home for OSMOSIS

Vetiver is Better For....

2007-08-12T06:14:00.001-07:00

WHAT in the world is Osmosis talking about now? A revolutionary proven environmental solution for clean water and more.
The Vetiver System is low cost and efficient system for soil and water conservation, infrastructure stabilization, pollution control, waste water treatment, mitigation and prevention of storm damage and many other applications. Vetiver Grass, Vetiveria zizanioides, (recently reclassified as Crysopogon zizanioides) is the main component to all Vetiver System based bioengineering and conservation applications. The plant is unique. It can be used in the tropics and semi tropics, and areas such as Italy and California that have a Mediterranean type climate where there are hot summers, and winters are temperate. The roots of the grass have an average tensile strength of Mpa 75 and improve the shear strength of soil by between 30 and 40%.

STILL wondering why we're so amped about grass? Well maybe you should ask these rural women in Venezuala, who(thru Fundacion Polar)have a handicrafts industry using vetiver grass. This program includes the making and marketing of handicrafts. This image is of a mobile shop selling vetiver products and some of the women who have made the products

OR checkout the apartment building pictured below them, built on a once unstable slope which is now stabilized by Vetiver

VETIVER can make proud mountains out of what would have been unstable molehills by stabilizing its surface enough after deforestation to support farming endeavors!!! Ask the happy mountain below who now sports some fancy gardens bordered by stabilizing Vetiver borders, instead of the unstable and useless soil it had before!

Checkout a brochure here!
Find Vetiver's amazing website here!

SIERRA LEONE'S REFUGEE ALLSTARS

2007-07-03T07:18:00.000-07:00

One of the most celebrated documentaries of the past year, SIERRA LEONE'S REFUGEE ALLSTARS tells the remarkable story of an inspiring group of musicians who form a band while living in a West African refugee camp. Set against the backdrop of a brutal civil war, the film details the group's heroic stories of survival and their daily struggle to keep hope and music alive. SIERRA LEONE’S REFUGEE ALL STARS is a unique tribute to the transcendent power of music and a triumphant celebration of the human spirit.

Online auction for AID DARFUR is amazing...

2007-07-03T06:40:00.001-07:00

SEE if you can squeeze Chris Matthews in for a lunch meeting, or perhaps you have time for James Baker. Nothing to wear to that fabulous gala event again? What about that diamond necklace Angelina Jolie wore to the Golden Globes?

This is what you'll have to start saying if you're one of the lucky winners of this amazing ONLINE AUCTION(www.charityfolks.com) to benefit AID DARFUR. Not only could you attain something priceless but you'll also be helping the world be a better place by helping the ongoing crisis in DARFUR.

ODE magazine, for optimists, innovators, movers n shakers!!

2007-06-23T21:26:00.000-07:00

Yet another great magazine that I just found out about thanks to my great friend Noah at Another Limited Rebellion! ODE magazine (www.odemagazine.com) presents inspiring stories of people doing amazingly great things for others, the planet, you name it, they got it! Wonderful blog on their website great photos, cool layout. Another homerun for humankind!! yay!

Darfurian Refugees in Chad celebrate World Refugee Day

2007-06-23T15:01:00.001-07:00

Who would expect a Darfurian or Chad refugee to have much of anything to be cheerful about after the horrendous atrocities many have endured? Well, as a sign of their tremendous tenacity and endurance they are finding a way to do so as they celebrated World Refugee Day in 2 of the main refugee camps located in Chad.

Jorge Prantl who helps in both of these major Darfurian Refugee camps which are attended to by the UNHCR sent these photos out a few days ago. They come from a place called the Guereda Outpost where 50,000 Darfurians reside in either Camp Mile or Camp Kounoungomand, and had this to say to a friend:

Hello.. how are you doing?
I did not have time to see the news during the last couple of days.. the WRD was wonderful in both camps in Guereda.. the refugees really enjoyed and spent a wonderful time having an active participation... the most reiterated messages from all was the return to Darfur in peace.. hope the situation will improve with the hybrid force!!
see some pixs from the celebration..

cheers, Jorge

One can only hope to have such fortitude as all of these people as they refuse to let such adversities degrade their spirit.
Remember that helping can be as easy as educating others about the present war in Sudan, but you can also go one step stronger and donate to the many international aid agenices and ngo's working hard with the refugees right now.

