Darfur Peace and Development

Working with the U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan, DPDO President Suliman Giddo has traveled to Doha, Qatar to join a unification conference for Darfuri leaders. This meeting is the result of months of negotiations among rebel movements and civil society representatives.

The goal of this process is to help the people of Darfur form a coherent negotiating platform upon which to negotiate a durable peace with the Government of Sudan…

DPDO has completed drilling and installation of Gangy High School’s well system. The well delivers 2,000 gallons of water every hour, enough to provide ample water for high school students and staff, as well as for neighboring homes and businesses.

The foundation of the main building was laid in January 2010. Completion of construction is set for the first week of May, so students may register for classes beginning in June.

The…

Program Director Susan Burgess-Lent traveled in Darfur most of December to assess programs and to improve DPDO’s capacity to serve an ever-growing population of beneficiaries. Click here to read her journal

DPDO is happy to announce that Ante Up for Africa has generously donated $200,000 to help construct Gangi High School in El Fasher, Darfur. Ante Up for Africa, founded by Don Cheadle, Annie Duke, and Norman Epstein, was created to raise money and awareness for relief efforts in Darfur.

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Dining for Women: “Changing the World One Dinner at a Time”

Dining for Women is a national non-profit giving circle dedicated to empowering women and girls living in extreme poverty. For more information, click “Continue reading”.

In October, DPDO received a UNICEF in-kind donation of blackboards and classroom kits for North Darfur schools.

DPDO staff delivered the supplies to its 14 Schools of Peace and to 23 additional schools in Kutum, El Fasher, and Umbaro localities. Though these schools are not sponsored by DPDO, they had no other access to necessary supplies.

DPDO’s distribution served the needs of 445 teachers and…

On October 18th, DPDO Solar Cooker Project Manager Ali Eisa led a training workshop in Omdurman, near Khartoum.

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October 8, 2009 – WASHINGTON, D.C. – More than 25 Darfur activists gathered at Busboys and Poets Thursday evening for Darfur Peace and Development Organization’s Dara for Unity and Hope, a gathering modeled after the traditional Darfuri forum for discussion of community issues.

Representatives from the Save Darfur Coalition, Africa Action, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Enough Project, Amnesty International USA, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, Refugees International, International Rescue Committee, Darfur Alert Coalition, Southern Sudanese Voice for Freedom, HELO Magazine, STAND, the Senate Finance Committee, and United States of Hope attended to discuss ways to unify the splintered movement and to create more cohesive action to benefit Darfur.

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Suliman Giddo, President of Darfur Peace and Development Organization (DPDO), traveled with the US Special Envoy to Sudan, General Scott Gration, on an eight-day mission in Sudan on Sept 8.

The visit highlighted meetings with community leaders in Abu Shouk, one of the largest camps for displaced people in North Darfur. This initiative was designed to develop consensus among Darfuri leaders and support from their communities for sustainable peace after a devastating six-year conflict. It continues a multi-track peace effort begun during recent meetings of Darfuri rebel commanders.

During a September 2009 trip to Darfur, DPDO President Suliman Giddo visited the newly opened office in El Fasher, North Darfur. The three-room office has adequate storage for school supplies and baskets en route from Women’s Centers to Khartoum. The location will provide easy access for DPDO’s El Fasher staff to deliver supplies and disbursements to Women’s Centers and schools in the surrounding IDP camps in which DPDO operates.

See photos of the new El Fasher office by clicking “Continue reading”.