Severe flood in Pakistan affected 20 Million people and the numbers are growing day by day. They need clean water, sanitary food, housing and medical care. The following organization are working in the affected areas, please donate as much as you can to support their efforts.

Pakistani Organizations and Charities Seeking Flood Relief Donations

Edhi Foundation

Edhi Foundation is the trusted and award-winning relief and volunteer works organization of Pakistan, which is also active internationally. Edhi Foundation has one of the largest private ambulance service networks in the world. The Foundation provided invaluable services during the earthquake in 2005 and is currently involved in flood relief work in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Pakistan Red Crescent Society

Pakistan Red Crescent Society is a reputable non-governmental humanitarian organization with a mission to provide relief to communities in distress without discrimination of nationality, race, religious belief, class, or political opinion. The Society provides relief during and after crises as well as auxiliary health and welfare services.

Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN)

The Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN) is the largest national, non-government network of rural development programs in Pakistan, called Rural Support Programmes or RSPs. Their mission is to mobilize rural communities on a self help basis to undertake activities in areas of relief and rehabilitation, community built infrastructure, community financing (micro credit and health insurance), building employable skills, agriculture, livestock, small enterprise and other sectors.

Give A Home

A relief project initiated by leading community organizers in Pakistan. After the successful project of supporting the earthquake victims in 2008, they now intend to move on to a bigger and a much needed task – shelter building for flood affected families in Baluchistan and Sindh.

Maymar Trust

To donate a ( 10 x 10) tent for a family: Rs. 12,000

A huge tent ( 14 x 14) for a few families: Rs. 5,000

A tent for a mosque ( 30 x 30) : Rs. 30,000

Gas Cylinder: Rs. 900

Generator: Rs. 80,000

Food: 8,000/-for one month

Medical Supplies: Rs.20 to 25,000/- ( for one day )

Beds and bedding: 300 per bed

Plastic Tirpal ( shade)( 4 x6) : Rs.900/-

Donate here:

Account Title: Muhammad Faisal

A/c No: 011802008000265

Meezan Bank/ Gulshan-e-Maymar, Karachi.

Or

A/C Title: Tariq Manzoor

0118994011000621

Muslim Commercial Bank

Branch Code: 1555

International Organizations and Charities Seeking Flood Relief Donations

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

UNHCR is an agency of the United Nations that provides basic care and necessities like shelter, water and emergency supplies for internally and internationally displaced persons.

Oxfam

Oxfam International is a confederation of 14 organisations working with over 3,000 partners in around 100 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice. Oxfam has responded to the flood emergency in Pakistan and is currently delivering clean water to almost 100,000 people. In total, Oxfam aims to reach around 600,000 people with clean water, sanitation kits and hygiene supplies, and is planning to distribute cooked food as well as running cash-for-work programmes.

International Medical Corps

International Medical Corps is a humanitarian, nonsectarian, global organization of volunteer doctors and nurses dedicated to saving lives and providing relief through healthcare training and development programs.

International Rescue Committee

The International Rescue Committee founded at the request of Albert Einstein to respond to the humanitarian crises anywhere in the world, and save and rehabilitate victims of war or disaster.

Save the Children

Save the Children is a leading organization dedicated to ensuring the physical and emotional well being of children internationally, with programs focused on enabling safety, education, health and nourishment for vulnerable children.

Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC)

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is an umbrella organisation which represents 13 leading UK aid agencies. Its members are: ActionAid, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern, Help the Aged, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund and World Vision. DEC is broadcasting a series of TV and radio appeals in Britain asking for donations after the severe floods in Pakistan.

Islamic Relief USA

Islamic Relief is a US 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working to around the world to alleviate poverty, suffering, hunger and illiteracy, irrespective of color, race or creed, by collaborating and cooperating with local organizations to maintain cultural sensitivity to customs and traditions of the regions they serve. Islamic Relief USA is also involved in relief work in Haiti.

Muslim Hands

Muslim Hands is a UK-registered charity working internationally in over forty countries worldwide to help those affected by natural disasters, conflict and poverty. Muslim Hands is a signatory to the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.

Abaseen Foundation

The Abaseen Foundation is a UK-based humanitarian organization working to develop healthcare, education and provide humanitarian relief in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (former North West Frontier Province).

Helping Hand

Helping Hand for Relief And Development is a global humanitarian relief and development organization responding to human sufferings in emergency and disastrous situations anywhere all over the world regardless race, gender, ethnicity, class, location, religion, color, cultural diversity and social background; with special focus in countries where the massive population living below the poverty line like Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Kenya, Sudan and many others.

World Vision Canada

World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender.

Trócaire

Trócaire is the official overseas development agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland. Trócaire adopts a partnership approach and works through global Catholic networks and with local partners on the ground.

[source: http://www.ourdesiworld.com/component/content/article/56-list-of-flood-relief-organizations ]

I had never created 360 panorama or small planets before. I had previously read various articles and seen very interesting photos as well. I was very excited to make something like it, but never got a chance to make it.

