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INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN TO SPEAK AT UW-RF

NOV. 22, 20-05--International humanitarian Sigurd Hanson, recipient of the 2004 Distinguished Alumni Award at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, will visit campus on Nov. 30 to talk about relief needed after a major earthquake hit Pakistan Oct. 8.

Hanson is country director in Pakistan for World Vision, one of the world's largest humanitarian agencies. He will speak from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in Room 200 of the Agricultural Science Building about the disaster that took 90,000 lives and left 800,000 without shelter in one of the most remote and difficult terrains on the planet. Some 6,000 schools were destroyed and at least 18,000 students and 900 teachers were killed.

  "Conditions in Pakistan have taken a turn for the worse as the seasonal cold weather is now creeping into the mountain areas," says Hanson, a 1975 graduate of UW-RF. "Just as winter comes to Wisconsin, it visits Pakistan, too. Sadly, the cold will kill people displaced by the earthquake, especially children. All of us are challenged to ponder on what really happened in this part of the world ... and what may happen in the coming weeks and months unless we can do more to help."

A fund for Pakistan earthquake victims has been set up by the UW-RF College of Agriculture, Food & Environmental Sciences. Donations for Hanson's organization, World Vision, are being collected in the CAFES Dean's Office, 210 Ag Science Building, 715-425-3841.

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Last updated: Monday, 28-Nov-2005 15:45:06 CST