Rahma gives an overview of what the refugees use the most in the R2E Human Rights Mobile Library and Gabriel delivers the second library to Umda Tarbosh of Camp Goz Amer.

Sixty-one players from the twelve refugee camps that dot the Chad-Sudan border participated in try-outs for fifteen spots on the team roster. This team will represent Darfur, the embattled region of Sudan, in the 2012 Viva World Cup in June, a soccer tournament for nationless people and other groups not represented by FIFA, the international soccer federation.

Coach Mark Hodson said, “The level of talent was impressive, especially considering the facilities and resources available to the players. Everyone came ready to play, and they didn’t need asking twice to produce their best level of effort.”

Read the full Press Release Here
Meet the Team and Sponsor a Darfur United player’s journey to the Viva World Cup Here

The i-ACT team has posted many blogs, photos and videos to darfurunited.com!

It has already been an emotional journey for all involved because this team will represent so much more than a game. Our podcast, Hit the Ground Running, includes i-ACT’s arrival in Goz Beida, travel to Djabal and a visit to the local restaurant to see what players will be eating. Our team meets many of the hopefuls upon arrival and to look in their eyes there can be no denying what a spot on the Darfur United Team would mean to them.

Hundreds gather around the goalie tryouts and it is clear what Darfur United will mean to every Darfuri man, woman and child. The players rise at dawn to avoid the midday heat as they vie for coveted spots on the team that will carry the word to the world at The Viva Cup.

We share the simple yet all too important joy this game and this team will bring to our friends as we see the women watch the team as they collect water for their families early each morning. They too rise at the crack of dawn to assure a first spot in line at the water point before their long walk back.

The team hopefuls speak for themselves in our Sound Off’s as we get to know the young men trying out and our first is Sulieman Adam Borma who shares his feelings with the watching world. Coaches Brian and Mark share the anticipation of announcing the 15 team members and 5 alternates who have made the team. There is tremendous joy in sharing the news with those lucky 20, but also a profound sadness about ending the Darfur United dreams of 41 other players who learn their fate one by one. Coach Brian’s blog captures the emotional roller coaster of reactions our Darfur United hopefuls experience as they take in the news.

For many the team journey has ended, yet they will never be the same. They know something now: they are not forgotten and Darfur is indeed United. For the 20 who have been chosen to represent the pain and triumph of so many years and lost lives – the journey has just begun. Please help them carry the word…….

On Behalf of the i-ACT Team, Stacey

www.darfurunited.com

You can download/subscribe at iTunes, get the RSS feed or watch via the embedded media player.

As the sun dimmed and we prepared to leave for the day we seized the opportunity to bring the players together for a briefing for tomorrow’s commencement of action. Through the use of our amazing 16 year old translator Rahma, we shared with the players that this was “their team” and that it was our goal to unite them on and off the field over the next six days and hopefully in a meaningful enough way that these new relationships might flourish and serve to bring some of the solutions that these people are seeking. There is unfortunately little hope for many of the people in these camps. Education is minimal and despite the amazing effort of groups such as i-ACT, the opportunity for individuals to move on to achieve much greater things with their lives is often a step too far. Read more here…

Before the i-ACT team left, we tried to collect as many cleats as possible in sizes 9-12. We were able to collect enough for the 20 players selected to be on the team, but not for everyone trying out. At first there are a few grumblings about this, but soon the pride of Darfur United shines through. Brian shares his experience:

One player asked to speak, and when we motioned to him he stood up and spoke straight from the heart. He was saying that this team is for Darfur. That this is not for the sake of individuals. For the first time since they fled their homes, Darfur is once again being United. Once this player spoke, it opened up the stage for a few more players to make their voices heard. They spoke about how they were grateful that Gabriel has done all the work to make this a reality and that cleats should be the last thing on their mind. This moment grabbed me in a way that no documentary, news article, or blog ever could. These Darfuri refugees were voicing their feelings right in front of me, for the world to hear. Read more here.

Here are a few photos of Darfur United hopefuls:
         

The i-ACT12 Expedition Team has four members. Gabriel, on his twelfth trip, James, heading out for his third time, and two new additions, Mark and Brian.

