Dear friends,

Many of you will be contemplating the current situation of people in Chile after the catastrophic earthquake over the weekend and wondering what you might do to help. The Victor Jara Foundation here has begun a campaign to help with the recovery in the most affected areas of the country . More information on the Victor Jara Foundation is at the end of this message.

The Red Cross and other aid agencies have launched international appeals and we would not, under any circumstances, take away from those and their validity. However, we have an opportunity to target some additional help to the most affected areas of the country through our direct contacts. Specifically, we want to get funds to Concepción and surrounding areas, in particular Lota, the former Mining area and an area of high deprivation and are asking for your help in doing so. At the moment our challenge is reaching the contacts we have who can deliver direct community support in those areas.

The large aid agencies will undoubtedly do a fantastic job in assisting with the immediate emergency. Our hope is that we can add to the communities’ recovery by giving them support that large agencies cannot offer.

I would like to be able to tell you precisely how the money will be spent, but at the moment we can’t get contact with the individuals who we know can deliver community support with your money. Be assured that the money will be held in a separate sub–account of the Foundation and we will account for all of it. Joan Jara and the Victor Jara Foundation have agreed to the appeal and will help in any way to ensure that the funds reach their rightful place. The benefit of our donation is that we will be able to get direct feedback, see how the money we send has been spent and every penny will go to its destination.

Send what you can please, however small and please circulate this to your friends.

Payments can be made via bank transfer; the account details are as follows:

Victor Jara Foundation UK A/C No 21380562 Sortcode: 50-30-09 Natwest Bank

If you do a bank transfer please email so that we can account for it.

Kind regards

Diane Dixon

Victor Jara Foundation UK

The Victor Jara Foundation UK is the sister charity of the Chile based Fundación Víctor Jara which was created in the name of Chile’s best known singer-songwriter who was murdered in the military coup in 1973. The Foundation exists to preserve the memory of Víctor’s artistic heritage and works on a range of cultural and human rights projects.

Victor Jara Foundation UK Registered Charity No 1071355 Company No 3555860