MPs prepare Family Emergency kits for Somalia at Parliament Hill
OTTAWA, June 20, 2017 /CNW/ - This afternoon the International Development and Relief Foundation (IDRF) and GlobalMedic partnered to host a Relief Packing event at Parliament Hill to support families affected by the Famine in Somalia.
Three years of drought conditions have devastated crops and livestock in the East African region, resulting in nearly 20 million people in Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan and Ethiopia facing starvation, and approximately 600,000 children under five at imminent risk of extreme malnutrition. This massive hunger crisis is compounded by a lack of safe drinking water, which has resulted in widespread waterborne illness across the country.
The event brought together members from all political parties to pack water filtration kits to some of the world's most vulnerable people.
Included in the kits were essential ready-to-use supplementary food, oral rehydration sachets, hygiene items, and a Rainfresh Household Water Purification Unit (an innovative technology produced in Ontario) that will provide a family with safe drinking water for an entire year. Once the kits are prepared, they will be delivered to families in Somalia threatened by famine.
This event was the final of four packing events hosted during the month of Ramadan across Canada as part of IDRF's Be Remarkable Campaign, with the aim of preparing a total of 1,500 kits to provide lifesaving support to 9,000 people in Somalia.
ABOUT IDRF
IDRF (International Development and Relief Foundation) is a Canadian head quartered charitable organization dedicated to empowering the disadvantaged people of the world. IDRF provides effective humanitarian aid and sustainable development programs, without discrimination, based on the Islamic principles of human dignity, self-reliance, and social justice. Since 1984, IDRF has implemented relief and development projects across territories in South and Southeast Asia, Africa, the Americas, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
www.idrf.com
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ABOUT GLOBALMEDIC
GlobalMedic is an operational arm of the David McAntony Gibson Foundation (DMGF). DMGF is a registered Canadian charity that runs capacity building programs in post-conflict nations and provides relief services to large-scale disasters and complex emergencies around the world. GlobalMedic has implemented 178 successful disaster responses in 62 countries.
www.globalmedic.ca
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SOURCE International Development & Relief Foundation
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Media Contacts: Matt Capobianco, Deputy Director, GlobalMedic, [email protected], 416-271-0717; Laurel Kozik, Emergency Programs Officer, GlobalMedic, [email protected], 647-678-5850; Farheen Khan, Director Fund Development & External Affairs, IDRF, [email protected], 647-971-5594; Bilal Hakim, Community Development Manager, IDRF, [email protected], 613-322-7078
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