On 6 June 2006, General Pervez Musharraf presented Islamic Relief with an award in recognition of its efforts after the tragic earthquake of 8 October 2005.
Dedication
The Sitar-i-Isaar, or 'Star of Dedication' award was presented to Islamic Relief's country director in Pakistan, Mr Adil Al-Mahi. When asked about the award, Mr. Al-Mahi said, “This is an acknowledgement of the tremendous work of Islamic Relief's Pakistan staff. The team has worked tirelessly to help the survivors of the earthquake.”
Sitar-i-Isaar awards were given to humanitarian organisations and individuals who assisted survivors of the quake.
Aid for quake survivors
The earthquake killed 73,000 people and left 3.5 million homeless. IR responded immediately to the urgent needs of survivors and led teams of international aid workers into the earthquake zone.
In the aftermath of the quake, Islamic Relief aid workers cleared landslides to allow aid to reach 1.7 million people and distributed thousands of tents, blankets, mattresses, clothes and kitchen sets.
Islamic Relief is currently working to improve the lives of quake survivors in the areas of education, housing, livelihood, health and provision of clean water and food.
IR in Pakistan
Islamic Relief has worked in Pakistan since 1992 on emergency relief, development and disaster preparedness projects, and has worked in Kashmir, which bore the brunt of the quake, since 1997.
Islamic Relief was founded in 1984, in Birmingham, England and currently operates in over 20 countries.