Music for Life International and American Pakistan Foundation present
Beethoven for the Indus Valley
The Need
20 million Pakistanis have been affected by the
devastating 2010 floods.

This is more than the combined total of the 2005 Pakistan Earthquake, the 2004 Tsunami, and the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, making it the worst natural disaster in living memory. Half of those affected are children. Seven million are still without adequate shelter.

While the momentum of Acumen Fund’s work in Pakistan continues to increase, the challenges facing Pakistan have been made more acute by the floods in August 2010 that displaced 20 million people and destroyed or damaged millions of homes. The devastation has meant the loss of schools, health facilities and livelihoods, and the emerging threats of disease, hunger and unrest.

Acumen Fund is deeply committed to Pakistan and has been actively raising awareness and support for relief efforts on the ground through an online tapestry: www.ontheground.pk.

Acumen Fund is also looking at the companies in which it invests as potential providers of innovative, cost-effective solutions for flood-affected areas, and our Partners and community have stepped up to provide direct aid to displaced families.

As the flood waters recede, Pakistan is faced with the tremendous task of rebuilding tens of millions of lives and billions of dollars’ worth of destroyed infrastructure. Acumen Fund investees, through their direct provisioning of micro-loans, housing finance, homes for former slum-dwellers, safe drinking water, micro-insurance, drip irrigation and dairy cows for small-scale farmers, are at the heart of this recovery, now and for years to come.


Video Title:
Shared humanity:
Meet Pakistani Flood Survivors


Note from Jacqueline Novogratz,
CEO Acumen Fund, on our shared humanity:


“When TED's Chris Anderson and I returned last week from our visit to Pakistan's flood zones, we couldn't get out of our heads the faces of the people we'd seen. They comprised the true treasure of Pakistan, the unlimited potential of what it means to be human, stuck in tent villages with no belongings and an uncertain future.

These faces are the best possible answer to the insane indifference so much of the world has shown in response to this crisis, which by any objective measure is one of the worst of this century.

We wanted to spread the word about what we'd seen, so we wrote to one of our heroes Peter Gabriel and he generously agreed to let us use an unforgettable song of his as the soundtrack to a video that will show you the people we met.

We were astounded by the grace and dignity of so many who have lost all of their belongings, yet have the courage to move through another day, every day. Please stop what you're doing for 5 minutes, take a deep breath, and watch this video. And then share it widely. The world needs you more than ever.

Thanks.
Jacqueline”