Tony Bennett supports aid for refugees:Focus on Darfur

2007-06-20T19:08:00.000-07:00

LEGENDARY singer, and passionate activist TONY BENNETT lent his spectacular talents to this year's World Refugee Day opening ceremonies. A special event for a small lucky audience at the new Swedish Embassy in Washington DC one day,
and a short performance at the National Geographic Museum the next thrilled and delighted many. His very genuine and personal words during both events were heartfelt and brought many to tears. Mr. Bennett was awarded the Humanitarian Of the Year Award from the UN, and is spending his 80th year advocating heavily for DARFUR with commercials for AID DARFUR.
The human family is blessed to have such a shining light among it. Thank you Mr. Bennett.

YOU need NEED magazine!!!!

2007-06-20T18:37:00.001-07:00

WHAT an amazing endeavor, sprouted by socially conscious entrepreneurs wife Stephanie and husband Kelly Kinnunen (along with a small yet dedicated network of hardworking people) have produced issue 2 already of a visible labor of love. Rightfully titled "NEED", their tagline says it all: We Are Not Out To Save The World, But To Tell The Stories Of Those Who Are.
A publication chock full of engaging, endearing and motivational stories of people helping people, it is a much needed platform for today's minds.
A snippet from one of the more personally intriguing stories follows female de-mining teams:

"Few occupations in the world require workers to tote metal detectors and whistles, don protective body suits and possess explicit knowledge of landmines and unexploded ordnance. Such requisites conjure up visions of militias or bomb squads – organized groups working to either cause destruction or keep peace. One peacekeeping vocation needing such apparel and expertise is landmine clearance: the process of seeking and safely destroying bombs and other explosive devices buried below the ground. This vocation in de-mining requires highly skilled workers who are extremely precise and above all, fearless.

Mines Advisory Group (MAG) trains and organizes de-miners. Their mission is: “[To help] people affected by the remnants of conflict through responsive, qualitydriven and progressive action. [To] remove the physical threat of injury and death and alleviate economic devastation. [To] provide clearance and education enabling an escape from the poverty and suffering caused by conflict.” MAG is funded by several sources including national governments, UN agancies, foundations and trusts, charities and individuals. Landmine clearance is just one of many projects that MAG orchestrates in order to establish safer communities. Headquartered in Manchester, UK, MAG has worked on projects in over 35 countries around the world."~Liz Werner:Need Magazine (photo of de-miner by Claudia Janke)
CONTACT:
www.needmagazine.com
www.myspace.com/needmagazine
ALSO checkout twitter.com, soon to be in BORDERS, WHOLE FOODS GROCERY, already gracing fine establishments and co-ops.
A subscription will enlighten you and your friends and family for sure!

WORLD REFUGEE DAY JUNE 20th 2007!!!!

2007-06-18T20:37:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, gearing up again to help bring the plight of refugees worldwide into the public eye and educate along with aid people globally!
WRD opening ceremonies will be kicking off worldwide, checkout:
www.unhcr.org
for multiple listings of events and what you can do to aid the cause!!!

WARDANCE launches successful screening at Silver Docs in Silversprings, MD June 14th

2007-06-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

So I was very proud and amazed to be in the packed crowd in the beautiful theater in Silver Springs, Maryland this past June 14th to watch the full length release of "WarDance". Completely gorgeous cinematography and storytelling juxtaposed the painful truths of the young child soldiers of Uganda as they deal with their traumas and grief from being forced to do the inexplicable. PLEASE go to www.shineglobal.org and experience their amazing trailer, and look out for national theater release come this November 2007 (in Richmond,VA I would keep an eye on the WestHampton)!!!

New observations on Chad/Darfur situations from Richard Marks from "A Hard Days Night"

2007-06-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

The situation in this region is becoming less stable even while there is some progress in discussions with the leaders of Sudan and Chad.
During my time in Chad, I was with refugees from the Central African Republic that had fled their country into southeastern Chad. There are
now Sudanese from Southern Darfur fleeing into the Central African Republic. As well, at the same time there are Darfur refugees in Chad,
there are also Chadian refugees fleeing into some parts of Darfur.

