Chile: Time to step up to the plate, folks…

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This is what solidarity looks like. Alvaro and Evo have an announcement to make:

The president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, announced on Tuesday that he would donate half his salary to help the displaced victims of the earthquakes that rocked Chile and Haiti this year, as part of the launch of a program of national solidarity to gather funds to help the two nations.

Morales explained that the program “Chile and Haiti Need You” will begin with the support of public functionaries, with the objective of motivating the solidarity of all Bolivians, businesses and social sectors.

The ministers and vice-ministers will donate 30 percent of their salaries, said the president, adding that the campaign will begin on Tuesday at 8:30 local time (12:30 GMT) and will run until next Saturday.

The campaign also seeks to get Bolivians contributing voluntary donations in a local bank account called “Solidarity With Chile and Haiti”.

“If each of us contributes one boliviano, we will have ten million bolivianos,” said the president.

The campaign will end with a rally in the Julio Borelli Coliseum in La Paz, with entry fees also going to aid the quake victims.

Official sources also say that the campaign could include a text-messaging campaign, in which the telecommunication firm Entel would provide two dedicated lines. To encourage participation in this campaign, the firm announced it would also be raffling off a car and airline tickets.

Exterior relations minister David Choquehuanca flew out on Tuesday morning with the first aid flight from Bolivia to Chile, containing 50 tonnes of water.

For his part, vice-president Alvaro García Linera, announced a series of humanitarian aid flights “for our brothers and sisters in Chile, who are living through a terrible catastrophe in these days”, after consulting with authorities in Santiago as to what type of aid they need most.

The aid efforts will be co-ordinated by the new Bolivian consul in Santiago, former defence minister Walker San Miguel, who was named to the post on Monday by President Morales.

Translation mine.

And on a more personal note, my friend Corey sent me this via Facebook today, concerning a Chilean friend of hers:

Subject: Madalena Lobao-Tello

I have called Madalena Lobao-Tello, artist and member of Facebook and http://www.facebook.com/l/1f752;care2.com in Region Metropolitana, Chile.

[Redacted: a chunk of personal information which I have decided to keep confidential, for now–if Corey okays it, I will publish this later–‘Bina.]

I live in San Francisco, I suspect one day I might be in an earthquake and I’d appreciate help from my friends.

She is ALIVE!!!!

Her voice was scared, very afraid, but she said she is ok.

The outside walls to the street have broken down. Eight days after the 8.8 earthquake she has electricity, the telephone and occasionally water.

The inside wall also fell breaking her computer and some of her paintings.

We are collecting money for her, putting it in my http://www.facebook.com/l/1f752;paypal.com account where $5.00 is the minimum transaction amount

[donate to ccgandrt@comcast.net, Corinne de Ciofalo Guell] and then I will send it Western Union. I will pay the $22 they will charge to send the money collected.

Thank You so much.

Madalena needs our help.

Corinne and Verocska

Corey, consider it done. I’m gonna do my modest little bit to help Madalena get back to normal life.

Your turn now, folks.

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