Quake

I had a wonderful Christmas this year. Spent time with my family, visited both my grandmothers, received a lot of great gifts. A digital camera was a highlight and I'm sure you will be seeing evidence of it.

Then I woke early on Boxing Day to the news of the horrific 8.9 earthquake centred off Sumatra and the following tsunami. I remained glued to the early pictures on CNN - until it was time to go the the Boxing Day Sales. That's how I spent my day. While others were frantically searching for loved ones, I was supporting my local economy.

This is an extremely tragic situation. When I listened to the news before I went to bed, the death toll was around 40,000. When I woke up, they were now confirming 52,000 dead. And that's only the initial damage from the quake and the waves. How bad will it be in the coming days, with no clean water and no uncontaminated food? Cholera. Malaria. So many water-borne diseases. These people need help.

For information on the relief efforts, visit Unicef, the International Red Cross or the Canadian Red Cross.