Both my trips to refugee camps this past year took me to borders, not created by the indigenous population, one between Afghanistan and Pakistan,
the other between Chad and Darfur, Sudan. In both cases, the instability and fear was palpable, particularly in Eastern Chad.

It is hard to understand since we live in a country where the borders are so well defined and we are at peace with our neighbors. Not hard to understand,
though, from a perspective of trying to ensure that those boundaries are respected, right? People have also migrated to find a place where they can be
safe, have shelter, and feed their family. Unfortunately, these people have no choice. Cross the border or stayed and be killed.

For us, one day a year is World Refugee Day; for refugees, it"s 365 days a year.

Thanks for helping,

Richard

still here!

2007-06-04T21:25:00.000-07:00

hello all! after a needed hiatus to keep my regular job going and whatnot i am back in action to keep this account updated.
have been receiving wonderful news of multiple events for darfur popping up around richmond, along with great updates for Awer Bul who is the lost boy I was honored to get to know and help back in november 2006. He is currently on his way,or already in Kenya documenting his art program endeavors in his refugee camp. many well wishes. gearing up for WORLD REFUGEE DAY June 20th!! Everyone who doesn't know what a refugee is, please take time to visit the UNHCR website for more info. and as always I will keep posting here.
More updates soon, be well-
Osmosis

Amy and Awer Bul on NBC12 tonight!

2007-01-08T06:54:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Gene Lepley from NBC12 there will be a followup piece featuring myself and local Lost Boy Awer Bul on the news this evening between 6 and 6:30pm.
Thanks to anyone who can watch, and feel free to contact NBC12 to let them know you appreciate how they are keeping the fight against the genocide in Darfur and the plight of Sudan's Lost Boys on Richmond's "radar"!

What more can students do for Darfur?

2006-11-27T14:23:00.000-08:00

Here's the answer:

"FOR NEARLY TWO YEARS STUDENTS HAVE SPOKEN OUT AND PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN THE MOVEMENT TO END GENOCIDE IN DARFUR, BUT THE SITUATION ON THE GROUND CONTINUES TO DETERIORATE. WHAT MORE CAN STUDENTS DO TO STOP THE GENOCIDE?"

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Committee on Conscience is asking high school and university students to write an op-ed responding to the question above. Publish your piece in your school or local newspaper and enter it in the Committee on Conscience�s Darfur Op-Ed Writing Contest.
The authors of the two winning essays, one at the high school level and one at the university level, will be flown into Washington, D.C., where you will have the opportunity to tour the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and attend the Days of Remembrance Ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda. The 2 winners will also be interviewed for the Museum�s audio interview series, Voices on Genocide Prevention.

The contest will be judged by: New York Times columnist, Nicholas Kristof; Illinois Senator, Barack Obama; and Former Secretary of State, Madeline Albright.

Please review the requirements and guidelines for entering the contest. Make sure to include a completed entry form (pdf) with a copy of the editorial as published or a printout of the Web page if published online. Editorials must be published by a school or local newspaper between September 1, 2006 and March 1, 2007. Entries must be postmarked no later than March 1, 2007. Make sure entry form is complete before mailing it.

For more details visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum here.

Help raise money for Darfur without spending a single cent...

2006-11-27T14:11:00.000-08:00

Film maker Peter Jordan has made a short documentary focusing on children who are surviving the Darfur crisis in refugee camps, and is competing on a website called "Current" in a contest called "Seeds of Tolerance". Jordan's documentary titled "Darfur Rising" is up against 5 other riveting pieces, every single one socially conscious and provocative. All you have to do is log on to their website and vote for your favorite documentary, Jordan is saying if "Darfur Rising" wins, he will donate all the winnings to help the people of Darfur. To watch the film(s) and vote go here.

Osmosis loves Oxfam....

