Darfuri Design at National Geographic

Giulia & her editor are pleased to report that a special edition of the Basket of Peace, crafted by weavers at Darfur Peace & Development Organization’s Kassab Women’s Center, is featured in the National Geographic Society's Spring 2011 Catalogue.

Read about the Weaver's Cooperative in Kassab Camp & like DPDO's Facebook page. Thanks!

ciao-meow/GG Spring Central

(photographs: Hadja by Susan Burgess-Lent/DPDO/2 National Geographic)

Basket Seconds Sale at Darfur Peace & Development - Week's End

Second isn't always a bad thing. You have to learn & then you can move to first, right? Please consider buying some baskets. (They work well in work & play & kitchen spaces.) Please pass on this message. Thanks so much!

ciao-meow/GG's editor

From the DPDO website:

The May shipment of baskets contained a number of baskets that are less than perfect. The imperfections include dye bleeding from designs, loose weaves, broken weaves, and inexpert craftswomanship.

Our quality control standards have been fully implemented at Kassab camp, but we have some work to do with the weavers at our new center in Abu Shouk camp. Some women who are less skilled in the craft join the Center to earn regular income. These are women looking for a second chance and we do not turn them away.

Going forward, we are maintaining a high level of quality control. We encourage all the new weavers to learn from the masters in the group.We have a few hundred SECONDS. They represent a lot of work by women in desperate circumstances.

The baskets are serviceable and structurally sound – but not decorative in a “gifty” way. These SECONDS could be used for storage of supplies – crayons, pens, etc — in schools, community centers and homes.

We are selling the SECONDS at cost. This way we preserve the income lifeline of all the weavers.

Cost per item: $7-10. We will accept any reasonable offer for quantities over 25. Please contact Susan Burgess-Lent 202-393-8150

(French market by Eistenstaedt for LIFE/basket collage via DPDO photographs)

Go Green with Darfur Baskets

Replace plastic bins and containers with these vibrant, eco-friendly baskets made of all-natural materials. It’s a win/win/win for the weavers of Darfur, you, & the planet. You can read here about their construction (it's very interesting). The baskets are sold through retailers & you will find the growing list, here.

Many of our friends & readers have asked about Sudan (both Darfur & in the South). Things are not good, not good at all, friends. (There's lots of news, check with the BBC or any of the links in the right sidebar closer to the bottom of the page.)

But you know what? No matter how things are in Darfur, these women have mouths to feed like everyone else. It's just that simple.

We also wanted to say that these are very sturdy baskets. GG's editor has sat--accidentally--on some. This is not a recommendation to throw yourself on baskets. Just letting you know that if that didn't destroy them, we don't know what will!

ciao-salaam-meow/GG Central

[photographs by Susan Burgess-Lent/DPDO/all rights reserved]

Darfur Peace & Development - Annual Report 2008 & Urgent Request

Darfur Peace & Development Organization (DPDO) has released its Annual Report 2008*, here. DPDO is the only Darfuri-led U.S.-based NGO still operating on-the-ground in Darfur, Sudan.

Emergency request: We were going to leave this at the release announcement, but donations are off due to the global financial crisis. While this is understandable, DPDO finds itself short to pay day-to-day operations, much less development. If you look at administrative costs, you will see that they are very low.

DPDO is asking for emergency donations of $1, $5, or $10 through the website & its Facebook page. Things are tough, really tough. If you can help, please know that anything you donate goes straight to people on-the-ground.

A big thank-you to all.

(*Printed copy requests through the website or download as a PDF).

[Peak Near Wilfag by Susan Burgess-Lent, DPDO/all rights reserved/cover of DPDO AR2008/all rights reserved]

Abandoned in Darfur - Week's End

It's a complicated subject, no doubt about it; we won't disagree. What brought this on? Someone asked us today if 'that Darfur thing' was over. Seriously. A good resource (wherever you are, even if not in the States) is the Enough Project. [Also in right sidebar]

At the very least, won't you protest to your (various) governments? In an e-mail or telephone call? If you've already done that, do it again. Discover your inner pest & redirect it towards officials-who-might-give-a-damn & keep out of trouble with family & friends.

