Solidarity Box to the Philippines
Posted: Sep 09 2009 21:51 PM
To: PSAC Locals, Area Councils, and Womens Committees in the South Island & Lower Mainland
From: PB, on behalf of Kay Sinclair, Regional Executive Vice-President, BC
Do you have useful items that can be donated to our sisters and brothers in the Philippines?
The PSAC-BC region is supporting the Vancouver & District Labour Council's "Balikbayan Box" campaign to gather material support for union and community organizations doing important organizing work in the Philippines.
That these organizers are risking their lives to carry out this work is not an exaggeration. In the past two years more than 70 trade union leaders and activists have been murdered in the Philippines.
Your or your Local/Branch can provide material support to these organizations by contributing small items or surplus supplies which we will ship to the Philippines in a "Balikbayan Box", a 1.5 sq metre box, which we can fill to the brim and ship to the Philippines.
We need small, useful items that will help organizations like KAISA KA, a national women's organization, continue programs that develop women's organization and power at the local level. We also need office equipment and supplies that can assist a union like MAKABAYAN to open a new office in Subic Bay to consolidate the unionization of the 12,000 workers at the Hanjin shipyard.
This is not charity, it is solidarity! By helping them we are also helping ourselves.
Some priority items are:
Medical and health supplies such as acetaminophen, vitamins, non-latex examination gloves, rubbing alcohol, feminine hygiene products, toothbrushes, toothpaste, first aid kits (first responder or portable hospital types)
School supplies such as school bags for children, work books, crayons, pens, pencils & erasers
Functioning office supplies such as fax machines, LCD projectors, notebook computers, web cameras, scanners, general office supplies.
If you wish to support the PSAC-BC's Box campaign simply drop off your items at the Vancouver or Victoria Regional Offices. We hope to send off gathered materials by mid-November so that it can arrive in time for the holiday season.
Vancouver RO: 200 - 5238 Joyce Street, Vancouver - 604 430 5631
Victoria RO: 210 * 1497 Admirals Road, Victoria - 250 953 1050
In Solidarity
