Toronto Women's Bookstore
http://www.womensbookstore.com
416-922-8744

The Toronto Women’s Bookstore is sponsoring an initiative, the Canadian Committee for Relief to Eastern Province, to raise funds for people devastated by the Tsunami in the Eastern Region of Sri Lanka.

Please visit www.canrelief.org http://www.canrelief.org, or read the information below. Also below are 3 fundraising events for the Committee.

Urgent Appeal for Medical Aid to Eastern Province

The Impact of the Tsunami in Sri Lanka’s War Zone

Sri Lanka is one of the world’s poorest countries. The people of the north and east of Sri Lanka are among the poorest in this besieged island nation. A twenty year long civil war has resulted in impoverishment and under-development in the fishing and farming villages of the Trincomalee -Batticoloa- Amparai district. Before the tsunami hit, travel by road, train, and sea, was disrupted by bombs, barbed wire, blockades and land mines. Local infrastructure was inadequate to meet basic health and education needs.

Now these communities have been dealt another crushing blow. The Christmas Day tsunami has claimed almost 30,000 lives in Sri Lanka. The death toll in the eastern province alone is 14,000 and rising. Countless coastal villages have been swept into the sea. Families, livelihoods, histories and whole communities have been obliterated. The stories from each small village along the coast are horrific.

In the village of Palahamam, students packed a school bus on Sunday morning for Hindu Studies. Without warning, a 5-metre high wall of water carried all 200 students and their teacher into the ocean. In the coastal town of Ninthavur, an Islamic madrasa (religious school) bore the brunt with nearly 42 children killed by the tsunami waves. In Kalmunai, doctors and nurses working in the hospital were all washed away along with their patients. The largest hospital in the area resembles a morgue packed to capacity with rotting and water-logged corpses. Fifty local healthcare workers have been killed and many medical staff have lost their kin. They now toil round the clock to deliver emergency care without basic supplies. In the coming days lethal epidemics are a certainty, unless drastic action is taken.

The people of this region desperately need your help. The unique political and geographical qualities of the district mean that relief supplies from the large donors are unlikely to arrive in time to stave off impending epidemics of dengue fever, malaria and diarrhea. In a better world this tragedy might provide an opportunity for cooperation bridging ethnic and religious differences. In reality, local politics may threaten relief efforts and endanger lives.

Impacted villages in this region are Tamil Hindu, Muslim and Singhalese. Some are located in government controlled areas and some in LTTE controlled areas. Some lie within a no man’s land. Each twist in the line of control is an obstacle to aid. Ubiquitous landmines make search and rescue treacherous. Some of these areas have been placed under curfew and government aid has yet to reach these regions. Associated Press has reported that aid trucks headed to Eastern Province have been diverted to needy areas in the South.

We appeal to you to support our effort with cash donations.

WHY DONATE TO THIS PROJECT?

-Your donation will go directly to those who are most vulnerable and least likely to receive adequate government or international aid.
-All donations will be used to purchase or transport medical supplies only - none of the funds will go towards administration or transport costs of Canadian volunteers.
-All members of our committee are volunteers, thus no funding is diverted to staff salaries or expenses.
-All supplies will be distributed directly to local physicians serving the most needy and remote areas; delivery will be directly supervised by members of the committee.
-We will provide detailed reports of activities to donors who provide email addresses
-We are completely non-partisan working with all organizations to alleviate the suffering of people in affected areas, regardless or religion, ethnicity or political affiliation.

WHO ARE WE?
Committee members include: Anjula Gogia, TWB Store Manager, Iniyal Inparajah, Randy Hryhorczuk, Suvendrini Lena, Gitanjali Lena, Raywat Deonandan

WHAT YOU CAN DO
Send cheques or money orders. Donations will be co-ordinated by The Toronto Women ’s Bookstore, a registered non-profit organization. Please make cheques or money orders payable to The Toronto Women’s Bookstore. Write Disaster relief fund on your cheque. Send to: Canadian Committee for Relief to Eastern Province c/o TWB 73 Harbord St. Toronto Ontario, M5S 1G4. Please provide a mailing and email address. We will confirm receipt of your contribution and send you a non-tax deductible receipt.

Upcoming events in support of the Canadian Committee for Relief to Eastern Provinces:

1. Tsunami Impact Relief Fundraiser Benefiting the Canadian Committee for Relief to Sri Lanka's Eastern Province - www.canrelief.org.
Wednesday, January 5, 2005 @ Andy Pool Hall, 489 College Street
Better-times music provided by DJs: Hatiras, Matt C, DJ Dayhota, Dino & Terry, DJ Krista, Denise Benson, Charles Lewis, Dany V., Adam Nathan, Justin Medved, Amir Ebrahimnia, Whitney Baker, Tee Loo's Kitchen, Joel Smye, Simon Rojas, Andrew Allsgood, DJ Zahra, and Marc de Breyne with many more supporters!
Doors: 7pm - 2:30am.
Minimum donation: $5.
All money raised at the door, a percentage of bar sales, and the proceeds of the auction (featuring products from Puma Clothing, Prize Records, Crash Records and Bustle Clothing) will be donated.

2. MEDALERT! Fundraiser for direct medical support to Sri Lanka.
Proceeds going to the Canadian Comittee for Relief to Eastern Province
Thursday Jan 13th Supermarket 206 Augusta & The Embassy 223 Augusta Ave 9pm - 2am $10 - $50 sliding scale more info e-mail: info@lalforest.com

3. SHAHID ALI KHAN PERFORMS AT THE GLADSTONE JANUARY 21 TO RAISE FUNDS FOR TSUNAMI VICTUMS IN SRI LANKA
Friday, Jan 21 Gladstone Hotel, 114 Queen Street West Doors open at 7 pm
Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door for advance tickets contact: Contact: Farah Ally Tel: 416-531-3992; Email: fally@pstgconsulting.com
As one of renowned and legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s disciples, Shahid Ali Khan would like to continue his mentor’s enthusiasm for Qawwali music with Western as well as South Asian audiences. Qawwali translates literally as “utterance” and it is the marriage of rapturous, spiritual poetry to mesmerizing singing and music. ‘The cyclical rhythms of the instruments, accompanied by the hand claps and the layering of voices are designed to induce a meditative trance in which the inner truth is said to be glimpsed.’ Shahid Ali Khan believes “that the duty of a Qawwal devotee is to reduce the distance between the Creator and the created. And, it is in this vein I am pursuing my music.” On January 21, 2005 Shahid will perform traditional Qawwali and contemporary fusion in collaboration with well known tabla musician Ravi Naimpally. Proceeds will be donated to the Canadian Committee for Relief to Eastern Provinces.

For more information please go to http://www.canrelief.org/Home/.

This event will bring together people to celebrate hope and human solidarity, the cornerstone of a world movement that opposes militarism, war and human suffering.

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For more information or questions about the Committee, please contact info@canrelief.org or anjula@womensbookstore.com.