The Management

[photographs by Susan Burgess-Lent/DPDO/all rights reserved/used with permission]

Darfuri flora & fauna

Two camels, a baby camel, & a baby goat...they need water, too. An everyday scene; those babies are cute. And camels are fine, if you get to know them. Their long pretty eyelashes can make up for their displays of crankiness. One time, GG's editor was run right into a thorny bramble in North Africa by a camel. There was a bit of a conversation; the camel didn't do it again. [photograph by Susan Burgess-Lent/DPDO/all rights reserved]

If you missed our update on Friday's Anne Frank post: for the abstract future, comments cannot be left for this site. Too much hate e-mail & comments. It's too stressful; things are bad enough. Enjoy the blogs & links on the page.

ciao-meow/GG's editor

L'acqua per il Darfur

Ciao. [photographs all rights reserved]

L'eau pour Darfour...

So if we write it in French, will that be more stylish? Italian? That's tomorrow. Yes, we're feeling defeated. Over a year of mostly chipper, we-can-do-it cheer-leading isn't working. Reporters, except for Nick Kristof & a few others, no longer bother. to mention Darfur. If Angie or George C. show up, maybe. Even then...

The first photograph is a Darfur Peace & Development Schools of Peace; the second is its water system. No kidding. You should see how gets there (if it does). People, people, people. For one moment, would you please stop "hearting" & squealing over the latest thing you want & think about being thirsty? And there's not a drop to be had...or it's filthy dirty. Do you think these folks are just going to have to get used to this? Why should they? That was not the reality before 2003 for most of them. They had water just like you--what if someone took away your water tomorrow? You want to know the basic difference between your situation & theirs? Luck. Fate. You were born elsewhere. That's it. You didn't do anything to deserve better; they didn't do anything to deserve worse.

Sigh. Please go here to read about Clean Water Project & maybe you can give $5.00. We don't have a job & we just did. A little challenge.

[Photos by Susan Burgess-Lent/DPDO/all rights reserved; if by some miracle you want to use any SBL pix for a fundraiser, pls contact GG's editor]

"How unpleasant, must we talk about Darfur?"

Yes, we agree; how terribly unpleasant it all is: Darfur, Congo, Burma, etc. How very seven years ago (in the case of Darfur).

But you know what strikes us as really bad manners? Allowing people to starve, be brutalized, raped & remaining silent. The fact remains that these things are happening & as we've said before, it's in your self-interest to do something about it. No one is asking you to give your entire life over to a cause; what's 15 minutes? We waste that x 2 nearly every day watching a Seinfeld repeat. (Not all activists are humorless wretches--truly.) There are links all over this page for anyone to visit. We hope you will....

We continue this week with some repeats from last year because we are still unwell & there are some lovely photos that most people haven't seen. We'll check email every day. Thanks so much.

[school children at Ain Sero & women collecting firewood near Kutum by Susan Burgess-Lent/DPDO/all rights reserved. Taken in May 2008; things are much worse now.]

Incandescence - Week's End

We hope you have a lovely weekend. (First photo credit, click on photo. Second photograph, Kutum, Darfur, Sudan by Susan Burgess-Lent/DPDO/all rights reserved.) The GG blog turns one-year old on Monday. Hope to see you then. Happy May Day.

ciao-meow/GGCM

Darfuri Days

While our friend Susan Burgess-Lent is in Sudan, travelling to Darfur Peace & Development Organization (DPDO) schools & women's centers, here are some photographs she took last May. (These were given to us for use by Susan. If you would like to use any that we will be posting in the month ahead -- or from last year, please contact GG's editor until Susan returns. Thank you.) It would be lovely if you would visit DPDO's site & donate some loose change (really, that's perfectly fine. Whatever you have at the bottom of your pockets, purse, or on your dresser) to help pay the teachers. They need to pay their bills & buy food for their families, too. Just like any teacher, anywhere in the world. [photographs by Susan Burgess-Lent/DPDO/all rights reserved]

