Although the Mennonite Central Committee does not have an office or staff in Pakistan, it is helping the Asian nation where the most severe floods there in 80 years have displaced two million people, and killed at least 1,600 to date.

Outbreaks of water-borne diseases such as cholera threaten to create a health crisis. Causalities are expected to rise as flooding continues across Pakistan, the MCC reports.

"The floods have destroyed homes, farms, factories and the livelihoods of millions of people," said Wayne Bremner, executive director of MCC in British Columbia. "Many people have lost everything and are in desperate need of assistance."

MCC is partnering with several church agencies in the region.

"[This] allows us to combine our gifts, contacts and resources as we respond to this serious humanitarian crisis," said Bremner.

With Canadian Foodgrains Bank members, MCC aids food kit distribution by the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee and the Presbyterian World Service and Development.

MCC is also involved in distributing food kits to 11,000 vulnerable households in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, some of the worst-affected areas. The agency will also send 2,000 relief kits to support the emergency response efforts by the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, and MCC will purchase tents through its partnership with Canadian Churches in Action.

To make a contribution to MCC for these relief efforts, call 604-850-6639 or toll free at 1-888-622-6337, or go online to mcc.org/donate.