Mark and Brian are the coaches for Darfur United and will help with team selection and training in the coming days. They have a big job ahead of them that includes narrowing down 20 players from almost 70. I’m eager to read and see their experience as not only coaches, but as ordinary people who will have a huge impact on so many.

Gabriel will also be delivering the second R2E Mobile Human Rights Library to Camp Goz Amer and bringing supplemental materials for the library in Camp Djabal. Over the last several months Rahma and Adam have been taking the library to the six schools in Camp Djabal and sending updates! This trip, Gabriel will find a librarian for Goz Amer and hand over kindles, talking dictionaries, handmade materials by students from the Human Rights Watch Student Task Force, English materials, and more.

The Expedition Team has reached N’Djamena, the capital of Chad, and they will head out to the East early tomorrow morning. You can read the first blogs from Gabriel, James, Mark and Brian here!

Adam

happy with the free delicious food

Now we are able to bring food at home

Women in my community suffer discrimination, negligence and injustice, although she is the most productive part of this community. From the first day of her birth to the family, some families have not celebrate as they do for the baby boys. After she got seven years old, she stands with different responsibilities. Most of them have no chances to schooling as boys have. In her teens, the family will be ready to marry her if some one asked. Most of the girls got married without their knowledge. They must except any husband her father agreed to. Housewife has lots of daily duties. Early in the morning she prepares tea and food, washes the children, sends them to schools or gives them their duties. She gets water and washes every dirty clothes at home. She gathers firewoods, goes to work for money, or to the farm. In the evening, she cooks for the family. Every year women produces more than half of many families’ income.

Thank you, Adam

Photos of women in Camp Djabal, taken by Adam:

There is very little firewood around some of the camps. There are barely any jobs at all in any of the camps. When an NGO decided to tackle the problem of the firewood in Camp Kounoungo, they decided to employ refugees to make iron ovens. These iron ovens use firewood, but they use less than half what the refugees normally use with their three stone ovens. By employing refugees, they make them part of the solution and invested in making it work. In Kounoungo, walking the camp is so fascinating. It has evolved in to some kind of a hybrid between a refugee camp and a village, but never quite home.

One of the new students for Pazocalo and the Darfur Dream Team Sister Schools program came up to us on our last day in Camp Djabal and asked us if he could please record a video message to fellow students in the United States. This is what he shared with us. Thanks, Bardin!

Your mercy my God.
Adam Jabal refugee camp Chad

Jabal refugee camp [secondary school]
Hundreds of English books in the boxes and on the floor for five years without right to any one to use it. I’am the only English teacher there. When I asked why we are not allowed to use these books? The answer is until we built the library.

So the student might wait till the problem in Darfur been solved

Adam Moussa Ahmad
Jabal refugee camp Chad

On i-ACT 11 this past fall, I quickly learned that shooting video in a
refugee camp is a whole new ballgame when it comes to being behind a
camera. The most difficult aspect is that the kids are all so excited
about what we’re doing and all want a chance to smile and wave at the
camera. This makes capturing anyone speaking a very difficult task!

While I was shooting interviews with students one morning in Djabal,
there was a distinct lack of kids around. After awhile, I heard a
commotion behind me and turned to investigate. Miah was distracting
the kids so we could get our work done! This ended up being one of my
favorite moments from the trip.

Now that’s teamwork!

Here is a great exchange between Rahma and students at Burbank High School!

Hello my friends Task Force students, Here is another video I want show you haw I am using the Kindle but we need kindle will include many another programs. Thanks yours Rahma

HOW COOL! Some students at Burbank High School use the Kindle, too. I think they are so useful and fun! How do you like it so far? Do you think that the Kindle is better than a regular book? Also, some people think regular books will disappear and the Kindle and similar e-books will replace them. What do you think?

Happily, Burbank High School

Hi my best friends at BurbankHighSchool How are you? And how is your Schools going? Thank you for your message and thank you for your support. Really I think that the Kindle is better than regular books because Kindle has many informations than regular books and I think they are not similar books. Maybe Kindle better and Kindle will include many informations. Thank you yours Rahma

Rahma takes the library back to school. Next week there will be a break as “students take first term examinations. The secondary school is starting it’s examinations on February 13th. So our mobile library will be on leave until february the 20th.”