Save Darfur

I went to a fundraiser Sunday. It was film and lecture about the continuing genocide in Darfur Sudan.

The name of the film was God Grew Tired of Us. Directed by Christopher Dillon Quinn, co-directed by Tom Walker.

The subject of the film was the Lost Boys of Sudan. The film focuses on three of the Lost Boys of Sudan who were forced to leave their war-torn country of Sudan. Along with 25,000 other boys they were forced to leave their families and homes, and flee on foot from Sudan to Ethiopia and then to Kenya to keep from being slaughtered by the Sudanese Arab rebels and Radical Islamic factions.

The boys ranged in age from four years old to teenagers. They made a five-year Journey with hardly any food or water. Many died from starvation and dehydration. Many were murdered. Only 12,000 survived.

Most of the film takes place in the United States when these three boys are given the opportunity to leave their camp in Kenya—leaving behind the surviving boys who have now become their extended family.

The film follows the boys to the U.S. through their culture shock of having nothing to having more than they ever bargained for. They struggle with understanding modern conveniences, holding down jobs and the prejudice and isolation that comes from being dropped like fish out of water into the fast pace of a first-world country. They deal with the haunting memories of their incredibly difficult journey and of the family and friends they left behind.

The purpose of the fundraiser was to raise money to purchase solar cookers for the boys as well as for families. They have a hard time finding fuel to burn. This has created a huge problem with deforestation in the area. And searching for fuel exposes them to danger and violence.

The one thing these people have in abundance is sunshine. The solar cookers cost about $20.00 apiece, are lightweight, easy to use, and easy to ship.

For information on how you can help, please go to savedarfur.org.

I took my two boys to see the movie because sometimes they don't know how lucky they are.

Comments

[sivia]

Thanks Chigiy for getting the word out. We will be domonstrating a solar cooker at a location in our community soon. Great blog!