Commenting on the international community waiting on Sudan to give permision to place a UN Peacekeeping Force in to Darfur, Mohamed Yahya of Darfur had this to say:
"You are waiting for Hitler to give permission to free the Jews."
Omar Ismail, also of Darfur, offered us this thought as a way to stay motivated:
"What can you do today to make the life of one person in Darfur better?"
I think this is such an important thought to keep in mind. It can be overwhelming to think of helping all the people of Darfur and even more so to think of helping all the people in the world who need us. Focus on one person a day.
The Summit ended with nineteen year old Clementine Wamariya of Rwanda telling her story of escape from genocide when she was only six (read her story here Clementine's Story.) She is a wonderful story-teller and gave a heart-wrenching account of her escape with her older sister and the loss of family and friends along the way. After experiencing horrors that no person, much less a
child, should have to go through they made it to Burundi, where they were taken in by a farmer and his family. Clementine, who had come for a fairly well-off family. had this to say of her stay with them:"They lived in a mud hut, they were very poor, no electricity, it was hot. It was the best life anyone could have, because they were alive and loved one another."
Typing these words brought tears to my eyes. I hope they have touched you in a similar way.
