It Takes a Village: A Relief Effort from Toronto's Emerging Filipino Community

Press Release
March 3, 2006

Young Filipino Canadians offer music and poetry for relief

TORONTO – Toronto’s young Filipino Canadian community is coming together this Sunday, March 5 for a show entitled “It Takes a Village: A Relief Effort from Toronto’s Emerging Filipino Community.” The event, to be held at Reilly’s Bar and Grill on 340 Yonge Street, is an unprecedented collaboration of different youth-led groups and artists from the community, aiming to raise funds for the victims of a recent landslide in the Philippines.

The landslide, which happened on February 17, left an entire village in St. Bernard town in Southern Leyte province covered in mud. Among those initially reported missing were six teachers and 206 students who were in the village schoolhouse when the tragedy struck. Reports from February 20-21 indicate 1,004 people missing, 94 people dead, and 19 injured. Massive relief and rescue operations continue to be conducted by government and non-government agencies in the Philippines, while residents from neighbouring villages have been evacuated for fear of another landslide.

In Toronto, “It Takes a Village” is the first of many fundraising events being planned by the Filipino community. “The tragedy highlighted not only the need for urgent action, but an opportunity for the young artists of this community to showcase their talents for a worthy cause,” says Len Cervantes of Kapisanan Philippine Centre. “Through countless email strings and last-minute meetings, we were able to come together and prove that not only are we a community of artists on the rise, we are also unified and committed to taking responsibility for the plight of our homeland.” In addition to raising funds, the organizers of the event hope to spread awareness about the ongoing situation in the Philippines.

“It Takes a Village” will feature music and spoken word poetry from talented Filipino Canadian artists like DJ Prime Choice, Kat, Balance, Dick Fitzwell, Fenaxis, Uniqual, Out of Luck, Kate Delmo, Jessica David, with many more names to be added by showtime.

Proceeds will be sent through the Citizens’ Disaster Response Center (CDRC), a community-based NGO which conducts emergency response, long-term rehabilitation and advocacy for disaster-prone communities in the Philippines. For information, visit www.cdrc-phil.org.

“It Takes a Village” is organized by Kapisanan Philippine Centre, the Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance Toronto Chapter, Rice-Café.com, Minerva Records, From the Bamboo Poetry Collective, the Filipino Students’ Association of Toronto, the Filipino Students Association of York University and the Filipino Canadian Association of Ryerson.

For updated show information, check www.rice-café.com or www.minervarecords.ca.

Contact Persons:

Len Cervantes
Kapisanan Philippine Centre
(416) 427-7167
len@thedigitalsweatshop.com

Mithi Esguerra
Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance Toronto Chapter (UKPC/FCYA-TO)
(647) 273-6553
ukpc_toronto@yahoo.ca

Note to Media: Please confirm arrival time.