Today marks the 2/3 point of the month, and 1 week until Thanksgiving in the US. Yesterday I saw, the first of I’m sure many to come, “news” segments on how to avoid gaining weight this Holiday season. Our biggest problem for a few weeks out of the year is having too much food. For over 5 years now the Darfurians in the camps have had the problem of not having enough food, and that is only 1 of the many challenges they face — Some people have real problems.
Well, Jeremiah and I are now on the last leg of our month-long action. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving because of the opportunity it will give me to talk to my family, Willow’s family (my girlfriend) and my high-school friends back home about what is happening in Darfur. I am putting together a collection of i-ACT videos to share, hopefully to be watched while everyone is eating their turkey and yams and mashed potatoes and cranberries and stuffing and green beans and ham and…. and I’m eating my bowl of wheat like Husna and her family will be eating just like every other day.
Things have been rather slow for me at my job this month, but they are finally starting to pick up. I sat in a meeting today and it was especially hard for me to stay focused. I felt hungry pretty much the whole day today, and it makes it hard to concentrate and stay motivated when you’re hungry. I thought about how amazing the children in the refugee camps are. They have been living off their meager rations for way longer than me, and yet they still have a burning desire to continue their education. They know that education is the key to their future and the future of Sudan, and they are willing to do anything to continue their studies despite all the challenges they continue to face.
Haroum is a Darfuri refugee, living in camp Djabal in Eastern Chad. He is in the sixth grade and would like to continue his schooling, but there’s no seventh grade class. Haroum and his classmates do not have many options as they grow older. Many of the boys return to Darfur, where they become prime targets to be killed. They all dream of a future and ask for our help