Farah Salim grieves to see the international community
fail to open its wallet to Pakistan in the way it did for victims of last
year’s Southeast Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. Compared with the $1.3 billion in relief given to
victims of the tsunami, which killed 123,000 people, Pakistan has received
$620 million to help victims of the earthquake, which killed at least
79,000. “It’s a weird feeling,” says the
24-year-old graphic designer, whose mother is from Springfield and whose
father is from Pakistan. “I feel like one side is beating up on the
other.” A master’s student at the University of Illinois
at Springfield, Salim thought that she could use her skills to help the
citizens of Pakistan, where she once lived. She designed a set of eight
note cards and has begun selling the cards to raise money for CARE, an
international poverty-eradication organization. Salim plans to take a loss on the project because she
will send all proceeds to CARE, but that’s all right, she says: “I can lose $100 if it helps these people get
blankets.” The fundraising note cards, $15 per set, may be
purchased at Accents and Imports, 111 N. Sixth St., or by e-mailing Salim at
fairydusty100@hotmail.com.
This article appears in Oct 27 – Nov 2, 2005.
