The Humanitarian Coalition, a partnership of 12 of Canada's largest international aid agencies, is pleased to announce that Toronto's iconic CN Tower will be illuminated tonight in support of World Refugee Day.
This annual event, which occurs on June 20th, is designed to raise awareness of the plight of more than 100 million people worldwide who have been forced to leave their homes due to natural or manmade humanitarian emergencies.
The Tower will be lit up in red and white to support the Coalition's efforts to raise funds to help vulnerable people in East Africa, where a combination of drought, hunger and the conflict in Sudan have forced millions of people to flee their homes, with many living in refugee camps in neighbouring countries. Three years of little to no rain have left crops withered and animals dying in large parts of Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, while fighting between military factions in Sudan has forced more than 1.4 million people to escape the conflict. Many observers are calling this current crisis the worst that Eastern Africa has seen since the drought of 2011.
"The combination of drought, exacerbated by climate change, and conflict is leaving millions of people vulnerable to starvation and a host of other problems," says Humanitarian Coalition Executive Director Richard Morgan. "Our appeal focuses particularly on children in the area, many of whom have known no other life than one spent battling hunger, disease and despair. We want them to know that there is still reason to hope for the future."
Morgan continued: "We are grateful to the CN Tower for agreeing to show our colours tonight and we urge everyone who sees them to consider visiting our website at together.ca to donate to support people in East Africa. The Government of Canada will match each donation made between now and June 30th on a dollar-for-dollar basis up to a maximum of $5 million."
For media who wish to speak to Mr. Morgan, please contact:
Bob Neufeld
Bob.neufeld@humanitariancoalition.ca
1-905-441-2640
-30-
For media inquiries, contact us at 647-517-4563 or media@humanitariancoalition.ca
The Humanitarian Coalition (HC) brings together leading aid organizations to provide Canadians with a simple and effective way to donate during large-scale humanitarian emergencies. The HC also partners with Global Affairs Canada to enable its member agencies to respond to lesser-known small and medium-scale disasters.