Darfur
Oct 4th, 2007 by indigo-daisy
The tragic events happening in Darfur are incomprehensible for me to even envision, and as a person that advocates peace it is something that I have languished over. How can I as a loving and peaceful human being allow genocide to take place in 
the world today?
Over time, I have accepted the fact that as an individual I do not have the power to save the world from harm. Trying to do so would only fill my heart with anger at the unfairness of it all and leave my life a chaotic emotional mess. (I have tried going down that path and that is pretty much what happened). Instead I look to people like the Dali Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh who have seen in their eyes horrifying cruelties against man an yet they are at peace and they inspire peace where ever they go.
One of the things that I can do to help the people of Darfur is to be an advocate of their plight as awareness is a key tool for change. I found a small organization called the Darfur Foundation and their sole purpose is to create awareness and raise money to support peace in Darfur.
How they create awareness is through their website called the Darfur Wall. When you go to their home page you will see 40 grey panels, 5 across and eight down. Click on a panel and it will display 10,000 numbers, each number representing a person who has died in Darfur. Since 2003 it is estimated that over 400,000 people have died at the hands of the Sudanese government and Janjaweed militias. It is a somber and haunting visual confirmation of just how enormous their plight has become. 
The idea behind the site is to get people to purchase a grayed out number for one dollar to honor a person who has died. The number you purchased will then turn to white. One hundred percent of the proceeds are divided equally to the four relief funds they support; Doctors Without Borders, Save the children, Save Darfur and the Sudan Aid Fund.
The Darfur Foundation is made up of a father and two sons, two are software engineers and one is a physiologist. They personally pay all the foundations expenses so that all the proceeds can go directly to their cause.
I encourage you to go and take a look at the wall and send peaceful thoughts to the people who are still suffering in Darfur, and if you are so inspired to purchase a few numbers for their cause.
Hi there lovely Indigo
Your thoughts are mine..I get frustrated at times when i think of the limitted personal power I have, with Iraq, with Burma… but i have come to believe that in my own small way I can raise others awareness in these issues..and often that is enough…You two are doing this and I thank you for it…I’ll go and check ‘the wall’ and thankyou for bringing to my intention…go in peace…x
Hi Gale,
Thank you so much for stopping by.
One of the things I have learned in life is that by becoming too immersed in world events had left me angry and discouraged. My heart ached for everyone in the world who was hurting and soon I was carrying the world’s pain on my shoulders and I had become cold and empty within.
How than was I to spread peace if I was not at peace?
I now try to not let these events discourage me from being at peace. When I can do something to help, like write letters to politicians, attend a rally or blog for a cause, I will do what I can and then I have to make myself let it go. I will let it go while sending loving thoughts of peace.
The energy of our peaceful thoughts, I believe, will help more than we will ever know. Put your thoughts and mine together and you have double the energy. The more people we get thinking about peace the better place the world will be.
Sending you warm smiles of loving peaceful energy,
Deborah