2006-11-21T19:01:00.000-08:00

What can we do? Is the major question I am faced with from others who are boldly stepping up to help Darfurians, and one of the best answers right now (along with divestment and continuing political pressure and media pressure)is Oxfam America, a brilliant charity that operates without depending on govt. funding. Their unique and quirky "Oxfam America Unwrapped" program inspires and motivates one to donate with such options as : buying a cow for 75$ that will provide an entire economic support system for a family, 22$ hygiene kits, 20$ irrigates a farmer's land for 2 months, and 50$ provides emergency toilets. The program sometimes allocates your donation to things that relate to the thing you're buying for someone, i.e. sometimes instead of a 75$ cow, the recipient receives 75$ worth of cow related products like milk, butter, etc. or maybe it will help buy 75$ worth of cow feed. Also, donations are used to where they are needed most urgently with Oxfam's programs. Oxfam is one of the major aid agencies in the Darfur/Chad crisis.
Want to make sure your donation goes directly to benefit helping the people of Darfur? Try USA for UNHCR's program where you can specify that your donation goes to their Darfur program. According to USA for UNHCR's donation page 100% of your donation to Sudan/Chad Emergency will go directly to benefit Darfurians in some way.
Whoever you chose to support, keep in mind that everyone will have varying degrees of administrative costs that will be deducted from your donation. Oxfam is one of the few charities operational in Chad/Darfur that uses only an astounding 10-12% to cover administrative costs while the remaining 84-90% is allocated towards the emergency operations and or charity programs.

United States Holocaust Museum pushes Darfur to the front....

2006-11-21T08:32:00.000-08:00

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum or "USHMM" has taken an amazing and bold step forward in keeping the crisis in Darfur on the forefront of our minds, especially through this Thanksgiving season. Who Will Survive Darfur Today? is a chilling display of Brian Steidle's photographic essay on his time spent working for the African Union in Darfur. He lost his job by refusing to censor his photos and refusing to be silent about the atrocities being committed there. Now, for the first time USHMM is using its exterior wall to show Brian's ongoing images along with other photographers who were able to capture their own photos from the areas from Nov. 20-26 as a reminder to all that a genocide is happening right under our noses, and that we have the responsibility to respond after learning the lessons of the Holocaust.
If you can view the exhibit be ready for the harsh realities of the crisis, but do not let that stop you from doing what you would want others to do for you if the tables were turned-by at not turning away...

C-Span Live and C-Span covering Darfur...

2006-11-21T07:11:00.000-08:00

C-Span
Has been offering repeated coverage of a press conference with Andrew Natsios S.Special Envoy from United States to Sudan, Jean-Marie Guehenno Undersecretary-General of the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, Carlos Pascual Vice President and Director of Brookings Institution in Foreign Policy Studies, and Roberta Cohen an Adviser for Brookings Institution with Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement. It includes a lengthy yet informative Q&A with the audience which is being shown today again at 3:46 pm on C-Span 2.
Then at 1pm today LIVE on C-Span Mia Farrow and Lawrence G. Rossin from Save Darfur Coalition will speak about the crisis and conditions in Darfur.
For info on the 2 channels schedules for these programs go here.

Playground+Art=clean water

2006-11-19T07:21:00.000-08:00

Huh? You might be a little confused about the heading for this post but it will all make sense once you read about the amazing "merry-go-round" water pump designed by a S. African engineer named Ronnie Stuiver. There are more than 700 of them currently operational in S. Africa and there are always plans for more, and it only costs $7000 to make another one happen! Does Osmosis wanna make one happen? HECK YEAH! Checkout 2 great links for info on the water pump project here and here!

the Beatles help aid refugees....

2006-11-19T06:24:00.000-08:00

Richard Marks was inspired to help refugees as he has become a tireless philanthropist focusing on :Afghans in Peshwar, Darfurians and more. His website www.harddaysnightclub.com is a culmination of his efforts to make the world a better place. He recently attained a goal of raising 50,000$ to supply an ambulance to Afghan refugees in Peshwar, and continues to be an avid supporter of USA for UNHCR, NEED magazine, and our great friends Shine Global. Richard utilizes the infamous Beatles song to help represent what every refugee and internally displaced person wants to be able to say "when I'm home ev'rything seems to be right". Checkout Richard's amazing efforts here.

Can Darfur get worse?

2006-11-19T06:17:00.000-08:00

Yes, according to the Christian Science Monitor a disturbing a sobering report describes how a terrible crisis becomes even more bitter as the Sudanese govt. closes off Darfur's borders to all press, humanitarian aid and perhaps even the AU. With a fresh report of 30 to 31 villagers killed within the past week it seems we are only showing an appalling government that they can do as they please as they massacre an entire culture. To keep yourself updated please read the cs article here.

thank you Noah for finding this article!