ciao-meow/GG

Determined in Darfur - Week's End

Determined to survive & thrive. Please visit our dear friends at Darfur Peace & Development Organization. Our friend Susan Burgess-Lent is leaving tonight for Sudan. DPDO is the only Darfuri-led US-based NGO still working in Sudan. They do a stellar job & are the nicest of people. They run schools & a women's center, among many things. More to follow. (women along the road by Susan Burgess-Lent/used with permission/all rights reserved)

a determined ciao-meow! GG/mgmt

Journey of the Darfur Tents of Hope, part 2

DPDO's Susan Burgess-Lent & Tents of Hope shipping update. The difficulties, tangles, time-line, & Susan's photos. You won't complain about packing for a trip again, ever. Look how pretty everything looks in the first photo (from left: Amal, Katie, Mary Ellen, & GG's editor lurking pinkishly inside the tent); then look at the reality at the shipping facility in NJ.

Reading about this massive undertaking & the (well-meaning but not helpful ) ways people donate can enlighten us all about future endeavours. [See December's post on the progress of the tents.]

Current ETA for tent delivery to Libya is 6 February 2009. Delivery to Darfur--we're hoping for late February/early March. With last week's bombings, we'd prefer not to think about it. One day at a time.

A good Monday to all. We'll be at AFI in the a.m. to try for free tickets to watch the Inauguration from the grand Deco theatre.Wish us luck.

ciao,
GG's editor

photographs courtesy of Susan Burgess-Lent/DPDO
(top) DPDO tent staff at Tents of Hope, Washington, DC; (bottom) preparing to pack shipping container, Newark

December's Journey of the Darfur Tents

We've received some questions about the Tents of Hope & their journey from Washington, DC to Darfur. Well. As one might expect, this is not an average shipment. Just remember your own holiday package travails in years past & multiply it by, um, a lot.

Darfur Peace & Development Organization (DPDO) was the recipient of the tents in November. Program Director Susan Burgess-Lent's step-by-step explanation of where the Tents of Hope are now, where they're going, & why they've not left New Jersey yet, is here (along with additional photos). There's a timeline & explanation. They will be shepherded carefully, we are totally confident, because DPDO is not only committed, but peopled with the most wonderfully stubborn folks we have ever met! More as the tents make their way from Newark to Darfur (via Libya). Fingers crossed for mid-February.

Cheers, GG's editor

3 photographs/Susan Burgess-Lent/DPDO (students at Shobani School of Peace; Darfuri children painting tent; repacking tents in Newark, NJ) all rights reserved

photograph of completed Amnesty International Tent/Charles Joy/
Group #297 Amnesty International/Silver Spring-Takoma Park, MD

collage by GG/use only if permission is received from Susan Burgess-Lent

Darfur/Darfur

This photo is not from the exhibit. Unfortunately, we've been unable to reach Brian Steidle (The Devil Came on Horseback) for permission to use one of his photographs before the exhibit leaves Washington, DC. He was only standing less than five feet away from GG's editor several times in early November. "Do not hesitate to ask when you've the chance" would be the lesson here.

However, time creeps on & the travelling Darfur/Darfur exhibit leaves Washington, DC's Civilian Art Projects gallery on Saturday, 6 December 2008. The gallery reopens today (3 December 2008) after a Thanksgiving week break. Here is artist Anne Marchand's blog Painterly Visions with a post earlier this autumn. If you cannot see the exhibit in person, there are links to recent installations for a virtual tour. Check here for updates on the exhibit. The website is presently a bit out-of-date & we're not sure where it goes next. It has been in cities around the States, Canada, & Europe & continues on.

The photograph above is by Susan Burgess-Lent, program director of Darfur Peace & Development Organization (& novelist, too). These Mastaria School of Peace students are greeting Susan (during her May 2008 visit).

Oh yes, & have a good morning....
GG's editor

photograph used with permission of Susan Burgess-Lent

Darfuri Design

Al-Ghali Yahya Shegifat, president of the Association of Darfur Journalists, joins in tent painting with family and Lou Ann Merkle of Darfur Alert Coalition.Al-Ghali was imprisoned and tortured for several months for the crime of speaking the truth about Darfur. The Darfur Alert Coalition led an international campaign of human rights organizations to persuade the Sudanese government to release him. After his release, and despite death threats, Mr. Shegifat continued to speak out about the genocide in Darfur.

