FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Matt Brown, [email protected], 202-538-9170
WASHINGTON – American high school and university students have written letters to Darfuri refugees, which will be hand delivered this Thanksgiving by the Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program. The Sister Schools Program works with U.S. schools and donors to support education for the Darfuri refugees and build connections between American students and their Darfuri peers.
Meghan Higginbotham, Sister Schools Program assistant, will deliver the letters during a trip to two refugee camps in eastern Chad this week. She will also be asking refugee students what they want to be when they grow up and what traditions they celebrate.
“I’ve watched countless hours of video, scrolled though thousands of photos, and read compelling and entertaining stories from the camps. I already feel so connected to the students and teachers of Djabal and Goz Amer refugee camps,” Higginbotham said. “This experience will definitely deepen that connection. I’m excited to share this moment with other American students and activists.”
The conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region has killed 300,000 people since 2003. Another 300,000 have fled their homes for the refugee camps in neighboring Chad, where a lack of resources and access to education are major problems. The 12 refugee schools in the Sister Schools Program are paired with more than 225 American schools. Students in the U.S. raise funds to help build and rehabilitate school buildings, recruit and train qualified teachers and provide students in the refugee camps with school supplies and sports equipment.
“Throughout the trip, I’m going to be collecting the stories and aspirations of Darfuri refugees and sharing those on the Darfur Dream Team Facebook page and Enough Said blog,” Higginbotham said. “The reality for the Darfuri refugees is that these camps will continue to be their makeshift homes until its safe for them to return to Darfur.”
About Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools Program
The Darfur Dream Team is a dynamic partnership of organizations and professional basketball players working together on the Sister Schools Program, an initiative linking American middle schools, high schools and universities with 12 schools in 2 Darfuri refugee camps in eastern Chad. The Program works to provide a quality education to every refugee child from Darfur and, develop personal connections between students from Darfur and the United States that promote mutual understanding.