Shine Global shines light on child soldiers of Uganda...

2006-11-17T17:34:00.000-08:00

Shine Global is doing things Osmosis wants to support in a big way.
They are an incredible non-profit dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of children through making documentaries and media products that will raise awareness and inspire social and political change. Being one of the lucky ones adopted from a Korean orphanage 31 years ago saved from living a life as a ward of the state or having to grow up in the orphanage makes a special place in my heart for these kinds of groups who are helping the children of the world be safe and healthy. If what I am able to do through Osmosis doesn't prove to you that helping these kids can make an impact locally and globally than I don't know what will!
Shine Global's premiere documentary entitled "War Dance" is a moving piece focusing on the ex-child soldiers of Uganda trying to educate themselves and their first attempt performing in a music and dance competition against great odds. See the trailerhere.

new Blog from VCU KI group to check out!

2006-11-16T08:34:00.001-08:00

I am visually and mentally awestruck by the new and beautiful discovery that is :Surfing The Spectacle, an online blog which-if I understand correctly-was configured by Bob Paris of the Kinetic Imaging dept. of VCU as a tool for his students to help address socially conscious topics in eye-engaging ways. My personal fav. right now is the "water pump merry-go-round" project, and Saira's political paintings that are beautiful, provocative and humorous all in one go. Very inspiring! Kudos Bob and KI!

Support Richmond.com's "RBlog" ....

2006-11-16T07:06:00.000-08:00

Do you have questions about Darfur and/or the Lost Boys that have been left unanswered? Then head on over to Osmosis' online article
which is www.richmond.com's new RBlog, great way of letting their readers connect with people from specific featured stories with their many varied inquiries.
The article on Osmosis and myself is still up here where you can then click on the RBlog link to find out how to participate! Kudos to www.richmond.com for putting out such a great piece on Sunday's event and helping to get the word out about Darfur and the Lost Boys!

Nov. 11 and 12 events amazingly successful!!!

2006-11-15T17:53:00.000-08:00

Well, this past Nov. 11th and 12th's events were hugely successful and I have many people to thank for helping to make it happen!
The reading on the 11th resulted in a nice cozy crowd of 16 solid attendees with a few late stragglers to add to the total. Chop Suey Tuey was the perfect place for the reading, it heralded in the 1st reading at Ward's new location and the 2nd stop on Jen Marlowe's book launch after their main launch in DC. Suprisingly we were able to sell half of the bulk order of books Ward got and were concerned about having enough for the next day's event.
Nov. 12th was absolutely amazing. The final attendee count hit 720! Biggest event for the Va Holocaust Museum and largest screening for the documentary to date! People loved the painting exhibit and Awer Bul, one of the Lost Boys who spoke sold all of his artcards (roughly 60-80 different cards) for his art initiative. Chop Suey Tuey sold their remaining books, all of the attending non-profits and advocacy groups got great exposure, and the museum got a ton of exposure. I couldn't have been more pleased with Richmond deciding to show in hundreds of people to raise awareness and engage on such a difficult subject as genocide.
As a result of Sunday's great event I have already:
been able to do an informal short presentation in a kinetic imaging class at VCU.
been approached by a local church to do a presentation on darfur and the lost boys there, as well as a local park and recreational center who is interested in bringing the painting exhibit there as well.
Awer and I plan to continue to work together to help him strengthen his art initiative.
Alot of great things have already begun to sprout thanks to Sunday's success and I look forward to doing more covering a number of subjects.
Richmond Rocks!

Plaza Art of Richmond donates to Awer's art show...

2006-10-02T16:16:00.000-07:00

Plaza Art Artist Materials and Picture Framing have decided to generously donate stretcher bars desparately needed to remount the artshow being put on by Awer Bul for the Nov. 12th event. The artshow will be hung before, during and hopefully after the event which also includes a short documentary Awer made about his acclimation to Richmond from his refugee camp in Kenya. There will be around 16 paintings for view, and some pieces will be for sale which directly benefit Awer's art program and is also going to help the refugees aid in paying for the tuition of refugee children (primary and secondary). Many thanks to Plaza Art and look forward to the announcement of Awer's art opening coming soon!

