News story Aug 26, 2008.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080826/ap_on_re_af/sudan_hijacking

Help fill a box to be sent to the United States MARINES in Ramadi

I thought this was something we could do as a group. Let’s talk about it at our next meeting.

Please watch this link. These kids are between 10 and 13 and were recently rounded up. 

http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-38231

I would love if this was our next cause. It is an amazing shelter of wild animals. And they will close if they don’t get financial help. Please donate or tell your friends. I don’t know what would happen to these wild animals if this place didn’t exist.

WE TRULY NEED YOU NOW

We know that a lot of appeals come across your desk.

All appeals are important. They are for the present; they are for the future and some are for special needs. And then there are critical appeals.

Beth Cantwell, WOW member, sent this email about this wonderful charity organization. It’s something I’d like our group to get involved in.

Hi! I just made a loan to someone in the developing world using a revolutionary new website called Kiva (www.kiva.org).

You can go to Kiva’s website and lend to someone in the developing world who needs a loan for their business - like raising goats, selling vegetables at market or making bricks.  Each loan has a picture of the entrepreneur, a description of their business and how they plan to use the loan so you know exactly how your money is being spent - and you get updates letting you know how the entrepreneur is going.

The best part is, when the entrepreneur pays back their loan you get your money back - and Kiva’s loans are managed by microfinance institutions on the ground who have a lot of experience doing this, so you can trust that your money is being handled responsibly.

I just made a loan to an entrepreneur named Mwaka Ali Mzee in Tanzania.  They still need another $275.00 to complete their loan request of $575.00 (you can loan as little as $25.00!).  Help me get this entrepreneur off the ground by clicking on the link below to make a loan to Mwaka Ali Mzee too:

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=47040

It’s finally easy to actually do something about poverty - using Kiva I know exactly who my money is loaned to and what they’re using it for.  And most of all, I know that I’m helping them build a
sustainable business that will provide income to feed, clothe, house and educate their family long after my loan is paid back.

Join me in changing the world - one loan at a time.

www.stopgenocidenow.org/iact

Visit this website to follow their story as they head into Darfur and try to make a difference and help those in need.

The town of Abyei no longer exists. In a paper released today, ENOUGH consultant Roger Winter reports from the field about the attack by the Khartoum-controlled Sudanese Armed Forces in Abyei. The clash displaced the town’s entire civilian population and left its buildings in ashes. As this report goes to the press, the United States has not made a single public statement regarding Khartoum’s instigation of violence in Abyei, the resulting humanitarian emergency, the damage done to the implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, or CPA, or prospects for peace in Sudan.

“Abyei should matter to all who care about peace and democratic transformation in Sudan,” says report author Roger Winter. According to most Sudan experts, Abyei is a unique bellwether of war or peace between Khartoum and Sudan’s South. And now that direct combat between the military wings of the CPA signatories has occurred, the country faces a serious threat of a return to full-scale war through­out the country. The Bush administration and other interested parties must step up and make sure the international community is doing all it can to bring peace to all of Sudan.

http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/thegreatestsilence/slideshow.html

Thanks to Louise, she let us know this movie is playing. There are more atrocities in Congo than even Darfur. Please take the time to watch this eye-opening movie.

If sharks become extinct, it will throw off the balance of the ocean which will throw off the earth as we know it. Please read this article to see how we can stop this from happening.

www.livescience.com/environment/080522-oceanic-sharks.html

We want to keep you informed of our efforts to bring security to Darfur. Here are the latest headlines:

Our Call for Partnerships for Darfur

Dream for Darfur called today for the US government to use its role as president of the Security Council next month to hold a Pledging Conference - a meeting to announce the nations supporting African battalions and providing logistical support for the full UN protection operation of 26,000-troops in Darfur, with an immediate deployment schedule.

Read the op-ed by Mia Farrow and Ambassador Nancy Soderberg in the Wall Street Journal.

The Situation on the Ground

There has been an increase in violence in Sudan and the UN/AU troops on the ground are struggling, under-financed and under-equipped. Read today’s AP story: “Top UN official warns of increasing Darfur violence.”

Best,

Jill Savitt
Executive Director, Dream for Darfur