2013 has brought amazing success because of your support.. We work on the ground in refugee camps, creating innovative projects that support education, sports, and relationships across continents. With your help, i-ACT creates new pathways for advocacy and on-the-ground change.
Check out a few of our key 2013 milestones:
November 2013:
Little Ripples Teacher Training II: Peace, Sharing, Helping
Little Ripples teachers completed their second teacher training, which incorporated tools that promote health, peace, collaboration, and learning at their school. At the preschool level, it’s all about play, and the teachers practiced playing and had a blast.
October 2013:
Darfur United Soccer Academy: a Movement for Hope
i-ACT launched the first Darfur United Soccer Academy (DUSA) in camp Djabal. Habiba, Leila, Adam, and Ramadan have been trained and hired to manage and implement the Academy six days a week. Today, the Academy has over 500 registered children, and more are signing up each day. Our goal is to reach 2,000 children in each of the 12 refugee camps. DUSA uses sport to promote equality, health, and education.
September 2013:
Building Community
Personal relationships are essential to the success of all i-ACT’s projects and campaigns. We continue to work with groups that Gabriel met in his early days of advocating for peace in Darfur— groups like Genocide No More, Save Darfur and Jewish World Watch. We’ve continued to grow. In 2013, experts, student and community groups, and individuals seeking to be a part of the solution to major humanitarian issues have contributed more than $213,000 in expertise. Thank you.
August 2013:
Little Ripples School Opens in Camp Goz Amer
i-ACT launched the first Little Ripples preschool program in camp Goz Amer. Under the leadership of 14 trained refugee women teachers, Little Ripples is providing a safe environment for 400 children to learn, grow and heal from trauma.
July 2013:
891 Girls and Boys Sponsored at the Darfur United Soccer Academy
In July, i-ACT announced the $10 Kicks and Hope campaign! $10 gives one child the opportunity to play, move, heal and be empowered for one year in the Darfur United Soccer Academy. So far in 2013, there are 891 girls and boys ages 6 – 13 who have been sponsored to participate. Join the campaign, sponsor a child!
June 2013:
Carl Wilkens Fellowship Joins the i-ACT Community
Along with implementing projects on the ground in the refugee camps, i-ACT is now working to train emerging leaders to be the foundation of a permanent anti-genocide constituency as part of the Carl Wilkens Fellowship.
Photo courtesy of Teresa Wilkens at One Million Bones in Washington, D.C.
May 2013:
Little Ripples Teacher Training I: Building Curriculum with Darfuri Women
Expert Teacher Advisors Jocelyn and Melissa helped create the first Little Ripples curriculum which is rooted in the importance of relationship building, chid development and cognitive learning. It was further developed by the Darfuri teachers to include their songs, games, and cultural values.
April 2013:
Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month
i-ACT reached over 2,500 people through our outreach and education campaigns and projects including Camp Darfur in April alone. It is not enough to work on current state of affairs. We must invest in our own children so that they can also be advocates for peace across all nations.
March 2013:
Act for Sudan’s Emergency Action Summit
Over 200 Sudanese and American activists converged in George Washington University in D.C. i-ACT helped facilitate the Summit, the first conference focused on Sudan in several years. Discussions, trainings, and panels helped strengthen and solidify the movement.
February 2013:
Public Pazocalo, Peace Public Square
After years of having a closed, social network for Darfuri students to share messages and multi-media with US schools, we created a public page so you could also be part of it. Pazocalo is a secure place for relationships to grow and information to be shared. It’s how we learned about the devastating fire in Camp Djabal.
January 2013:
Right to Education Human Rights Mobile Library
In January we received word that the R2E Library in Camp Djabal had been destroyed in a house fire that also ruined all of the Librarian Rahma’s personal belongings. Individuals, communities, and schools raised enough in less than a month to replace the library, most of Rahma’s personal belongings, and pay for his time as a Librarian. Incredible.