DPAA passed, finally, still need to keep pressure on...

2006-10-02T13:15:00.000-07:00

So the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act was finally passed through Senate and House just recently, although the part supporting divestment was deleted. So Osmosis is picking up the divestment campaign as another intiative to help stop the genocide in Darfur. Divestment is probably a new issue to most, and is meant to be used as a last resort and that time is here! Already several US states have divested from companies doing business with Sudan, and many colleges across the nation have divested including places like: "Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Brandeis, and Brown universities have already divested; so too has Dartmouth and, perhaps most significantly, the University of California (March 2006). They should be commended for their path-breaking decisions, and serve as national examples. Even more impressive is the comprehensive divestment announced by Amherst College (February 2006), along with its public commitment to push the divestment campaign forward in multiple ways." (excerpt from Sudanreeves.org)
Also, impressively the state of CA recently divested:
CALIFORNIA DIVESTS FROM SUDAN...Governor Schwarzenegger holds public signing! - 9/25/06
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was joined by actors George Clooney and Don Cheadle, former Secretary of State George Shultz, executive members of the Sudan Divestment Task Force and other community leaders at a public signing for AB 2941, adopting a targeted divestment from Sudan for California's public pension funds. The Governor also signed AB 2179, which completes the University of California's targeted divestment from Sudan.
(www.sudandivestment.org)
So we're getting great progress, lets keep it going!

DPADO founder speaking in Richmond Oct. 3rd!!!

2006-10-02T13:12:00.000-07:00

Mr.Suliman Giddo,founder of Darfur Peace and Development will be the key speaker at an educational event hosted by the World Affairs Council here in Richmond, Oct. 3rd at 7pm. The event will take place at the St. Benedictine school located at 304 N. Sheppard St. and is open to the public!
I'll be there, hope some of you all can make it too!

Osmosis and BSWSA at Arabic Filmfest Sept 23rd...

2006-09-20T06:20:00.000-07:00

Saturday September 23rd Osmosis and VCU's BSWSA will be tabling at the Arabic Filmfest. We'll be handing out general info. on Darfur and also accepting donations for sponsoring Darfur Diaries! Professor Angelina Overvold will be speaking directly after the screening of "All About Darfour" (starts at 1:10pm) and I will be giving a quick mention about Darfur Diaries prior to her moderating a Q & A session.
We will have Save Darfur bracelets for $1 to also aid in sponsoring the Darfur Diaries event, and also help raise awareness for Save Darfur!
Come out and visit us, as we'll be setup from 11am to 4:30pm at the West Grace Street Theater at VCU campus!

OSMOSIS welcomes the AMA and BSWSA in helping with Darfur screening...

2006-09-17T10:53:00.000-07:00

Thank you Velisia from the American Marketing Association, and Katie from the BSWSA-both affiliated with VCU-for joining with Osmosis to help support the Darfur Diaries screening on November 12th at 4:00pm.
Katie will be tabling at the Arabic Filmfest at the West Grace Street Theater Sept. 22/23rd, taking donations for us in order to make the screening free to the public!
There are also SaveDarfur bracelets available throughout Richmond for 1$ which will help benefit SaveDarfur.org and Osmosis!

Darfur Diaries TIME CHANGE!!!!Same date!!!

2006-09-17T10:42:00.000-07:00

IMPORTANT TIME CHANGE for Darfur Diaries screening on November 12th. Originally planned for 2:00pm it has now been changed to 4:00pm due to a memorial service in rememberance of "Kristallnacht". Apologies for any inconvenience and confusion this may have caused anyone as we were not aware of the memorial service until very recently.
Kristallnacht(pronounced "crystal-knocked") was an important event which has now been recognized by many as the beginning of the Holocaust. For more info. on it please click here.

Save Darfur needs help tabling Sept. 23rd

2006-09-15T06:53:00.000-07:00

Save Darfur, which is officially now just consisting on our lovely friend Cynthia as its main consistent support, needs help manning their table that is going to be present as a part of the River City Rocks benefit for Darfur this Sept. 23rd at Brown's Island.
She will be selling wristbands, tshirts, circulation petitions and letters for OSMOSIS, and passing out fliers for the Darfur Diaries event! Contact OSMOSIS if you can help even if its just for an hour! email: perennialgenerator@yahoo.com!

