TORONTO, Nov. 7 /CNW/ - On the heels of a concert held in Toronto on October 21st to raise funds to support humanitarian relief surrounding the current conflict in Afghanistan, War Child Canada is heading to Islamabad and Peshawar.

The purpose of the trip is to both visit existing War Child Canada (WCC) field projects and carry out an emergency humanitarian assessment of refugees and displaced Afghans. Ultimately, the goal is to procure, disburse and supervise the delivery of food, medicines and other urgently needed items for Afghan civilians. All of the above will be purchased with funds raised during the Music Without Borders Benefit Concert for Afghan Relief. Artists that donated their services included Alanis Morrisette, Our Lady Peace, The Tragically Hip, Barenaked Ladies, Choclair and Bruce Cockburn. Dr. Eric Hoskins, Co-Executive Director of WCC is leading the mission on behalf of the organization. His background includes extensive humanitarian work in Africa and Asia, as well as in Iraq during the Gulf War. He is a recipient of the Pearson Peace Medal, Canada's highest humanitarian award, for his efforts at that particular time.

"The situation on the ground is very grave, with 7.5 million at risk of starvation," says Hoskins. "What we are facing, quite literally is a race against time, with winter only weeks away. Our goal is to provide urgently needed food, medicine and other essential items."

"I will be visiting the War Child education project (Esmat Girl's School) in Peshawar, conducting a humanitarian assessment of the refugee situation, consulting with our NGO partners about the situation in Afghanistan, and distributing and monitoring the distribution of food, medicine, blankets, tents and cooking utensils purchased from the proceeds from Music Without Borders," explains Hoskins.

Additionally, Hoskins will be sending back photos and field diaries via the Internet on an ongoing basis. These can be seen at www.warchild.ca and at www.ourladypeace.com. He will be available for interviews before, during and after the mission.

"I became involved with War Child Canada because of its grassroots and very personal approach to helping war-affected children," states Raine Maida from Our Lady Peace. "Through Eric's photo and field diaries we are going to be able to see exactly how the War Child portion of money raised from the Music Without Borders Concert is being put to use."

War Child has had a significant impact in promoting and supporting the cause of war-affected children around the world. This includes a project providing primary school education to more than 7,500 Afghan refugee girls and an emergency field bakery providing sustenance for Afghan refugees in Iran. It also specialises in providing emergency relief and rehabilitation programs for children both during and after conflict.

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To see some pictures from Music Without Borders live, go here

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