Wednesday, May 6, 2009

what if ... you could make a difference?

what if ... this was your home?


what if ... this was your city?

what if ... this was your child?

what if ... these were your neighbor's children?




what if ... this was your granddaughter?
what if ...
you could make a difference?

these are children who live in darfur ... darfur is an african country bordering chad ... in a nutshell, lots of political stuff and war and so on has happened there in the last years ... and as always, the women, children and elderly are the most affected ... and now almost three million people are displaced and vulnerable ... many are starving ...

and it just got worse for the people who live there ...
the humanitarian organizations have been kicked out ... so, the situation there is even more precarious ...

here's the thing ... your voice counts for more than you may realize ... every phone call to a government office or official is assumed to reflect the feelings of 10,000 people ... so, when you act, you have the power of a small town behind you ...

what you can do ...

go to www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/

this is an e-mail form ... it takes about two minutes to fill it out and send

or call the White House comment line at 202-456-1111

this also takes about 2 minutes to leave a comment

or, do both (less than 5 minutes of your time)

your message can be as simple as "help the people in darfur" ... or, you can ask that your elected officials:

  1. Make a concerted effort to get the needed amount of aid back into Darfur for the displaced civilians.

  2. Complete the Sudan policy review in order to move forward with a comprehensive and coherent policy on Darfur.

  3. Ensure that Special Envoy Gration has the support he needs from the State Department.

  4. Bolster UNAMID in all ways possible.

  5. Bring other key players in the international community into the foreground, especially Europe (including Russia), in order to further discussions about a no-fly zone, increased sanctions, and enforcing the arms embargo.
more information is at

http://www.theirc.org/media/www/where-is-darfur.html
and
http://www.miafarrow.org/
and
http://fastdarfur.org/


you can also twitter and blog and facebook and send this information to your email contacts ... feel free to copy this blog post as well

and, there is always the option of fasting in solidarity with the people of darfur (and anywhere else in the world) ... but fasting isn't necessary ... calling and writing is ...

there is no "they," ya know ... it's always been just "us" ... and if there's a child on the other side of the world who is dying it impacts every single one of "us" ...

and "we" can make a difference for "us" ...

photos used with permission

A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. ~ Margaret Mead



4 comments:

The villager: said...

Congratulations for featuring this crucial issue; I hope Barack (and all of us) will see this kind of human suffering as a priority.

nollyposh said...

~Thankyou~
x

Anonymous said...

Lisa this is so needed to share. My husband and I support two girls in different countries through Christian aid and we're sent a letter about supporting a third, I felt so sad that we couldn't stretch to another one. This breaks my heart to see these children and families this way. Really great you showing this, we may share the load a little better. One of the girls I support wants to be a doctor and the other a teacher I truly hope they do. This would be so wonderful.
There are more rewards in giving.

Julie-ann:)

Sylvia said...

Dear Lisa, be sure that I'll spread your message as much as I can. I don't know if someone in the White House will pay attention to me, because I'm a foreigner, but I'll certainly try. God bless you for your good heart and your commitment.
Love.