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A writing masterclass with renowned author Mohsin Hamid is going to be raising funds for people affected by the floods in upper Sindh.

On Monday, The Writing Room, announced a masterclass with the Moth Smoke writer, grateful for his contribution to the Indus Relief 2022, an organisation started by author Fatima Bhutto, her brother artist Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Menaal Munshey to raise funds for flood affected areas in Sindh. “I am so grateful to Mohsin Hamid for helping Indus Relief 2022 raise funds for urgent flood relief in Pakistan,” read the caption. They also thanked the trio that arranged the session as part of their multi-event fundraising series.

Adding that the class is open to anyone in the world, they shared the registration details. There are two simple steps — one to make a donation to the Indus Relief 2022 GoFundMe page which has a minimum amount of $45. For Pakistanis, it has encouraged them to donate a minimum of Rs3,500 to the Legal Aid Society or Edhi Foundation. Step two is to email the receipt to thewritingroomco@gmail.com.

Zulfikar introduced his followers to the upcoming event as well and wrote, “Proud to be working alongside my sister Fatima Bhutto and dear friend Menaal Munshey for this multi-event series to raise funds for rebuilding and rehabilitation in Northern Sindh.”

Fatima shared some heartbreaking statistics of how much damage the floods have caused, pointing out the adverse aftereffects. “Pakistan is grappling with an unprecedented national emergency caused by a super flood. Nearly a thousand people have lost their lives, more than 300 of whom were children, 35 million have been internally displaced, entire villages have been destroyed, nearly a million livestock lost and tens of thousands of homes washed away overnight,” she wrote.

“The scale of disaster is immense and the number of casualties is rising. One in six Pakistanis have already been badly affected by the super flood. This is climate change and a lack of disaster preparedness at its worst.”

She then revealed the action plan and said they are fundraising for the above mentioned NGOs and local hospitals. The creative way they have decided to go about it is by arranging a series of events including an online auction, a masterclass and direct donations over the coming week. “First up is a writing masterclass with Mohsin Hamid! Please see the post for details. See you Thursday!” she concluded.

If you are looking for somewhere to donate, we have compiled a list of organisations you can donate to.