In this guest post for MTV Act, I wrote about my overwhelming impressions from visiting Darfuri refugee camps in eastern Chad recently on behalf of the Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program. Read More »
I recently returned from spending two weeks in Darfuri refugee camps in eastern Chad. It was an incredible trip and, thanks to modern technology, I was able to regularly share my experiences with Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools, or DDT, participants and supporters through Enough Said and Facebook. One such experience was meeting Umda Tarbosh, an inspiring leader and dedicated teacher at DDT partner school Darasalam A in Goz Amer camp. Read More »
Today was my last day in Djabal refugee camp. After anticipating this visit for so long, I'm sad to leave eastern Chad and the people I’ve met. But after spending more than a week visiting Djabal and Goz Amer refugee camps, I'm returning to D.C. even more determined to increase support for refugee education here. Read More »
I have just five days left in Chad. In a few weeks, I'll be sharing an interactive trip diary with written entries, photos, and videos documenting my first visit to the Darfuri refugee camps in eastern Chad. Until then, here is a brief update on our team’s first few days. Read More »
This month the U.N. refugee agency released a report with extra significance for the work of the Darfur Dream Team. UNHCR’s “A Global Review on Refugee Education” outlines the importance of education for refugees and the challenges UNHCR faces in providing quality education. Read More »
WASHINGTON – American high school and university students have written letters to Darfuri refugees, which will be hand delivered this Thanksgiving by the Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program. The Sister Schools Program works with U.S. schools and donors to support education for the Darfuri refugees and build connections between American students and their Darfuri peers.
Meghan Higginbotham, Sister Schools Program assistant, will deliver the letters during a trip to two refugee camps in eastern Chad this week. She will also be asking refugee students what they want to be when they grow up and what traditions they celebrate.
“I’ve watched countless hours of video, scrolled though thousands of photos, and read compelling and entertaining stories from the camps. I already feel so connected to the students and teachers of Djabal and Goz Amer refugee camps,” Higginbotham said. “This experience will definitely deepen that connection. I’m excited to share this moment with other American students and activists.”
The conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region has killed 300,000 people since 2003. Another 300,000 have fled their homes for the refugee camps in neighboring Chad, where a lack of resources and access to education are major problems. The 12 refugee schools in the Sister Schools Program are paired with more than 225 American schools. Students in the U.S. raise funds to help build and rehabilitate school buildings, recruit and train qualified teachers and provide students in the refugee camps with school supplies and sports equipment.
“Throughout the trip, I’m going to be collecting the stories and aspirations of Darfuri refugees and sharing those on the Darfur Dream Team Facebook page and Enough Said blog,” Higginbotham said. “The reality for the Darfuri refugees is that these camps will continue to be their makeshift homes until its safe for them to return to Darfur.”
About Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program
The Darfur Dream Team is a dynamic partnership of organizations and professional basketball players working together on the Sister Schools Program, an initiative linking American middle schools, high schools and universities with 12 schools in 2 Darfuri refugee camps in eastern Chad. The Program works to provide a quality education to every refugee child from Darfur and, develop personal connections between students from Darfur and the United States that promote mutual understanding.
I’ve never been to sub-Saharan Africa. I’ve never been to a refugee camp. But I’m spending Thanksgiving and next week visiting Darfuri refugee camps in eastern Chad. Many of these refugees, nearly 300,000, have lived in the camps since the Darfur conflict ignited in 2003. Read More »
After hosting its Fifth Annual Evening for Darfur on October 24, Palm Beach Central High School became the highest individual fundraising school in the Darfur Dream Team, or DDT, Sister Schools Program. The event, where Enough Project Co-Founder John Prendergast and I spoke, raised $15,000 for Palm Beach Central’s Darfuri sister school, Aboutalib B, in Goz Amer refugee camp. Read More »
Plans are in the works to build libraries in Darfuri refugee camps, thanks to an initiative by the Book Wish Foundation. All the proceeds from a new book, What You Wish For, will support the work of the U.N. refugee agency to build libraries in the camps in eastern Chad. Read More »
As thousands of protesters stand up to big business and show their solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement, another movement of the same constitution is sparking momentum in Durham, NC at Duke University. In response to student activism, the office of Duke purchasing published a statement on their website that commits the university to buy conflict-free products when available, and give preference to companies that have made significant progress in freeing their supply chains of Congo’s conflict minerals. This is a huge success in the conflict-free movement that aims to bring peace to the Congo, and one that can be attributed to the power of student activism. Read More »
