World Vision Alberta Campaign for Children launches today

EDMONTON, March 1 /CNW/ - Today World Vision, working in partnership with CTV Calgary and Edmonton and ACCESS Television, officially kicks off the Alberta Campaign for Children. In January, CTV News reporters Pearl Tsang (Calgary), David Ewasuk (Edmonton) and ACCESS Video Journalist Danny Baldassarre travelled with World Vision to El Salvador to visit various development projects. On Tuesday, March 2, CTV Edmonton will air the first of three stories (airing March 2-4) documenting Ewasuk's experience. CTV Calgary will air Tsang's stories (March 8-10). ACCESS will begin airing stories captured by Baldassarre on Alberta Prime Time March 22-24.

The goal of the eight-week Alberta Campaign for Children is to raise awareness among local residents about issues affecting children in developing countries and to encourage them to sponsor 4,000 children in need through World Vision by April 30.

World Vision will also be hosting a free movie night in Calgary at the Uptown Stage and Screen on Monday, March 29 and in Edmonton at the Stanley A. Milner Theater on Wednesday, March 31. The free movie night is the debut of one-hour documentary Return to Africa: The Elsie Cressman Story. The film features the journey of an 86-year old Canadian nurse who returns to a Kenyan clinic she worked at in the 1950s. Tsang in Calgary and both Ewasuk and Baldassarre in Edmonton will participate in a panel discussion themed around international development immediately afterward. Free refreshments and popcorn will be served. A viewing of the award-winning Tsepong: A Clinic Called Hope which focuses on a Canadian medical staff struggling to help treat HIV and AIDS patients in Lesotho, Africa will also be shown.

"We believe that the people of Alberta are up to this challenge," says David Tsigoulis, manager of the Alberta Campaign for Children. "Generous Albertans sponsor more than 60,000 children through World Vision. However, the need is great and there are tens of thousands of children worldwide waiting to be sponsored."

The goal of child sponsorship is to empower communities to find solutions to local problems, and thereby better enable families to provide for their children. World Vision works in partnership with communities through sustainable development projects such as water and sanitation, agricultural training, small loans for business development and HIV and AIDS education and prevention.

Edmonton residents can sponsor a child by calling 1-877-34-CHILD (24453) or visit www.WorldVision.ca/Alberta.

World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. For more information, please visit www.WorldVision.ca.

For further information: Jessica Parker, [phone] ext. 2152, [phone] (cell), [email protected]