While news of Africa’s Ebola virus outbreak is everywhere on the world’s stage these days, locally, Bow Valley residents can soon lend a hand on the small stage.
On Nov. 23, St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church will host the Serenade charity concert to assist CAUSE Canada in Ebola prevention in Sierra Leone.
On the church’s small stage will be soprano Michelle Todd, along with Liz Tremblay on cello and Jim Picken on piano. The trio will over a selection of works by Bach, Bernstein, Gounod, Handel, Massenet, Previn, Taverner, Villa Lobos and others.
The charity concert will be similar to one the three performed in Calgary in September, with proceeds to Presbyterian Sharing. Todd was invited to perform with Tremblay and Picken and plans are for a similar event in Edmonton next year.
The idea was then to host a similar event in Banff, “and I said ‘let’s do something else useful with it,’ “ said Todd. “My husband said CAUSE was doing something for Ebola and we said ‘that’s it.’ “
“It’s a way of sharing our music with CAUSE and everyone in the Bow Valley. It will be exactly one hour and it’s a chance to just sit and quietly enjoy some good music for a good cause.
“It’s an intimate venue with lovely acoustics and beautiful for chamber music like this.”
Funds from the charity concert will go to CAUSE (Christian Aid for Under-assisted Societies Everywhere) efforts in Sierra Leone which will focus on prevention of Ebola in the west Africa nation.
Currently, said CAUSE’s Laura Myers, field staff are on the ground in three districts which include a population of 500,000. “They’re going to remote villages and communities to work with leaders and dispel myths about Ebola. They’re giving them the cold, hard facts.
“We’re working with radio, putting up posters and hosting community discussions.”
Staffers are also battling the stigma of Ebola; people are often afraid to report it, said Myers. As well, because the symptoms of Ebola can mirror those of malaria and typhoid, the virus is not reported in some cases.
“At CAUSE, really, the focus is on prevention and reducing transmission,” she said. “We’re working on handwashing stations with chlorine and buckets for washing and telling people not to attend burials or touch anyone who has passed away.”
CAUSE is also working with other international NGOs (non-government organizations) to build an isolation centre for those stricken.
Myers said the World Health Organization recently reported 4,759 cases of Ebola in Sierra Leone, and 1,070 deaths – the country has a population of 5.9 million. Although, she said, due to a lack of reporting, the numbers could be double.
Often, said Myers, “there is a focus by the government on protecting Canadians, but the need is to stop it in west Africa so it doesn’t spread to Canada.
“The threat is not that severe in Canada, right now, we need to stop it in Africa.”
The good thing about having a local fundraiser, she said, is that it shows there is interest in the situation right here in the Bow Valley.
Admission to the Serenade charity concert is free, with donations (tax receipts available) to the CAUSE Canada Ebola Crisis Fund accepted.
