Scenes from San Antonio Gathering of the Tents

Go viral with your voice—send the message below to your friends:

For more than five and a half years the people of Darfur have lived under a brutal reign of terror. The government-sponsored genocide has taken hundreds of thousands of civilian lives and driven more than 2.5 million from their homes. In 2008 alone, violence forced more than 230,000 civilians to flee—sometimes as many as 1,000 per day!

Strong action from the next president can bring peace and protection to the people of Darfur. That's why the Save Darfur Coalition is bringing together people from all faiths and political beliefs to raise their voices and call for Darfur to be a Day One priority for the next president.

Be a Voice for Darfur. Go to www.AddYourVoice.org to send your postcard to the new president, demanding that this humanitarian crisis be a Day One priority in the White House. Add your voice today!

Scenes from Tents of Hope

The SAIDC tent for the Tents of Hope project is now fully painted. Here are scenes of the latest painting event, which took place on Sunday, September 14. There are now six tents planned in the San Antonio area, all of which can be viewed on October 19th from 3-5 PM on Main Plaza in downtown San Antonio. Please email Susan Smylie at saidc@earthlink.net if you would like more information about this project.
All photos courtesy of Gary O Photography.

Tents of Hope San Antonio Gathering

The Tents of Hope San Antonio Gathering will take place Sunday, October 19, 2008 from 3:00-5:00 PM. Come join us on Main Plaza in the heart of San Antonio to create awareness about Darfur and to raise funds for humanitarian relief. We will have music along with the beautiful tents that have been decorated by various groups in the San Antonio region over the last year. After this event, the tents will move on to the national "Gathering of the Tents" in Washington, DC. Free weekend parking for Main Plaza visitors is available at the FROST BANK surface lots located at FLORES @ TRAVIS and FLORES @ HOUSTON

Switch Over to Darfur

NEW YORK, NY, July 8, 2008 – Dream for Darfur today released “Gengen Genocide,” an animated video that shows China's cynical use of the Olympics to burnish its own image while underwriting a genocide in Darfur. The video, created and produced for Dream for Darfur by award-winning cartoonist and journalist Mark Fiore, was launched exactly one month before the start of the Olympics.

To watch the video, visit www.switchovertodarfur.org

To learn more about Dream for Darfur, go to www.dreamfordarfur.org

Tents of Hope-Culture Day

The first Tents of Hope-San Antonio event was held May 30, 2008 at the Colonies North Elementary School Culture Day, where students from the fifth grade classes painted pictures of peace and hope for the people of Darfur. Students from the third through fifth grade classes were also given a brief talk about the displacement of the people of Darfur, then visited three centers to learn about the READ campaign, Bracelets of Life, and life in a refugee camp. Finally, the children were given a typical Darfurian snack. If you are interested in participating in Tents of Hope, please email Susan at saidc@earthlink.net

Tents of Hope--San Antonio

Tents of Hope is a one-year campaign in which people respond as communities to the crisis in Darfur, Sudan by creating tents that are both unique works of art and focal points for learning about, assisting and establishing relationships with the people of Sudan. Congregations, schools, and civic groups are painting tents to create awareness about Darfur and to raise funds for humanitarian relief. The project will cumulate in October 2008 with the “Gathering of the Tents” in Washington D.C. www.tentsofhope.org

Tents of Hope—San Antonio

Our goal in San Antonio is to have schools, organizations, businesses, families, and groups decorate refugee tents with images of hope, loss, freedom, and humanity. Once completed, these tents will be used as fundraising points and places of education. Before the “San Antonio” tents go to Washington, D.C., we hope to have local exhibits featuring them.

How can you help? Tents of Hope has been offered an amazing deal: an 8 x 10 tent normally costs $800 to $900, but the manufacturer is selling them to project participants for $500, with a percentage of sales going back to the project.

Help Tents of Hope—San Antonio become one of the participating communities by sending $5, $10, $18, $100, $1,000 etc. This money will fund the purchase of tents, painting supplies, and educational materials, as well as paying the cost of sending the tents and a few community members to attend the final event in Washington, DC in October, 2008.

Make out your tax-deductible donations to: University Presbyterian Church-SAIDC. On the memo line, please write Tents of Hope. (Mail to UPC, 300 Bushnell, San Antonio, TX 78212.)

Please contact me if you are a member of an organization that would like to participate in Tents of Hope.

Sincerely,
Susan Smylie
Tents of Hope—San Antonio, Coordinator
saidc@earthlink.net