Toronto couple gives $2M to fight Horn of Africa famine

A prominent Toronto family has donated $2 million to help fight the deadly famine developing in the Horn of Africa. Eva Pindoff told a news conference on Wednesday that she couldn't sit back and do nothing about the tragedy developing in Somalia, Ethiopia and other nations in eastern Africa.

"I watch TV and read the paper and see mothers leave their children dying on the street because they cannot take care of them any more," she said. "What would you do?" Eva and husband Kroum decided to act by writing a cheque for $2 million to the Canadian Red Cross's efforts to fight the famine. It is the single largest personal donation the organization has received so far. The Pindoffs are founders of the Music World chain of stores. They gave $5 million in response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami disaster. Eva urged Torontonians to give even a little bit of money if they can -- $10 or $20, for example. But she also noted there are many wealthy residents in the city. The Pindoffs' move comes on the day that the United Nations declared three new regions in drought-stricken Somalia to be famine zones. A total of 3.2 million people in Somalia, out of a population of 7.5 million, require immediate assistance.

Regionally, the number is estimated to be 11.6 million. Tens of thousands of people have died already, and tens of thousands more Somalis have been walking to refugee camps in neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia in the hopes of finding food aid at refugee camps.
Canada's federal government has offered to match the donations of Canadians to registered charities doing relief work in East Africa -- to a maximum of $100,000. Ontario announced Tuesday it would be giving $1 million to help support the efforts of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the affected region.
The Red Cross office in Toronto told CTV News that it sent $1 million to East Africa last week to fight the famine. The Pindoffs' donation would be put to work immediately, they said.