The tent above & others were exhibited in Washington, DC at the Tents of Hope November event. The Darfur basket is available through the Amber Chand Collection. They make great gifts & support the individual artists (members of the Darfur Peace & Development Organization's Women's Center in Kassab Camp). They are elegant & strong, just like the women who create them.

We hope you will consider either buying a basket or sending a small donation to DPDO for the schools, women's center, or solar cooker programs. Those in the camps know that people outside of Darfur are aware of their situation & this knowledge really does help. Thank you for the continued support.

Omer Ihsas, Messenger of Peace

We're behind in posting photos & information about the Tents of Hope event in DC 7-9 November. A good, if exhausting, time was had by all. A highlight was the visit from Omer Ihsas, singer extraordinaire & Darfur Peace & Development Organization board member. Omer's visit was such a lift for everyone; how can anyone be so good-natured? Above, Omer is holding a basket made by a weaver at DPDO's Women's Center in Kassab Camp. These are very popular & there are variations on size/shape; there are also flat round mats that one can use as hot pads. Everything is beautifully crafted & 100% of the proceeds go to the individual artist who created the item. Please contact DPDO for information.

We'll track down how to buy Omer's CDs; many people approached GG's editor to buy them during Omer's stage turn on Sunday, 9 November. Alas, we were equipped to handle only cash that day. You are guaranteed happiness while listening to Omer. What more could you possibly want?! (photograph of Omer by Susan Burgess-Lent/DPDO)

Ciao, bisou
GG Central

What kind of world do you want?

A reminder about the Gathering of Tents for Darfur, 7-9 November.

Above are the youngest students at Darfur Peace & Development's Mastaria School of Peace compound. Improvements to their school, just like all of DPDO's schools, are necessary. The children must keep current with their education. It's the only way Darfuri children can advance to high school (DPDO is building a high school in El-Fasher), then university. Certainly it was not anticipated that Darfur would be in its sixth year of...this. Schools, camps are deteriorating throughout Darfur & in eastern Chad due to the prolonged nature of the crisis.

DPDO will be the beneficiary of approximately 300 tents to be used at schools throughout Darfur. Please help in any way you can. Moral support is always welcome & that doesn't cost a penny. Just some of your time.

Thanks, merci, ciao-miaow.
GG

photo by Susan Burgess-Lent/DPDO/all rights reserved

Hope (+Action) is the operative word...for Darfur, too

These students attend Darfur Peace & Development Organization's Forug School of Peace. Here they give an enthusiastic greeting to DPDO's Susan Burgess-Lent in May (2008). Forug is in the Kutum locality of Darfur & this school is very crowded (in itself, excellent news). These & other students will benefit from the Tents of Hope Gathering in Washington, DC this coming weekend. Please visit the website for information & updates. (Even if you can't be here, you can help spread the word & that is very important.)

There will be a vigil outside the Sudanese Embassy on Friday, 7 November 2008. Details here. [Updates throughout the week & weekend.]

photo by Susan Burgess-Lent/DPDO/all rights reserved

In DC, in Darfur, Tents of Hope

Our friend Susan of Darfur Peace & Development Organization (DPDO) visited some of DPDO's schools on her trip to Darfur this past May (2008). It never ceases to amaze how resilient these kids are, going to school under such appalling circumstances. These little folks are students at DPDO's Mastaria School of Peace in North Darfur.

DPDO is partnering with Tents of Hope for a three-day event for Darfur on the National Mall (& a few other venues), November 7-9 in Washington, DC. This is another reminder that if you are in town, we'd love to meet you. Go here for an updated list of activities. The painted tents, by groups all over the United States, will be shipped to Darfur to serve as schoolrooms until permanent buildings can be constructed (or in some cases, reconstructed). If you can't come, you can still visit the links & participate in some ways. Updates through next weekend.

There will be a vigil outside the Sudanese Embassy on Friday, 7 November 2008. Details soon.

photo by Susan Burgess-Lent/DPDO/all rights reserved