19 August 2010
A Crawley electricity worker hopes to raise £3,000 from a 25-mile sponsored walk for the Pakistan flood appeal.
Amna Shafiq, who works at EDF Energy Networks, in Hazelwick Avenue, has organised the walk from Crawley to Brighton with four friends on September 18 in aid of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC). Colleagues have been donating as much money as they can and supporting Amna with fund-raising ideas.
Amna, an analyst for unmetered electricity supplies across the South East, London and East of England, such as street lights, said: “I hate walking but it wouldn’t be much of a challenge if I liked it. My goal is to raise as much money as I can for the flood victims. My family is from Kashmir and our family’s home was completely destroyed in the earthquake. Pakistan hasn’t really recovered from that disaster and now this has happened there are millions of people without housing. So many have died but it doesn’t seem like much is being done to help and this is the only thing I could think of doing in a short space of time.”
The route of the walk has not been finalised but Amna, from Darleydale, is confident they will complete the distance. She has walked 25 miles before and has a good level of fitness, regularly playing badminton, tennis and cricket. She said: “When I feel tired and the walking becomes more difficult I will keep myself going by thinking about the terrible images from Pakistan we have seen on TV and about all the people who have sponsored me.”
Hundreds of people are reported to have died in the floods in Pakistan and the survivors are at risk of contracting diseases, which are spreading in the contaminated water. The DEC is a UK alliance of 13 humanitarian aid agencies which is rallying the nation’s compassion and ensuring funds go the agencies best placed to deliver swift relief to those most in need in Pakistan.
Amna will be joined on the walk by four friends from Crawley. They are Mehreen Khan, an economist, Nadia Khan, a medical student, Noreen Khan, a marketing executive and Serene Khan, a fashion designer.
The team can be sponsored online at: http://www.justgiving.com/PAKISTAN-FLOOD-APPEAL
ENDS
For further information, contact Niamh Arnett in the EDF Energy press office on 01293 509153.
Notes to editors:
EDF Energy is one of the UK’s largest energy companies, producing around a fifth of the nation’s electricity from its nuclear, coal and gas power stations, as well as combined heat and power plants and wind farms. The company provides power to a quarter of the UK’s population via its electricity distribution networks and supplies gas and electricity to more than 5.5 million business and residential customers. It is the number one supplier of electricity to major business in the UK.
EDF Energy’s safe and secure operation of its eight existing nuclear power stations at sites across the country makes it the UK’s largest generator of low carbon electricity. EDF Energy is also leading the UK’s nuclear renaissance and has published plans to build four new nuclear reactors, subject to the right investment framework. These new plants would generate enough low carbon electricity for about 40% of Britain’s homes. They would make an important contribution to the UK’s future needs for clean, secure and affordable energy. The project is already creating business and job opportunities for British companies and workers.
Through Our Climate and Social Commitments EDF Energy has launched the biggest environmental and social programme of any UK energy company. EDF is the official energy utilities partner and sustainability partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The company is also helping its customers and others use energy more sustainably through products and initiatives such as Read, Reduce, Reward and Team Green Britain.
EDF Energy is part of EDF Group, one of Europe’s largest power companies. Following the integration with British Energy in 2009, the company employs nearly 20,000 people at locations across the UK.