Washington
(ANI):
Actress
Angelina
Jolie
utilised
her
star
power
recently
to
spread
further
awareness
about
the
plight
of
children
displaced
by
Hurricane
Katrina,
which
wrecked
havoc
in
New
Orleans
about
two
years
ago.
The
Tomb
Raider
star,
who
is
also
a
United
Nations
(UN)
goodwill
ambassador,
revealed
that
her
partner
Brad
Pitt
would
also
join
her
for
working
alongside
the
Children"s
Health
Fund
(CHF).
"This
is
the
largest
displacement
of
children
in
my
own
country
so
I
want
to
learn
as
much
as
possible," Contactmusic
quoted
her
as
saying
at
a
press
conference
in
New
Orleans.
Pitt
has
even
promised
to
donate
more
than
five
million
dollars
to
Make
It
Right,
a
project
to
rebuild
150
homes
in
the
Lower
Ninth
Ward,
a
neighbourhood
devastated
by
the
hurricanes.
"We're
focused
on
community
building.
It's
not
just
about
homes.
It's
not
just
about
building.
It's
about
the
lack
of
focus
on
education
and
health
care
too," the
actor
said.
Earlier
this
month,
a
report
issued
by
the
CHF
suggested
that
between
46,000
and
64,000
children
affected
by
Katrina
and
Hurricane
Rita
were
at
the
risk
of
contracting
medical,
mental
health,
and
educational
problems.
"Many
families
are
distressed
about
how
long
and
difficult
the
recovery
has
been,"
said
Dr
Irwin
Redlener,
president
of
the
CHF
and
director
of
the
National
Centre
for
Disaster
Preparedness
at
Columbia
University's
Mailman
School
of
Public
Health,
which
conducted
the
study.
"We're
concerned
that
this
issue
has
fallen
off
the
radar
screen
and
that,
nationally,
people
are
losing
interest,
saying
this
is
a
'local' issue.
We
dispute
that.
This
is
a
national
problem
and
one
that
requires
an
intense
and
focused
effort
to
fix,"
he
added.