On my trip to Blagoevgrad and Rila Monastery Trip with ESN people I found a very interesting place. There was non-functional spring in the middle of the steps and they were forming a perfect circle. At that point I thought how about a group photo by making small planet shaped circle. So I calculated number of people and walked around the circle. I gathered people and asked them to hold their hands around the circle and stay still. I went to middle of the circle and after I was satisfied with the formation, I adjusted the focus of my camera[in auto focus mode] and switched to manual focus. It is very important to have the same settings[aperture, shutter etc] for all your shots. I could have taken the 6 or 8 shots but I was not using the tripod so for better alignment I took 10 shots covering everyone.
When I came back I stated stitching the photos using Photoshop. I used photo merge option of adobe and selected “perspective” in “Layout”.  I loaded 10 photos and they had very high resolution and the result was the picture having size of 28.2 MB. I purpose that you should reduce the size and then continue otherwise adobe might crash and you might lose your data [or you should save psd formats side by side without reducing the size].

The photomerge option resulted in Raw Panorama of the shots and each photo was in Layers. As I had told you I did not used the tripod and few people were not aligned perfectly. Thats why I had to carefully align the picture manually. Also I wanted to make small planet shaped circle so I had to be careful with the ends of the picture.
After I was satisfied with the stitching I applied “Polar Coordinates” filter [Filter->distort->polar coordinates]. My first small planet was ready … but what the … The ends were not perfect[it needed extra adobe photoshop magic...].  I had to do some basic adobe photoshop in order to remove the deficiency. [Always use tripod or try to learn advance adobe photoshop].

The resulted picture as you see is not very satisfying… I tried various adobe photo shop techniques to squeeze the people and make it perfect but it was taking too much effort. Now I search for some tutorials and wanted to look others similar pictures. After reading some stuff I realized I was doing the same thing but if I add some empty space at the lower part of the picture, the inner circle will be more wider and people will look better.

I had already saved the straight Panorama so I increased the height of that image and applied the filter. This time the result was much better. But I did not kinda liked the inner white circle, so I thought how about stretching the grass[lower part of the image] and this increased the height of the image as well. After doing that I applied the polar coordinate filter and the end result was the following picture.

I learned a lot from my first experience and next time I will do better than that.  Try increasing the height upto the width and see you will have better results. I am open for suggestion and comments, do let me know what you think.

[You can find very good resources  here here and here]

I was searching for waterproof camera and found a very interesting article. Ofcourse If you are using SLR then I would recommend the waterproof kit[kind of plastic bag] for you. If you like photography and like to buy new waterproof camera then you must check out this comparison. [source:http://www.popphoto.com/Features/The-5-Best-Waterproof-Compact-Cameras]

1. Canon PowerShot D10
$330 street, 12.1MP; 3X optical zoom; waterproof to 33 feet
Canon’s first foray into waterproof digital compacts looks like a cross between a Digital ELPH and a diving bell. With a waterproof rating down to 33 feet, it’s among the deepest divers in this category, but its 2.5-inch LCD and optically stabilized 35–105mm (equivalent) f/2.8–4.9 zoom lens aren’t at the front of this pack. Like the other cameras here, the D10 is freeze- and shockproof, in this case surviving temperatures down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit and falls of up to 4 feet.
www.powershot.com

2. Fujifilm Finepix Z33WP
$200 street, 10MP; 3X optical zoom; waterproof to 10 feet
Borrowing design cues from Fuji’s teen-targeted Z30, this underwater shooter is one of the tiniest and most stylish, as well as the most affordable. Its 2.7-inch LCD is as large as they come on this type of compact. But it’s waterproof only to 10 feet, and its 10MP and 35–105mm (equivalent) f/3.7–4.2 optical zoom aren’t groundbreaking.
www.fujifilmusa.com

3. Olympus Stylus Tough 8000
$400 street, 12MP; 3.6X optical zoom; waterproof to 33 feet
Olympus offers some of the most rugged compact cameras you can get, and its latest fits the mold. You can shoot down to 33 feet underwater, drop the camera from up to 6.6 feet, and use it in temperatures down to 14 degrees Fahrenheit. Plus, its metal construction can withstand up to 220 pounds of pressure. Sensorshift image stabilization combats hand shake, and the zoom, while not league-leading, spans an equivalent 28–102mm f/3.5–5.1.
www.stylustough.com

4. Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS1
$400 street, 12.1MP; 4.6X optical zoom; waterproof to 10 feet
Panasonic has stepped up to the pool in a strong way with its first waterproof digital camera. Its optically stabilized 28–128mm (equivalent) f/3.3–5.9 zoom offers a nice balance of wide angle for underwater and midrange tele for land-based adventures. At 12.1MP, it affords plenty of resolution, and it has an ample 2.7-inch LCD. While we wish it could go deeper than 10 feet, its 720p video recording should make playing in the backyard pool more fun than ever.
www.panasonic.com

5. Pentax Optio W60
$250 street, 10MP; 5X optical zoom; waterproof to 13 feet
Pentax was one of the first to offer dunkable digital cameras with its WP series years ago, and now it’s a major force. This model has plenty of room to the left of the lens to hold onto, and we like the 720p video recording, though we’d rather have a faster rate than its 15 frames per second. Its Super Macro mode should be a boon below the surface, letting you focus as close as 0.4 inches from the front of the 28–140mm (equivalent) f/3.5–5.5 lens.
www.pentaximaging.com

Royat-e-Halal committee ka masla hal kernay… Agiya Agiya Perfect telescope
A girl near Fantastico(Sofia, Bulgaria) is making money by showing moon and Jupiter from her telescope…
Two leva for sighting moon… Although I gave her One leva and one leva was compensated by taking her picture…