Algonquin Public School welcomes Consulate General of the Congo

Jean Michel Itoua, the Consulate General of the Republic of the Congo, addresses students at Algonquin Public School. "It’s very deep to have the heart to give to others," he said, acknowledging that the Books for Reading program has brought joy and hope to children in his African community.

From left, Lona Dabous, Principal of Algonquin Public School, proudly displayed the flag of the Republic of the Congo; Greater Sudbury Councillor Joe Cimino presented a $500 donation on behalf of the City; and Algonquin Student Council President Courtney Wallingford presented a $200 donation on behalf of students. Accepting the donations were Gordon Lewis, Director of The Mission of T.E.A.R.S. and Jean Michel Itoua, Consulate General of the Republic of the Congo. 

It’s a long way from Sudbury to the Republic of the Congo, but local efforts are having a huge impact on literacy in this part of Africa. Over 130,000 books and school supplies have been shipped to Jamaica, Mali, Haiti (two time recipient), Burundi, Ethiopia and, most recently, the Congo thanks to the Books for Reading Program.

Jean Michel Itoua, the Consulate General of the Republic of the Congo, visited Algonquin Road Public School on Friday, March 27th, 2009 to thank local schools and the community for their generous support, which is improving literacy and reducing poverty.

A shipment of 30,000 books was sent to the Republic of the Congo last summer. One orphanage school and two public schools received complete libraries. A public library was also established in the community.

During an assembly at Algonquin Road Public School, students presented a $200 donation to the Consulate General to help defray shipping costs. City Councillor Joe Cimino also made a $500 donation on behalf of the City.

While in Sudbury, the Consulate General also visited MacLeod Public School, Lasalle Secondary School and Churchill Public School where he accepted donations.
 
The community will have an opportunity to contribute to the cause, as well, by attending a World Literacy Concert at Sudbury Secondary School’s Sheridan Auditorium on Saturday, March 28th, 2009 at 8 pm. All proceeds will go towards the Books for Reading program.

About the Books for Reading Program

The Books for Reading Program has been operating in Sudbury for several years. The program is part of the humanitarian aid department of the Mission of T.E.A.R.S., a non-profit agency serving several countries that has its roots in Sudbury.

“Hundreds of children and school staff now have books to study from and several public libraries have been established in villages and cities,” says Guy Campeau who heads the project on behalf of Mission of T.E.A.R.S.  Gordon Lewis, Director of The Mission of T.E.A.R.S., outlined the organization’s efforts in support of literacy.

Many individuals and businesses have participated in making the Books for Reading program a success by donating time, gifts in kind and money to cover shipping costs -including many volunteers, Rainbow District School Board, the Sudbury Catholic District School Board, the Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario, Durham Street Natural Foods and Vale INCO, just to name a few.

Mission of T.E.A.R.S. is a registered Federal Charity in operation since 1993 based in Toronto. “Our motto is nothing started without hope, nothing finished without faith, nothing accomplished without love,” adds Campeau. “Our motto is reflected in our name. T.E.A.R.S. stands for Teaching, Educating, Advocating, Resourcing and Serving.”

About the World Literacy Concert

The World Literacy Concert will feature an Evening of Latin, Jazz and Blues showcasing Paul and Tony Quarrington with The Philip May Quintet. There will be a special guest appearance by Patricia Cano.

The Philip May Quintet is a group of local teachers who are world-class musicians.  They understand the need for educational materials and appreciate a fine musical tune.

The Quarrington brothers have a great mix of blues, jazz and poetic musings.  They have both achieved local and international recognition in their respective genres.

Patricia Cano, who has toured extensively, brings to the stage Latin harmonies that are sure to warm hearts. 

General admission is $20. Admission for students is $15 (with appropriate identification).

Tickets are available at Octave Music, Black Cat, Prom Music, Guitar Clinic and Durham Natural Foods.

Paul Quarrington is a novelist, musician, screenwriter and non-fiction writer.

Paul has been a musician from his earliest days, playing guitar, clarinet, squeeze box, bass, harp and piano. As a composer writing alone and with others, he has toured and recorded with Joe Hall and The Continental Drift. He is currently playing with Porkbelly Futures.  He has worked with Canadian writer Dan Hill. Later, he would form a lasting association with Martin Worthy that would produce a Quarrington/Worthy album.

