Studeo
18th August 2010, 23:19
A Christchurch businesswoman is upset her offer of baby food for young Pakistani flood victims has been rejected by aid organisations.
Green Monkey managing director Charlotte Rebbeck wants to donate 100,000 pouches of baby food, worth about US$250,000 (NZ$350,000).
The organic baby-food company has pulled out of the United States market, and Rebbeck wants to send the excess stock to Pakistan.
Her freight forwarder had offered to send the food to Pakistan for free, she said.
However, she said neither the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) nor Red Cross were willing to accept the food.
Rebbeck described the decision as an "absolute joke".
"This is ridiculous. I'm trying to donate food and I can't get anyone to accept it.
"I can sell this baby food far easier than I can give it away, but I'd set my heart on doing good with it and now I can't do that."
Rebbeck said the baby food was sitting in a US warehouse.
Unicef New Zealand executive director Dennis McKinlay said the organisation was focused on improving sanitation in Pakistan.
"The problem with this offer is we're in New Zealand, the food is in America, and it has to get to Pakistan by commercial flight," he said.
However, the aid organisation could accept the food in a few months, once the country was more stable, he said.
Red Cross international programmes manager Glenn Rose said accepting outside food would damage the local economy and might not be culturally appropriate. "They [Pakistan] have expressed their food needs to us and we have to honour that and we have to stick with it," he said.
"We just can't go distributing foodstuff goods from western countries into Pakistan."
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/4038557/Aid-groups-reject-food-offer
Green Monkey managing director Charlotte Rebbeck wants to donate 100,000 pouches of baby food, worth about US$250,000 (NZ$350,000).
The organic baby-food company has pulled out of the United States market, and Rebbeck wants to send the excess stock to Pakistan.
Her freight forwarder had offered to send the food to Pakistan for free, she said.
However, she said neither the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) nor Red Cross were willing to accept the food.
Rebbeck described the decision as an "absolute joke".
"This is ridiculous. I'm trying to donate food and I can't get anyone to accept it.
"I can sell this baby food far easier than I can give it away, but I'd set my heart on doing good with it and now I can't do that."
Rebbeck said the baby food was sitting in a US warehouse.
Unicef New Zealand executive director Dennis McKinlay said the organisation was focused on improving sanitation in Pakistan.
"The problem with this offer is we're in New Zealand, the food is in America, and it has to get to Pakistan by commercial flight," he said.
However, the aid organisation could accept the food in a few months, once the country was more stable, he said.
Red Cross international programmes manager Glenn Rose said accepting outside food would damage the local economy and might not be culturally appropriate. "They [Pakistan] have expressed their food needs to us and we have to honour that and we have to stick with it," he said.
"We just can't go distributing foodstuff goods from western countries into Pakistan."
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/4038557/Aid-groups-reject-food-offer