TORONTO, August 3, 2011 /Canada NewsWire/ - Kroum and Eva Pindoff, the founders of Music World Limited, announced today they will make a personal donation of $2 million to the Canadian Red Cross Horn of Africa Drought fund.
"After seeing stark images of this tremendous tragedy and misery, our family has decided to do what we can to alleviate the suffering," said Kroum Pindoff.
The family decided to make the generous donation as news of the droughts in Africa becomes dire with nearly 11 million people --many of them children- at risk of starvation.
Long-time supporters of the work of the Canadian Red Cross, the Pindoffs hope their generous donation will inspire others to support aid efforts in the Horn of Africa. "I only hope that every Canadian will step up to give whatever they can afford to support the starving children and families in the Horn of Africa," said Eva Pindoff.
"The Canadian Red Cross is extremely grateful for this significant gift and the leadership demonstrated by Kroum and Eva Pindoff," says Conrad Sauvé, secretary general and CEO of the Canadian Red Cross. "Humanitarian assistance is urgently needed as millions of people continue to suffer from lack of water, food and shelter and basic health care. The situation continues to worsen."
The Red Cross Red Crescent Movement has a strong presence in the Horn of Africa and is actively scaling up operations to meet the urgent needs of affected communities. To date, Red Cross efforts include deploying 14 mobile health clinics which have given urgently needed medical assistance to almost 18,000 people, providing clean water to almost half a million people and distributing over 300 tons of seeds to farmers who have lost crops.
The Canadian Red Cross has already donated $1 million to support relief efforts in Kenya and Somalia helping to provide immediate life saving assistance and help people recover their livelihoods. "Although these funds will make a tremendous difference in the lives of affected communities, much more is still needed to ensure a sustainable recovery," said Sauvé.
All individual donations of up to $100,000 made between July 6 and Sept 16, 2011 will be matched by the Government of Canada. Those funds will go into a relief fund that is separate from the Canadian Red Cross and will be administered by the Government of Canada. Funds from the matching program will support on-going humanitarian assistance in drought-affected parts of East Africa.
Canadians who wish to support Red Cross Red Crescent efforts in East Africa can make a donation to the Canadian Red Cross Horn of Africa Drought fund. Donations can be made at your local Red Cross office, at www.redcross.ca or by calling 1-800-418-1111 and should be earmarked "Horn of Africa Drought".
