Thursday 4 February 2010

As much as I don't like Bulgarian television generally, this is a positive side to drawing in millions of viewers that are glued to TV sets every evening. The fund raising was one of the best causes I seen for a while, well done bTV. Although I do wonder whether all the money will go to to the people who need it most. I won't mention corruption and you know who.


A telethon on Bulgaria’s bTV raised 943 524 leva, the station said on February 3 2010.
The telethon featured Bulgarian actors, musicians, ambassadors, business people and politicians, and was done in co-operation with Unicef Bulgaria. Of the sum, 895 513 leva came in via a special SMS line and the rest into a dedicated bank account, bTV said.
Separately, as of February 2, the Bulgarian Red Cross campaign to help Haiti had raised more than 250 000 leva. Donations may be made via SMS to 1255 or a special bank account, details of which are on the Bulgarian Red Cross website.
From the Haitian capital, the Voice of America reported that residents of makeshift tent cities throughout Port-au-Prince say that conditions have improved since the earthquake three weeks ago, but shortages of food and relief supplies still make life difficult.
The United Nations News Service said that beyond food, hundreds of thousands of Haitian earthquake victims displaced from their homes in Port-au-Prince, Léogâne and Jacmel urgently need shelter, with plastic sheeting taking priority over tents.
This is according to the latest UN update, three weeks after the catastrophe struck the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere
Sanitation, which was already a challenge in Haiti prior to the devastating January 12 earthquake, which killed up to 200 000 people, injured many others and left two million in need of aid, is an even greater challenge now, and will remain an important public health issue in the coming weeks, according to UN health officials.

Source: http://www.sofiaecho.com