Stop Genocide Now
In June, we published a blog with three actions you could take to help the people of Sudan. In case you missed it, here is a link to the original post. We promised a follow up with new actions, so here are a few more ways you can help. First, an Update on the Conflict: […]
MLK Day is a day of service, when people are called on to work together to make the lives of everyone better. Reverend King believed passionately in the power of speaking out and was willing to pay—up to the ultimate price—to use his voice on behalf of the oppressed. Today, we ask that you use […]
I’ve been resisting writing this blog. I’ve started it a few times, but each time my hands touch the keyboard, I get nothing. It has really been a struggle for me, this process of figuring out what to say. What does one write about when it comes to Darfur? What could I possibly say that […]
That’s a dubious new record for a conflict that’s claimed nearly 40,000 lives and displaced some 4 million people. The numbers are staggering to comprehend. Imagine watching a film with 11,000 different shots of people taking that last step out of Syria into the unknown.
I started 2011 out with the desire to know more about the personal stories of Darfur. Not because I was a Darfur activist, not because I knew anyone from Darfur or Sudan, not for any reason in particular. At my local library, I found a copy of The Translator, by Daoud Hari, which I immediately […]
If you type the word magnificent into a Thesaurus, in return you will get a list of adjectives that will describe my day. If you type the name Umbda into the Thesaurus, nothing will come back in return. However, the words that could be there are; amazing, leader, servant, savior, teacher, inspiring, courageous, moving, loving, […]
For the last nine days, I’ve been going to refugee camps where an overwhelming percentage of them go without proper nutrition, especially the children–during crucial development years. But, I’m going to now whine about my diet during this trip. I can’t take it anymore. For breakfast, at around 7:30am, I eat a granola bar (140 calories), […]
Back home, I’m connected at all times. My Blackberry is attached to my hand. I don’t think it could fall out, even if I tried to drop it. My Mac is control central for all my activities and communication. E-mails, blogs, tweets, Facebook posts, and many more forms of reaching out and listening in are […]
My dream i-ACT Expedition has always been to come to Eastern Chad, to these refugee camps, and help the refugees pack and go back to a peaceful home in Darfur. In my nightmares, I never thought I would be here for my 10th Expedition, with no packing day in sight. During my first few trips, […]
The Governor of the Region de Dila, a large area in Eastern Chad around the town of Goz Beida, drinks Coke Zero. I was lucky that there was more than one in the tray that one of his men brought to the large gathering of officials for what we had thought was going to be […]