Sahiba is one month old and has slept in a flimsy makeshift shelter for the whole of her short life. She was born on October 8th, the day the South Asian earthquake destroyed her family's home in the village of Parampilla in Kashmir. Before the earthquake Sahiba's father, Mustaque, his wife, Zahira, and their four-year-old daughter, Sabiya, lived with Mustaque's parents, his sister and his two brothers. However the earthquake made their home uninhabitable, and like their neighbours, the family ended up living out in the open in a temporary structure covered with plastic sheets.

These materials are inadequate to withstand the weight of the one to two metres of snowfall expected in the next two weeks, which threatens to block roads and access pathways up to remote villages like Parampilla. But thankfully last week, CINI (the Child In Need Institute) reached Sahiba's family and were able to provide them with the materials they need to make a sturdy, well insulated shelter. A relieved Mustaque told CINI, "These sheets will allow me to convert our shelter to withstand the coming snowfall".

However, hundreds of families still don't have the shelters they need to survive the winter. CINI is therefore urgently calling for further donations to fund the provision of crucial supplies before winter closes in. According to CINI-India Director, Dr Samir Chaudhuri, "Whatever can be achieved in this limited time will make a huge difference in terms of reducing preventable deaths and suffering as a result of the cold".

Just £12.50 will provide an earthquake survivor with three months worth of food rations. £131 will supply a family of seven with all the materials they need to construct desperately needed shelter. Cheques, made payable to CINI UK, should be sent to CINI UK, Suite 631, 456-458 Strand, London WC2R 0DZ.

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