Since February 2003, Darfur has been one of the most dangerous places in the world.
In Darfur, Sudan, members of the militia known as the “Janjaweed” have killed hundreds of thousands of people within the region. Despite massive humanitarian efforts, the danger is still very real.
And it is because of this danger that it is the women who now leave their homes every day to collect firewood. While the risk they will be raped and mutilated is high, there is an even higher possibility that their husbands will be murdered on the spot.
One campus organization is trying to reduce the violence, one family at a time.
On Friday, CSLEPS hosted a “Dance for Darfur” in order to raise money for the Darfur Stove Project.
The Darfur Stove Project, began in 2005, uses funds raised for the project to create high efficiency stoves to give to Darfuri women.
According to their website, the project donates the stoves, which only use about 25 percent of the firewood normally used in the area, in order to reduce the number of times women have to leave to gather firewood—and reducing their exposure to groups like the Janjaweed.
According to Libby Orsega, a junior in Spanish language and literature and director of the Global Awarenss Committee in the CSLEPS Service Leadership Team, holding the Dance for Darfur was a natural step for CSLEPS.
“We typically plan four or five events like this every semester, a lot of them about global issues like this,” Orsega said. “Last semester we had a speaker discuss his experiences growing up in Darfur, so this is a kind of second part where we wanted to show our support for this project.”
About 40 people attended the event, which raised over $160. Given that the tickets were only $2, much of the money raised came from donations, said Katherine Hiddick, a junior in sociology.
“I’m on the global awareness committee, who planned this. We didn’t know how many people would come. People were donating, but not buying tickets,” Haddock said. “But I think it’s a great turnout. All we wanted was to have fun and raise a logtof money, so it’s a success.”
According to the Darfur Stove Project, the costs associated with producing and distributing each stove is about $30. The money donated by CSLEPS from the dance will be able to provide five families with their own high efficiency stove, which Katherine Thompson, a junior in biomedical engineering, said is a good way to support a great cause.
“I came because Libby is a friend and it seemed like a good cause,” Thompson said, “But I didn’t know what the project was until I came in and started reading about it and was like ‘Wow, it’s a great project.'”
The project has donated more than 10,000 stoves since the beginning of its initiative, though their work is far from over as there are still 400,000 stoves still needed, according to their website.
As the project’s work is far from finished, so the work of the CSLEPS Global Awareness Committee will continue.
Orsega said the committee is already planning to hold more events surrounding global issues this semester.
“Throughout this semester we are going to hold multiple other events,” Orsega said. “We are bringing in another speaker, hosting a “Biking in the Brickyard” to raise money for an organization that provides clean water to those who don’t have access to it, and we will be showing the film Invisible Children in March. Our goal for that event is to have at least 200 participants.”
