Gia Lai Province, Vietnam -Three children were killed this week and three others injured when they discovered a cluster bomb left over from the US-Vietnam war and played with it as if it were a toy. The children, ranging in ages from two to eleven years old, found the cluster bomb in a river near their homes in Vietnam’s central highlands and attempted to remove the BB-like pellets on the outside of the bomb casing
The resulting explosion killed three children, aged six, nine and eleven years old, immediately and three others remain hospitalized.
Launching its first foreign chapter, Clear Path International announced Lori Trieu of Alberta (pictured at right with CPI supporter and friend, Sally Taylor) will be setting up Clear Path Canada to make contributions from Canadian donors tax deductible.
The focus of CPI Canada will be to increase awareness, create grassroots fundraising events and establish relations with institutional donors.
At their most recent board meetings, CPI directors voted unanymously to make Trieu its newest board member. Her nonprofit credentials inlude the registration of a Buddhits temple in Calgary as a charity with the Canadian authorities; as community liaison with the Calgary University Vietnamese Student Association; as a special events fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society; and as a special events coordinator for the Leukemia & Lymphona Society of British Columbia.
The Canadian province of Alberta is a good location for CPI chapter. The province is the wealthiest in canada with no provincial debts, lowest business/personal tax brackets in the country and no provincial tax. It is home to some of the biggest Canadian oil companies, including Petro Canada (Imperial Oil), Encana, Sun Core, CNRL and Husky Oil.
Calgary also has a significant Southeast Asian immigrant population with potential interest to contribute to Clear Path's assistance efforts in the region.
DORSET - In a benefit for Clear Path International, the son and daughter of James Taylor and Carly Simon will be playing together for one night only at Dorset's Long Trail School on Monday July 18 at 7 p.m. Ben and Sally Taylor, both formidable talents in their own right will be joined on stage by local favorite, Rick Redington for an evening of acoustic music to benefit landmine victims in SE Asia.
Fresh off the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine, Ben's voice and guitar style are often, naturally, compared to that of his parents, but critics have also praised his own style that draws on an eclectic mix of influences.
"I couldn't be more proud to sound like either of my parents," says Ben. "Physically or stylistically, this is who I am. But I am a different guy and I write different music."
Sally Taylor played last year to a sold-out house at The Dorset Playhouse with the Jim Gilmour Band and Rick Redington & the Luv Machine. Along with her husband, Dean Bragonier, Sally formed the Tranquility Project that partners with Dorset's Clear Path International in addressing landmine victim assistance.
Clear Path International serves landmine and bomb accident survivors, their families and their communities in former war zones in Southeast Asia. This assistance takes the form of both direct and indirect medical and social services to survivor families as well as equipment support to hospitals. Current Clear Path projects are in Vietnam, Cambodia and on the Thai-Burma border.
More information about Clear Path International can be found on the web at www.cpi.org Tickets can be purchased at www.cpi.org or at 867-4406.