Japan

Avril Lavigne, who has her own clothing line Abbey Dawn, has designed a charity T-shirt with heart to aid in the recovery efforts that continue as a result of the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

The shirts are black with a big red heart and simply include the brand name at the top and Japan at the bottom, which ends up reading  Abbey Dawn ♥ Japan.

100 percent of the net proceeds go to The Avril Lavigne Foundation, which will distribute it to Mercy Corps’ Comfort for Kids program in Japan, which is working alongside local partner Peace Winds.

Comfort for Kids trains caregivers to help children through the trauma of disaster. The goal is to bring help and hope to the children and youth of Japan who have been affected by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, it says in the press release issued by Sony Music on behalf of Lavigne’s Foundation.

The Abbey Dawn ♥ Japan t-shirt sells internationally on www.abbeydawn.com for $24.99.  It comes in two styles, oversized as well as crop jersey tee. All are available in five sizes, from extra small to extra large.  Anyone who purchases it will get 50 percent off their next order.

The Avril Lavigne Foundation R.O.C.K.S. Respect, Opportunity, Choices, Knowledge, and Strength in support of children and youth living with serious illnesses and disabilities. The foundation partners with leading charitable organizations to design and deliver programs, raise awareness and mobilize support for children and youth living with a serious illness or a disability.

As Japan continues to pinball between almost incomprehensible disasters, the world is stepping up to help. And Canada is no exception.

In addition to the federal government — which has pledged an array of expertise and technical assistance as well as the Canadian Forces — homegrown humanitarian and relief agencies are in high gear, deploying teams, fundraising and otherwise assisting in any way possible.

“We have made our complete resources available,” John Saunders, director of disaster management in Ontario with the Canadian Red Cross, tells Samaritanmag.  “Internationally, we have two mobile field hospitals that are complete surgical units that can be deployed on request from the Japanese Red Cross. And we’re basically on standby at this point for any human or material resources they may require.

“The Japanese Red Cross is a very robust emergency management program with over one million volunteers trained in disaster response,” Saunders continues. “They also have over 50,000 individuals trained to assist in emergency medical teams — so doctors, nurses and medics who are specifically able to be deployed for emergency medical help. All those resources are being engaged.

“Once those resources are exhausted, that’s when the international teams would step up to supplement the strong existing Japanese team. Right now, we are financially assisting them in the costs of relief programs such as bottled water to the millions without it, sheltering operations and medical assistance.”

The Canadian government is suggesting that Canadians wanting to help victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami should give money, not clothing or food. The web site for Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade lists everything from contact numbers to inquire about friends and family in Japan to the web site for Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan's and the Embassy of Canada to Japan; and lots of ways Canadian citizens and companies can help.

On March 11, an 9.0 magnitude earthquake - the most powerful recorded in history, according to the U.S. Geological Survey - with a depth of 24.4 kilometres, struck Japan's east coast of Honshu, and triggered a tsunami.  A significant series of aftershocks, ranging from 5.8 to 7.1 in magnitude followed in the same area.

As of today (March 15), at least 6,746 people are missing, Japan's National Police Agency said.
On the Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada site, it states "We are aware of the death of one Canadian citizen as a result of the earthquake at this time."  It says there are an estimated 11,000 Canadians in Japan; more than 2,400 Canadian citizens registered with the Canadian embassy in Japan but "very few" in the affected area.

Officials at Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada in Ottawa and at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo are working to determine the fate of any Canadians living or visiting Japan.