated directly with CDRS in the field; others have provided financial resources to keep our mission going. See them all here: http://cdrspakistan.org/our-partners/
CDRS will be supporting innovative new visions such as:
a) Imran Khan Developmental Academic Research (IKDAR) Knowledge Cities. Read more here: http://www.ikdar.org/projects/knowledge-cities.html
b) Rashidabad Welfare Cities in rural and under-served areas of Pakistan. Read more here: http://www.rashidabad.org/
c) Tele-health and data management projects with partner UM Healthcare. Read more here: http://www.umtrust.org/projects/technology/7) CDRS has received dozens of awards for its services from various organizations, including the Tamgha-i-Eisaar (Medal of Sacrifice), a medal from The Pakistan Academy of Family Physicians and an award of appreciation for our service to Pakistan from the Association of Pakistani Physicians and Surgeons of the UK. See them here: http://cdrspakistan.org/awards/
We have 7 years of cleared independent audit in Pakistan. For our audit reports and financials from 2006 to 2012, Read them here:http://cdrspakistan.org/financial-reports/
(We have passed stringent idependent financial and program audits and have again paased our due diligent check by our US Fiscal Sponsor of the last 7 years, Global Giving Foundation. Global Giving is a top rated charitable organization by Charity Navigator and The Business Bureau. CDRS also has cleared each audit and review of emergency relief missions funded by UNICEF, Direct Relief International and The International Development & Relief Foundation of Canada).
Prominent members of the Pakistani Community have seen the CDRS Team at work in our Swat Mother & Child Health Center with their own eyes, such as Tehmina Jesrai of DIL, Taher Anwer Khan of Interflow Communication & TV 1 / News 1, Anwar Iqbal of Dawn News and Tanvir Qureshi of Medical Aid to Pakistan UK. Please meet our Distinguished Advisory Board here:http://cdrspakistan.org/cdrs-advisory-council/
Thank You for supporting CDRS. Feel free to contact me anytime if you need any further information :)
With Best Regards,
Todd Shea
Founder and Executive Director
Comprehensive Disaster Response Services (CDRS)
toddshea@cdrspakistan.org
718-809-5381
Links:
By Todd Shea | Founder and Executive Director
By Todd Shea | Founder and Executive Director
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