Tents of Hope

Waging Peace in Sudan is a new web-based advocacy and education resource from the Mennonite Central Committee’s Washington Office. It provides background materials, small group resources and advocacy tools aimed at helping congregations advocate for peace in Sudan.

Join our unique new fundraising program with ECO-CELL. You can help Tents of Hope raise funds to help Darfur and support our environment by donating your old, unused cell phones. Learn more.....

STAND is a student anti-genocide coalition with over 700 chapters at high schools and universities. STAND's long-term goal is to establish a permanent anti-genocide constituency that holds elected officials accountable for doing all that they can to prevent and end genocide.

The people of Darfur need the full deployment of UNAMID peacekeepers
now. The UN urgently needs two things in order to finally bring much-needed security to the Darfur conflict region: (1) Ground and air transport equipment (2) An end to the Sudanese government’s obstruction of deployment. Gather signatures for a petition to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice demanding that the U.S. government take a stand for Darfur by using its influence to urge immediate action.

Sudan: The Executive Legacy
STAND’s four-part policy urges President Bush to end the genocide and help bring peace to Sudan:
1. Stick to your Promises
2. Enforce UNAMID
3. Apply an All-Sudan Solution
4. Lobby China

ENOUGH answers questions about what is happening in Africa and offers a clear path to sustainable solutions. ENOUGH uses in-depth knowledge to create clear, viable policy recommendations, and engage activists to apply pressure on the perpetrators and well-meaning governments whose own inertia prevents them from taking the steps necessary to stop genocide and crimes against humanity. We shine a spotlight on policies that work. We aim to change the international conversation by demonstrating that progress is possible, and that rhetoric is meaningless without resolute, committed action. We are focusing currently on the situations in Congo, northern Uganda, Darfur, southern Sudan and the spillover violence in Chad.

Donate to Humanitarian Aid Organizations Working in Sudan

American Jewish World Service (AJWS) is an international development organization motivated by Judaism's imperative to pursue justice. AJWS is dedicated to alleviating poverty, hunger and disease among the people of the developing world regardless of race, religion or nationality. Through grants to grassroots organizations, volunteer service, advocacy and education, AJWS fosters civil society, sustainable development and human rights for all people, while promoting the values and responsibilities of global citizenship within the Jewish community.

Founded in 1946, Church World Service (CWS) is the relief, development, and refugee assistance ministry of 35 Protestant, Orthodox, and Anglican denominations in the United States. Working in partnership with indigenous organizations in more than 80 countries, CWS works worldwide to meet human needs and foster self-reliance for all whose way is hard. Within the United States, Church World Service assists communities in responding to disasters, resettles refugees, promotes fair national and international policies, provides educational resources, and offers opportunities to join a people-to-people network of local and global caring through participation in CROP Hunger Walks,the Tools & Blankets Program, and the CWS Kits Program.

Lutheran World Relief, an international nonprofit organization, works to end poverty and injustice by empowering some of the world's most impoverished communities to help themselves. With partners in 35 countries, LWR seeks to promote sustainable development with justice and dignity by helping communities bring about change for healthy, safe and secure lives; engage in Fair Trade; promote peace and reconciliation; and respond to emergencies. LWR is headquartered in Baltimore, Md. and has worked in international development and relief since 1945.

Plan an Event Around Your Tent

The tent is a focal point for building awareness about Darfur, organizing education and advocacy activities and raising funds for humanitarian assistance for Sudan.

- Activity: Plan a community activity during painting or after you complete your tent. Show a film on the side of the tent! Invite musicians to play music! Host a typical meal of Sudanese food or food that Sudanese refugees eat! Ask students to spend a night in the tent to gain a new perspective about the lives of displaced persons! And share your ideas with other Tents of Hope communities!

- Education: Build awareness of the humanitarian crisis in Darfur by organizing educational events that feature speakers and provide informational materials. Prof. Eric Reeves (www.sudanreeves.org) offers extensive in-depth reporting and analysis on Darfur. Contact Save Darfur (www.savedarfur.org) for educational resources. Other organizations that provide educational resources on Sudan include: Enough (www.enoughproject.org), Physicians for Human Rights (www.physiciansforhumanrights.org)and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum (www.ushmm.org). For a bibliography, visit Wikipedia (this Wikipedia page).

- Advocacy: Encourage your community to contact the President and Congress about Sudan. Reach out through the media by writing op-ed articles and letters to the editor. Support divestment efforts by contacting the Sudan Divestment Task Force www.sudandivestment.org. For action updates, contact Americans Against the Darfur Genocide (www.OurPledge.org). Other organizations that provide advocacy opportunities include the Genocide Intervention Network (www.genocideintervention.net), STAND (www.standnow.org) and Africa Action (www.africaaction.org).

- Humanitarian Aid: The tents provide an opportunity to raise funds for humanitarian assistance for the people of Sudan. We encourage congregations to take a collection during worship services. Another fundraising idea is to sell reproductions of tent panels. For example, as community groups design and paint their sections of the tents, copies may be made of these sections and sold by each local community group as a fundraiser. Copies of the entire tent may be sold as photographs and/or art prints, separately or as a booklet. Events, such as refugee meals and concerts featuring African music, may also be good fundraisers. Another example of a fundraiser would be to show films on a side of the tent. (Contact us for a list of films on Sudan).

Links and Resources

Darfur Advocacy Organizations:
Americans Against the Darfur Genocide (OurPledge.org)
ENOUGH
Save Darfur Coalition
Sudan Divestment Task Force
Dream for Darfur (Genocide Olympics Organizers)
Investors Against Genocide
Human Rights Watch
International Crisis Group
Genocide Intervention Network
STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition
Judgment on Genocide

Darfur News Sources:
Expert analysis by Professor Eric Reeves
Sudan Tribune
Google News Aggregator

Multimedia:
"Darfur: The Grim Reality" (Council on Foreign Relations)
"Darfur: Lives Destroyed" (Physicians for Human Rights)
The USHMM + Google Earth Mapping Project
"Darfur Rising" (Peter Jordan - 5 min)
"A Promise Unkept" (The New York Times)
"Fear in Western Sudan" (The New York Times)
"Witnessing Genocide" (CBS 60 Minutes)
"Peace Under Fire" (UN-IRIN)
"Darfur Destroyed" (Human Rights Watch in collaboration with WITNESS)
"Surviving Darfur"- 2004 photo essay by award-winning photojournalist James Nachtwey