Angelina Jolie Attempts to Reignite Aid for Pakistani Flood Victims

In this photo provided by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, Angelina Jolie, right, the goodwill ambassador of UNHCR, talks with a flood-affected women during her visit to a camp for people displaced by heavy floods in Nowshera, Pakistan, Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2010. Angelina Jolie, who has traveled to more than 20 countries in her role as UN goodwill ambassador on behalf of refugees, says the devastation in Pakistan is the worst she has ever seen.

In talking about Jolie’s humanitarian work, the Christian Science Monitor notes that it’s easy for ordinary folks to roll their eyes when the subject is celebrities doing humanitarian work. We’ve never rolled our eyes at Angelina Jolie, instead making her one of the few philanthro-activists that we follow regularly.

Angelina Jolie and her partner Brad Pitt are the embodiment of the Smart Sensuality values couple we write about. And Jolie is the consummate Smart Sensuality woman.

Jolie speaks in this next video in August, 2010 before leaving for Pakistan:

Angelina Jolie on getting aid to Pakistan

Ishfaq Ahmed, head of operations for the Hashoo foundation in Pakistan, was grateful for Jolie’s arrival in a country now known for having a ‘trust deficit’, according to Mr. Ahmed.

“She was very down to earth and friendly with the kids and interested in knowing about everything. She visited homes, she visited schools, and she chatted with the kids for almost half an hour. I talked to her about the health center, and she wanted to meet the families and displaced people.”

Interviewed on NPR this morning, Angelina said that she hopes her arrival in Pakistan will help the fundraising which has raised $294 million, or 64 percent of the requested $460 million.

The floods have killed more than 1,700 people and affected 18 million.

“I was shocked especially by how high the floodwaters went,” said Jolie, who wore a long dress and covered her hair with a black scarf in keeping with local Muslim custom. “In some of the people’s houses, it was nine feet (three meters) high.” via NPR

Simply stated, we believe that this is one of the most beautiful photos of Angelina Jolie we’ve seen. Here she is arriving at the Jalozai flood victim refugee camp.

For more information on what we can do to help and also what the US government anticipates as a result of increased radicalization of Pakistan, based on the unmet needs of this humanitarian crisis, visit the Voice of America website.

More reading, written today Sept. 8, 2010

Angelina Jolie | Brad Pitt | Defining ‘La Dolce Vita’ on Humanist Terms