Last Updated: Tuesday - 01/04/2011

Third World youth funded for WYD

Planned concerts will fund local youth, as well as those from Third World

EDMONTON — A Catholic relief agency wants to bring musicians and other youth from developing nations to Toronto for World Youth Day.

Child Care International is teaming up with parishes across Canada to promote Catholic music and to raise funds to bring youth to WYD.

Dioceses and parishes from across Canada are being invited to offer concerts, either with local or imported talent to raise funds for the project.

"We thought this would be a wonderful opportunity to promote Catholic music, to promote WYD and at the same time, hopefully, to bring some people from the Third World to the festival as well," said CCI spokesperson Deacon Eugene Perabo.

CCI has engaged Calgary singer and songwriter Denis Grady to promote and coordinate concerts around the country.

So far Grady, currently in Europe, has booked concerts in the Calgary and Lethbridge areas as well as Toronto. He has also invited musicians from Italy and the United States to play at some concerts.

"The idea is that local Catholic musicians will offer to present concerts in parishes and sell tickets to raise revenues," explained Perabo. "This is a wonderful opportunity to bring to the forefront some of the Catholic musicians and songwriters."

Profits from the concerts will be shared, with 66 per cent going to the parish and the rest to CCI.

This will allow parishes to subsidize young people who want to attend WYD in Toronto and Child Care International to bring musicians and other young people from mission sites that the organization currently supports, said Perabo.

"It is the youth from the whole world who are invited (to World Youth Day) but it's only the affluent ones who are able to come. This will give us an opportunity to invite people who otherwise never in their life would be able to come."

Perabo recently came in contact with a number of musicians in Haiti. "It would be wonderful if we could finance them to come to Toronto and be part of WYD as well, which otherwise they would never be able to afford," he said.

CCI provides nutrition and education for the poor in over 30 missions sites in 18 countries through its sponsorship program.

Parishes or musicians wishing information or assistance can contact Denis Grady at 1-877-243-7989 or Deacon Eugene Perabo at 1-800-667-9775.

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