So You Want to Save Darfur...

The other day I came across this article challenging the Hollywood community and their "Save Darfur" campaign: http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/rhumphries/2009/02/26/what-hollywood-gets-wrong-about-darfur-by-rusty-humphries/

The author, Rusty Humphries, tells the recent history of Sudan concisely, adds some heartbreaking anecdotes of his time in the region of Darfur, and illustrates how George Clooney and the rest of the Hollywood crowd are getting it all wrong. 

However, Humphries does not offer much of an alternative -- but that is understandable. Sudan, and many other countries on the continent of Africa, are in such a mess there are no easy answers. Perhaps we should offer humanitarian aid. Does Somalia aid under Bill Clinton and Black Hawk Down remind us of the pitfalls? And is the current administration going to support a full-out invasion? Not likely, even if Obama had the stomach for a new warfront, the U.S. would probably be looked at as imperialists, and a whole new morass would result.

The stories of suffering in Darfur are gut-wrenching. I feel compelled to do something. What can one person actually do? Well, I'm not sure about the big picture, but I found one small way to try and make a difference.

There have been many stories of how rape is now used as warfare in these conflicts. In the case of Darfur, many women experience this most violent act when they simply gather firewood. Now there is an alternative that has made a real impact for women facing the dilemma of whether to take the chance of possibly being violated so they can boil water and cook meals for their families.

Solar Cookers International provides these women with another means for boiling and cooking. Not only has the incidences of rape greatly decreased in areas where these solar cookers have been introduced, but also, not having to tend a fire allows the women more time to care for their families. Another plus is that the women are being trained to make and distribute the cookers, giving them a source of income.

A small donation provides a family with two cookers and other supplies, plus the training to use them. Check it out at: www.solarcookers.org or www.jewishworldwatch.org/refugeerelief/solarcookerproject.html

Comments

[Kate Aizpuru]

Thanks for bringing light to the importance of solar cookers. For more information on the lives of refugees in camps in Darfur or along the Chadian border, check out the Darfur Radio Project's latest show at http://www.darfurradioproject.org. thanks!

[Michelle]

Thank you for this post --- focusing on "small ways" to make a difference add up to impact the big picture.