May 14th, 2012
WASHINGTON, DC — The Houston-Karachi Sister City Association has won Sister Cities International’s 2011 Innovation: Humanitarian Assistance Award for a city with population more than 500,001. The Innovation awards recognize the accomplishments of outstanding community and individual sister city programs that promote peace through mutual respect, understanding,and cooperation.
In August and September 2011, devastating floods ravaged Sindh province in southeast Pakistan, home to Houston’s sister city Karachi, affecting approximately 5.3 million people. More than 30 organizations, community leaders, and media partners in the greater Houston area joined efforts and established the Alliance of Pakistan Floods Relief Efforts. The Houston-Karachi Sister City Association took on the coordination of the relief efforts in Houston.
The Alliance raised $81,000 in cash and more than $100,000 in wholesale value of in-kind donated items. The relief items were then sent in a 40-foot container to Karachi and distributed to 1,200 families in Mirpur Khas internally displaced persons camp in central Sindh Province.
The Alliance of Pakistan Floods Relief Efforts will continue to meet each quarter to monitor the donations and their impact in the Sindh province.
The Sister Cities International Annual Awards are awarded in several categories. Award winners will be honored at a special luncheon ceremony on July 14 during the Sister Cities International 56th Annual Conference in Jacksonville, Florida.
About Sister Cities International
Sister Cities International facilitates nearly 2,000 partnerships in 136 countries on six continents between 600 communities in the United States with similar municipalities abroad. Sister Cities International represents citizen diplomats who work tirelessly to promote the organizations’ mission of creating world peace and cultural understanding through economic and sustainable development programs, youth and education projects, arts and culture, and humanitarian assistance.