Saving a shattered nation

Nearly 80,000 people have died in South Asia after a devastating earthquake, and millions more were left homeless. Groups on campus want to make sure you know about it.

They're working to combat "donor fatigue" -- the idea that many people have tired of giving money for natural-disaster relief because of the sheer number of disasters this year. Unlike some national fundraising efforts, the students here say they are having success.

In the wake of the devastation from the Oct. 8 earthquake, the Penn Pakistan Society, the Hindu Students Council, the Muslim Students Association and several Pakistani MBA students have teamed up to raise money for victims. So far, they have raised about $6,000, and financial-services giant Citigroup has expressed an interest in doubling this amount.

Any help that the students bring to the affected countries will be well-received. The official death toll in Pakistan is about 73,000 people, but the figures do not match those given by the local governments, which are closer to 80,000. With the winter ahead, the largest concern has become the more than 3 million people left homeless by the disaster.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that about 450,000 winter-resistant tents are still needed. Because of this, the MSA has donated $1,200 to the Hidaya Foundation, a nonprofit group that provides displaced persons with tents. The money should be enough to buy 12 tents.

The president of the Penn Pakistan Society, Wharton junior Usman Masood, said that students have been very receptive to the fundraising efforts.

"We feel responsible for creating awareness because we are in a place where we can actually do something about it," Engineering and Wharton freshman Danish Munir said.

Munir is a board member of the Penn Pakistan Society. He said that to the best of his knowledge, no Penn students are from the affected area, though there are many students from other parts of Pakistan.

Munir admits that since coming to Penn, he has stopped reading newspapers and does not expect other students to be aware of the severity of the earthquake, which is why a large portion of his group's efforts have been directed toward raising awareness on campus.

After standing for several hours every day for the past week and a half on Locust Walk with information on the earthquake and three boxes for donations, "my voice is gone," Munir said.

Those who do not think the earthquake has received enough coverage have appreciated the students' efforts.

Zainab Hashmi, a Pakistani junior in the College, said that news stories have not seemed to sink in for many students.

"You read something in the paper, and the next day you forget about it," Hashmi said.

The severity of the crisis has made the students adopt longer-term projects for relief. "We can't just send a big check and forget about the rest," said Amir Memon, president of the Muslim Students Association.

Memon, a senior in Wharton and the College, is trying to think of projects that will force a commitment to the development of the area and will have an impact on the country's recovery from the natural disaster.

For now, students will continue to raise money until the end of the month of Ramadan, the Muslim religious month for prayer, fasting and charity that is expected to end in the next two days.

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