Stanmore Mosque raises funds to rebuild school in Kashmir
(7 May 2009)

Stanmore Mosque, based in the London Borough of Harrow (UK), has donated £6,000, to help re-build a school in Kashmir, devastated by the October 2005 South Asian earthquake. The Mosque donated the funds to the Harrow Earthquake Relief Action Group (HERAG), who are partners with a UK and Pakistani-based educational charity - The READ (Rural Education And Development) Foundation, which specialises in establishing, building and running schools. At the event, Harrow's Glebe Primary School also announced that it would be 'twinning' with the new 'Harrow Community School' in Saran, Muzzaffarbad, once it is completed.

Cllr Chris Mote, portfolio holder for Community and Cultural Services, chaired the meeting, which saw the Mosque officially hand-over the cheque for £6,000. He said: "The people of Harrow have so far managed to raise a phenomenal amount of money to get the school rebuilt and we will be doing all that we can to continue to raise funds."

HERAG was set up in October 2005, the day after the earthquake which devastated much of Kashmir and parts of northern Pakistan and India. According to UN reports, more than 73,000 people were killed while many more lost their homes. A total of 3.5 million people were affected and required humanitarian assistance in the form of shelter, medical care, food, water and sanitation facilities.

The new school will be built in the village of Sarran, in the district of Muzaffarabad - the place where Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall visited when in Pakistan a couple of years ago. The Harrow community have now raised over £63k towards the project. The school, which should be ready by July 2009, will be named 'The Harrow Community School, READ Foundation-Sarran'.