A public concert to raise funds to tackle the deadly Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone will take place on Saturday 29 November at 7.00pm in Trinity Methodist Church, Douglas.
It will feature local artists including Val Cowley & Group, Kelly & Co String Quartet, Sue & Geoff Collier, Jane Short & Group, Sarah Elder and Helen Ainsworth and others - as well as poems by Pam Evans.
Admission is ?10. Children accompanied by an adult will be admitted free. Tickets are available from Paul Craine (851861). All money raised will be used to fight the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone through the Methodist Church of Sierra Leone (MCSL). They are working across the country supplying food to quarantined families and teaching how to avoid infection.
The Methodist Churches in the Isle of Man and in Sierra Leone have been twinned since 2011. The concert is being held by the Sierra Leone Twinning Committee of the Methodist Church IoM - known as Lannoonaghey, the Manx word for pairing or twinning.
Bishop Albert Beah of MCSL, explains that '150 volunteers and Peer Educators were trained over one month and are now actively engaged in sensitising their respective communities on preventative actions to be taken, or on steps to show when one becomes infected.'
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 5,000 people have died and over 14,000 have been infected with Ebola since the start of the year. But they warn that the real numbers could be up to three times higher. Infection rates continue to grow in Sierra Leone and Liberia. The WHO estimates that there could be 5,000 - 10,000 new cases a week in the worst affected countries by December, and aid agencies warn that without urgent action to stop the spread of Ebola and to help those affected by the crisis, parts of West Africa face catastrophe within 60 days.
Cheques for the above appeal, made payable to 'Trinity Methodist Church' may be sent to Mr Leon Roome, 3, Harcroft Road, Saddlestone Park, Douglas, IM2 1PN. Please write 'Ebola Appeal' on the back of the cheque.
