Featured Writer: Marilyn Gardner
http://communicatingacrossboundariesblog.com/

I am the first to admit that given the choice of a 5 star hotel or camping I will pick a 5 star hotel.  I tell friends that anyone who grew up in the developing world with a commode for a toilet and one bath a week would appreciate my love of luxury so it was with some surprise that I found myself so eager to work in flood relief in Pakistan.

When I first heard news of the floods that began to spread their strength and turmoil in various parts of Pakistan in August of 2010, I felt sadness that was somewhat distant and removed.  Raised as an American in Pakistanwith the call to prayer as my alarm clock it was my childhood love and home, but as an adult I have been more connected to the Middle East through work and travel.  My memories of Pakistan are primarily relegated to occasional emails from friends and to those moments on the subway when I close my eyes and the rhythmic movement transports me back to the Pakistani trains of my childhood.   That changed when I saw a picture in the New York Times of the city of Jacobabad under flood waters. Continue reading →