York Region District School Board collects $59,000 for CMAT through their “Helping Hands” campaign.

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Mr. Jeewan Chanicka, teacher at Donald Cousens Primary School, and Director of the Helping Hands program from York Region District School board presents CMAT Executive Director Valerie Rzepka with a cheque for $55,000 on March 10, 2010.

Mr. Jeewan Chanicka, teacher at Donald Cousens Primary School, and Director of the Helping Hands program from York Region District School board presents CMAT Executive Director Valerie Rzepka with a cheque for $55,000 on March 10, 2010.

Friday, March 12, 2010 – Markham, Ontario – The Helping Hands Haiti Relief project ran from January 13th – Feb 12th 2010. What initially began as a school project at Donald Cousens Public School in Markham, Ontario was expanded to include other schools in the York Region district school board after Jeewan Chanicka, Director of CMAT’s Helping Hands campaign sent a message out to the system encouraging schools to do what they could. It eventually grew to include 31 schools.

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Assessment team in Chile experiences 7.2 magnitude earthquake: all team members reported safe.

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Strong aftershocks continue to rattle central Chile.

Strong aftershocks continue to rattle central Chile.

Thursday, March 11, 2010 – Chile was hit by another strong earthquake this morning, just 12 days after the previous one near Concepción, which left over 700 people dead. The quake was registered by the US Geological Survey at a magnitude 7.2 Mw – near the city of Libertador O’Higgins, Chile at 11:39 local time.

CMAT officials in Canada have been in contact with teams on the ground and all members of the assessment team are reported safe. Assessment team leader David Johnson reports, “We experienced two large quakes, and the ground is still doing some light shaking for over 30 mins now. We are all outside and safe.”

CMAT to stand down deployment to Chile, medical team headed to Haiti

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CMAT/IMAT Assessment team in Concepción, Chile.

CMAT/IMAT Assessment team in Concepción, Chile.  L-R, Paramedic Michael Lowey, Team Leader David Johnson, IMAT Paramedic Jennifer Dearman, and Paramedic Chris Kaley. 

Tuesday March 9, 2010 – Concepción, Chile – After meeting with Chilean officials, in Concepción, the decision was made to re-direct CMAT volunteers to Haiti, where there continues to be a great need for medical assistance. This decision was made as a direct result of the Chilean Government and Military’s exceptional response to the February 27th earthquake.

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CMAT deploys initial assessment team to earthquake affected Concepción, Chile

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An 8.8 magnitude earthquake devastated the Concepcion region of Chile.

An 8.8 magnitude earthquake devastated the Concepcion region of Chile.

Wednesday March 3, 2010 – TORONTO and VANCOUVER – In response to the Chilean government’s international appeal for aid, Canadian Medical Assistance Teams (CMAT) will deploy its initial disaster assessment team to Concepción, Chile to conduct a needs assessment and ascertain the level of devastation, destroyed infrastructure and health needs of the quake affected people in preparation for the deployment of CMAT’s inflatable field hospital. A powerful 8.8 magnitude quake and ensuing tsunamis struck the area on February 27th, 2010. Over 700 people are confirmed dead, and countless others are injured.

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