Metting on July 25, '08

We had our meeting to discuss the Movie Screening on Friday, July 25 at the Cara Lodge. Not too many of you turned up; but those of us who did, we missed you.

The meeting started of with Clinton giving us an update on the latest that’s happening in the Region. He outlined the following:

-5 years since conflict started

-More than 400,000 people dead

-2.5 million displaced civilians have been forced to flee their homes and now live in camps in Sudan or in refugee camps in neighboring Chad. Many are

-fighting between rebels and the government sponsored militia is still ongoing

- Most Humanitarian Organisations have left the region for fear of inadequate saftey

-Conflicts in neighboring Chad and Kenya has made an already tense situation more tense

-China remains a major supplier of arms to the Sudanese government

-The International community is slow to act to bring the situation under control

-UN Security Council comprises members China & Russia—both supporters of Al Bashir—and will complicate efforts for UN to take action.

-Only hope lies with NATO and the US---who are currently bogged down in Afghanistan and Iraq

-ICC has brought charges against high ranking government officials, including Sudan’s president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir (Some are arguing that justice is a threat to peace and stability)

-UN has troops monitoring the situation on the ground

Clinton then went into a discussion about who we are and reiterated the group’s Mission Statement:

Our mission is to bring together Guyanese who are committed to waging constructive and efficient campaigns to bring awareness, raise funds and to help end the genocide in Darfur, Sudan.

He then summed up our Goals as a group:

-Raise Awareness

-Raise Funds

The discussion then turned to the question of how do we succeed? Clinton felt that to be successful we need to answer three fundamental questions:

1.) How do we raise funds?

2.) How do we raise awareness?

3.) What do we do with the funds raised?

How do we raise funds?

Movie screening

Donation letters

Sponsorship of events

How do we raise awareness?

Movie screening (schools, café’s, restaurants, television etc...)

Televised discussions (thanks Ruel!)

Involve Sudanese living in Guyana (know any?)

Monthly Newsletter

Wristbands

T-Shirts

Letter writing

Reports on personal experiences in the region (ask Kwesi Sansculotte-Greenidge to write articles of his experiences and have them published in the Stabroek News or the Guyana Times)

Run/Walk

Lectures (For example, hosting an awareness event at the Georgetown library)

What do we do with the Funds raised?

Those present agreed that funds raised will be donated to Oxfam and other humanitarian organizations working on the ground in Darfur or Chad. We also supported the idea of sending members of the group to Refugee Camps in Chad and Darfur who are expected to come back and report on their experiences. The funds will also be used to organize and execute other awareness activities.

Movie Screening

Dinner and movie format

Venue: Dutch Bottle 36-40 ppl

Tickets: $4000

Movie: Darfur Now

Date: August 13, 2008

Time: 6:30