Through the office of the Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace, the emergency support arm of the Canadian Catholic Church, the local Nelson parish Cathedral of Mary Immaculate is collecting funds to assist with emergency aid programs in the Horn of Africa.
Already in 2010 projects were began that assisted 40,000 people to obtain improved water supply and emergency food for the worst affected people in parts of Somalia and Ethiopia.
Over the past 10 years more than $2 million has been contributed to food security projects in the region in collaboration with their partners.
Development and Peace is one of the Canadian non-governmental agencies who will receive matching funds from the federal government fund for all contribution made until September 16.
The federal government has partnered with Development and Peace for more than 40 years in providing assistance to fund projects in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
Through donations from Canadian Catholics and others over a half billion dollars has been provided to their partners to assist them with their programs.
The organization has long term relationships with their partners in the global south and trust they have the expertise to manage the projects best for their people.
By having partners on the ground where they work, they are able to maintain overall administration costs low.
For the past three years this has been less than 10 per cent. The administration fees for this emergency appeal used in Canada to cover costs is five per cent.
Donations can be made online, with immediate tax receipts at devp.org or through the cathedral parish office with tax receipts issued at the end of this year.