Showing posts with label Rwanda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rwanda. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Paul Rusesabagina, of Hotel Rwanda fame, will speak at Church of Reconciliation on Sunday, March 14th, 2010. He will speak during the 8 and 10:30 am services and during the Adult Education time in the Parish Hall from 9:15 am to 10:15 am. Visit Church of Reconciliation for more information. 8900 Starcrest, San Antonio, TX, (from Loop 410 North take Starcrest exit and to two blocks north to intersection of Barrington).
Saturday, October 20, 2007
TAKE ACTION!
1. Join a group working to stop genocide.
The San Antonio Interfaith Darfur Coalition (SAIDC) holds regular meetings and events to raise awareness and action to end the genocide. Join our email list from this page. Visit www.savedarfur.org for information about the national Save Darfur movement.
2. Contact your elected representatives.
Call 1-800 GENOCIDE to get legislative action alerts and contact your congress people to express your support for Darfur-related legislation. Go to www.genocideintervention.net or www.enoughproject.org for fact sheets and reports that help you understand the legislative issues.
3. Donate to humanitarian agencies operating in Darfur and Chad camps.
Please visit the International Medical Corps www.imcworldwide.org to learn more about their humanitarian work in Darfur and Chad.
4. Pressure China to end the violence in Darfur.
Dream for Darfur is organizing an Olympic Torch Relay from Darfur to Beijing and across the United States to galvanize public support around the world to exert pressure on China to stop the genocide in Darfur. Visit www.dreamfordarfur.org for more information. San Antonio event: December 3, 2007
5. Support the Sudan Divestment Movement.
Sudan relies heavily on foreign investment to fund its genocidal activity. Join the international movement to put economic pressure on the Sudanese government by divesting from companies that fund the Sudanese government’s military activities. Visit www.sudandivestment.org for more information.
6. Raise Awareness.
Small actions can make a big difference. Talk to people about what is happening in Darfur, have a dinner for Darfur (ask for donations for humanitarian aid), show the movie Hotel Rwanda, download resources from the internet and hand them out. Read the book Not on Our Watch by Don Cheadle and John Prendergast for more ideas. Be a voice for the people of Darfur.
The San Antonio Interfaith Darfur Coalition (SAIDC) holds regular meetings and events to raise awareness and action to end the genocide. Join our email list from this page. Visit www.savedarfur.org for information about the national Save Darfur movement.
2. Contact your elected representatives.
Call 1-800 GENOCIDE to get legislative action alerts and contact your congress people to express your support for Darfur-related legislation. Go to www.genocideintervention.net or www.enoughproject.org for fact sheets and reports that help you understand the legislative issues.
3. Donate to humanitarian agencies operating in Darfur and Chad camps.
Please visit the International Medical Corps www.imcworldwide.org to learn more about their humanitarian work in Darfur and Chad.
4. Pressure China to end the violence in Darfur.
Dream for Darfur is organizing an Olympic Torch Relay from Darfur to Beijing and across the United States to galvanize public support around the world to exert pressure on China to stop the genocide in Darfur. Visit www.dreamfordarfur.org for more information. San Antonio event: December 3, 2007
5. Support the Sudan Divestment Movement.
Sudan relies heavily on foreign investment to fund its genocidal activity. Join the international movement to put economic pressure on the Sudanese government by divesting from companies that fund the Sudanese government’s military activities. Visit www.sudandivestment.org for more information.
6. Raise Awareness.
Small actions can make a big difference. Talk to people about what is happening in Darfur, have a dinner for Darfur (ask for donations for humanitarian aid), show the movie Hotel Rwanda, download resources from the internet and hand them out. Read the book Not on Our Watch by Don Cheadle and John Prendergast for more ideas. Be a voice for the people of Darfur.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Genocide Prevention Advanced Leadership Summit
I have just returned from the Genocide Prevention Advanced Leadership Summit at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. I learned so much about the work we are all engaged in and will be blogging over the next several weeks about my experiences, sharing with you many great ideas for continuing our fight against genocide. I want to start by sharing a few statements made by survivors of genocide who were present at the summit. I hope you find their words as inspiring as I did:
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.
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.
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