In 2008, Quarrington’s novel The Ravine was published and his previous novel King Leary went on to win the 2008 CBC Canada Reads competition.

Other books to his credit are Whale Music, Overtime, Civilization, The Boy on the Back of the Turtle, The Spirit Cabinet, Galveston, Home Game, Life Of Hope, Hometown Heroes, Fishing With My Old Guy and Original Six Film. Quarrington has written several screenplays and stage plays, most notably Camilla, Whale Music, Giant Steps and Perfectly Normal.

He was a frequent writer for the show Due South. He was Story Editor on Moose TV for Showcase, which won the CFTPA Indie Award for best comedy series 2008.

Paul Quarrington’s novels The Ravine and Galveston were nominated for the Giller Prize; Whale Music won the Governor General’s Award for Fiction; and King Leary won the Canada Reads competition and the Stephen Leacock Medal. He also earned the Writers Guild of Canada’s Annual Top Ten Award in 2000 for “Manipulation” an episode of the television series Power Play.  Galveston was nominated for The Scotiabank Giller Prize 2004.

Tony Quarrington is a veteran guitarist, singer, and record producer. He has five jazz albums out under his own name, as a leader or co-leader, including CBC’s The Music of Tony Quarrington: Group of Seven Suite, 2002, with Jane Bunnett, Jane Siberry, and others. As a producer, he won a Juno in 1998 for Willie P. Bennett’s Heartstrings. He has taught music theory and guitar privately for 25 years.

Tony has played for years with Mark Kersey’s educational ensemble, Jazz for Juniors, which teaches and explains certain vital elements of jazz playing like swing, improvisation, and scat singing. They have appeared at various schools, at Jazz Expo 1998, and most recently at the 2005 Distillery Jazz Festival. He appears prominently on the band’s self-titled album, Jazz for Juniors.

He recently traveled to New Orleans to play a Mardi Gras event with his friend Kevin Clark, and the band Jazz Revelation. Another trip was to Japan in the fall of 2004, when he and jazz violinist San Murata played club dates in Tokyo, Yokohama, and Sapporo.

In 2006, Jazz-FM featured him in three major events, the Strings Attached concert with Lorne Lofsky, Reg Schwager, Kevin Barrett, Jake Langley and Danny Marks; the Jazz Lives Convocation Hall concert, where he was house guitarist in Doug Riley’s ensemble; and the year-end Denis Keldie B-3 or Bust show at the legendary Old Mill. They also chose to include Tony’s duet on Sleepwalk with Danny Marks, from the first of these events, on the Warner Bros. compilation Best of the Sound of Jazz: A 30th Anniversary Celebration. His recent festival appearances include Barrie, Port Hope, Burlington, and Toronto at the Downtown Jazz Festival, at which he played with Jim Galloway in 2004.

Tony Quarrington has produced five albums as leader or co-leader.  In 1999, he took home a Juno for his work producing, playing, and writing the title song on Willie P. Bennett’s Heartstrings. Speaking of his own playing he has said, “I’m not always sure what my own style is, but it seems to be flexible enough that I’ve recorded with both Peter Appleyard and the Cowboy Junkies”.

Philip May started playing the drums professionally at the age of 14 and has since performed with a variety of musical artists and groups including Holly Cole, Reg Schwager, Ed Bickert, Hilario Duran, Gene Pitney, and the late Jeff Healey.  He has studied music at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston and at York University in Toronto where he was a member of the Oscar Peterson Workshop.  He is Dream Cymbal’s most recent endorser.

Born in Sudbury to Peruvian parents, Patricia Cano took to the stage very young under the tutelage of the incomparable Denise Vitali at the Sudbury School of Dance.
 
She became a founding member of "Earthdancers" as well as "The Hispanic Breezes", two local non-profit dance companies. She later performed as an actor in two Theatre Cambrian productions.

Spending four years in Paris, Patricia travelled the world, playing major theatre festivals from New York all the way to Melbourne. Along the way, she also studied traditional korean arts – singing and drumming – and performed in two world drum competitions in South Korea.

Recently, Patricia spent six months in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, performing with many different musical artists. Carlos Bernardo, a Brazilian guitarist whom Patricia met in Paris, is her main collaborator with whom she is writing music and preparing for future concerts and recordings along with Philip May.
 
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Media Contact:
Guy Campeau
507-5171 – day
525-4487 – evening