Informed of Darfur's agony, students plan effort to help

In their U.S. History II classes, Pineland Learning Center students are studying the horrors of the Holocaust.

Tragically, genocide is not only history but a current event as well, said the school's Curriculum Supervisor Mary Lou Pierce, who has directed students' attention to the people of Darfur.

As a result, about 30 ninth- and 10th-graders are rolling up their sleeves to try to make a difference. Starting today, the teens are launching a fundraising blitz of a combination car wash, bake sale and yard sale on the school grounds, located at the 520 N. Fourth St.

All proceeds will be used to purchase solar ovens for those in Darfur refugee camps, Pierce said. The ovens cost about $15 each and it's recommended that each family get two -- one to cook food and the other to use for washing, she said.

To more intimately understand Darfur, the school invited guest speaker Cherry Hill pediatrician Jerry Ehrlich who served for two months in the African region with the humanitarian relief agency, Doctors Without Borders in 2004.

He arrived Wednesday to share his eyewitness account of his time with the refugees. His first photograph showed the welcome banners that greet visitors.

The fabric was embroidered with the message "Peace and Unity" and adorned with a dove.

"What a cruel joke," Ehrlich said.

Photography is strictly prohibited, the physician said, explaining the government doesn't "want you to know what is going on."

Ehrlich found another way to document the conditions, tucking 20 boxes of crayons and 400 pieces of drawing paper into his suitcase.

When children were discharged from the clinic, Ehrlich encouraged them to draw him a picture of what their lives were like.

Erhlich shared the results with the Vineland students, who couldn't help notice the recurring images of burning huts, dotted lines of bullets hitting unarmed figures and bombs raining down from the sky.

This is childhood in Darfur, the doctor said.

Even a routine chore such as leaving the refugee camp to collect firewood meant death to men and rape to women.

At the end of his service, Ehrlich tucked 157 illustrations deep into the pages of "The New York Times" that he kept in his suitcase to sneak back to the United States to show people the true story of Darfur.

Ehrlich also secretly snapped a few photographs during his afternoon walks around camp. Students gasped at the sight of skeletal babies barely clinging to life. The mothers depicted shared the same vacant look that Ehrlich explained was the result of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Grand Hotel Casino and The Dress : The Collective

(PRWEB) March 30, 2008

We are glad to announce that Grand Hotel Casino (http://www.grandhotelcasino.com) has won the evening gown designed by Gai Mattiolo, worn by Antonella Clerici during the 55th edition of the Italian Sanremo Song Festival.

The dress was put on auction on e-Bay. The proceeds (EUR 26.150,00) will be entirely donated to Avamposto 55, solidarity project created for the Darfur region. Darfur is located at the extreme west of Sudan and borders with Libia and Ciad. Since 2003, conflicts have affected almost 2 million civilians.

Almost 200,000 people have found refuge by crossing the border to Ciad, while over 1.8 million are left homeless in the Sudanese region and the numbers are expected to rise to 2 million. Janjaweed militants continue to forcefully chase habitants of the Darfur out of their own homes, destroying wells, burning villages and stealing vital live stock.

The project Avamposto 55 consists of a children’s hospital located at the border of the city Nyala and of a school with medical facilities.

Grand Hotel Casino is proud to have been able to give its small contribution and solidarity to this important cause.

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