London,
21
March
2019
|
12:28
Europe/London

City Corporation encourages donations to DEC’s Cyclone Idai Appeal after giving £30k

The City of London Corporation has given £30,000 to the Disaster Emergency Committee’s Cyclone Idai Appeal and is encouraging donations from City firms and individuals.

The money given to the DEC appeal will help coordinate the humanitarian response to this crisis, supporting the communities affected by the cyclone.

The donation comes from the City Corporation’s Disaster Relief Fund, which seeks to relieve human suffering, bringing its total donations in the last two years to £200,000.

Over the past few days, Cyclone Idai has swept through Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe causing widespread destruction.

It has also led to floods, the death and injuring of thousands of people, and the destruction of crops.

Across the three countries, more than 2.6 million people could be affected and the port city of Beira, which was hit on Friday and is home to 500,000 people, is now almost completely cut off.

Thousands of families are in desperate need of food, water, shelter and medical treatment.

In the past two years, the City of London Corporation has given £25,000 towards the We Love Manchester Appeal following the devastating terror attack in the city, £70,000 to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Indonesia Tsunami Appeals, and £75,000 in total to emergency appeals in Burma, South Asia and for those affected by Hurricane Irma.

Jeremy Mayhew, Chairman of City of London Corporation’s Finance Committee, said:

“This extreme storm has devastated three countries in southern Africa in a very short period of time.

“So many people have lost their lives, communities have been torn apart and livelihoods have been destroyed.

We strongly encourage City firms to support this appeal.

“We need to focus on getting food, water and shelter quickly to those people affected, which will be the focus of DEC’s immediate relief effort.”

The City of London Corporation gives millions of pounds to charities each year as part of its commitment to tackling and creating a fairer, more inclusive and sustainable society.

Its charitable funder, City Bridge Trust, is London’s biggest independent grant giver, making grants of £20 million a year to combat deprivation and inequality. The Trust has awarded around 8,000 grants totaling over £400 million since it first began in 1995. It helps achieve the City Corporation’s aim of changing the lives of hundreds of thousands of Londoners.

ENDS

Media enquires:

Kristina Drake| Media Officer, Public Services

City of London Corporation

Kristina.Drake@cityoflondon.gov.uk

M: 07710860884

D: 020 7332 1125

Notes to editors

About the City of London Corporation:

The City of London Corporation is the governing body of the Square Mile dedicated to a vibrant and thriving City, supporting a diverse and sustainable London within a globally-successful UK.

www.cityoflondon.gov.uk