GO GEISTWEG GO!

2006-09-15T06:49:00.000-07:00

I love this current post on Geistweg, couldn't be anymore eye opening or to the point!

US Holocaust Museum Darfur exhibit...

2006-09-15T06:38:00.000-07:00

The United States Holocaust Museum has a wonderful,easy to follow exhibit for Darfur on display in conjunction with their immense and impressive permanent exhibit on the holocaust. The Darfur exhibit shows a striking short video piece narrated by Jerry Fowler about his recent visit to the Chad refugee camps, and current news clips about the Darfur situation. If you can, go see it, it is a great way to brush up on getting educated about Darfur and helping to easily educate others!

House res. 723 STILL needs support!!!!!

2006-09-15T06:34:00.000-07:00

We are continuing to circulate the petition, and continuing the letter campaign for House resolution 723 which we started in August of this year! Download and print out your own copies, or email OSMOSIS if you need help or have questions. The petition is easy, the letter campaign requires that you know who your local rep. is in order to mail to the correct person. If you don't know just ask OSMOSIS for help and we'll do the legwork if you can just sign the letter and give us your basic address. Cynthia from the Richmond chapter of Save Darfur will be available at a table at the local River City Rocks benefit for Darfur Sept. 23rd at Brown's Island. She is going to have lots of petitions and letters available! Great work everybody!

Save Darfur rallies across US...

2006-09-15T06:31:00.000-07:00

Save Darfur, the group currently championed by George Clooney, is kicking off a massive amount of rallies this Sunday the 17th to raise awareness for Darfur, and also keep the political pressure on to help Darfurians.
Their website has TONS of great information and things you can do to help!

Darfur Peace and Development joins Nov. 12th screening-

2006-09-15T06:18:00.000-07:00

DPADO (Darfur Peace and Development Organization) is going to be present at the Nov. 12th screening of Darfur Diaries at the VA Holocaust Museum! President and founder Suliman Giddo will attend and will also be a part of the speaking panel, his brother will be helping to man their information table where they will have really great tshirts for sale! DPADO was also nice enough to add our event to theirActivities page on their website!

local Sudanese VCU student artshow at VA Holocaust Museum-

2006-09-09T06:10:00.000-07:00

Local southern Sudanese VCU student Awer("Ah-where") Bul will be displaying his personal paintings along with photos taken from his recent visit to Kenya and the surrounding area and a short documentary he made at the VA Holocaust Museum within the upcoming weeks of September. This show will be displayed in conjunction with the Darfur Diaries screening in November. Awer is from a Dinka tribe in south Sudan which already experienced a civil war with northern Sudan back in the 1990's. He came to Richmond, VA 6 yrs. ago with 2 siblings via the Episcopal Diocese and has been attending VCU for video and painting. His story relates to the Darfurian peoples as he is displaced just as they are, and we are proud to have him as a guest speaker on the panel Nov. 12th.

President of Darfur Peace and Development Org. to attend...

2006-09-09T06:05:00.000-07:00

I am coordinating for the president : Suliman Giddo, to attend the Nov. 12th screening of Darfur Diaries! How exciting, as the Darfur Peace and Development Organization(DPADO) is the main group who the speaking fee (asked for by the film maker) will benefit. DPADO is an amazing group actually founded in Richmond, VA about 5 years ago by Mr. Giddo, he is a relocated Darfurian refugee who is currently residing in Indiana to finish his schooling. DPADO will have an informational table with tshirts that directly benefit DPADO for sale, and Mr. Giddo will follow Jen Marlowe from Darfur Diaries along with a few other speakers after the screening.

New Journal for the studies and prevention of genocide launched...

2006-09-05T15:34:00.001-07:00

Today the VCU School of Government and Public Affairs helped launch a new journal for the study and prevention of genocide, spear headed by Dr. Hirsch who has written several other pertinent pieces of the subject.
The journal is the first peer reviewed scholarly journal of its kind and its premier publication focuses on Darfur! Following journals will cover topics like the Armenian genocide, and raising questions about the concept of genocide and how to simplify processing people guilty of genocide. To find out more:
Genocide Studies and Prevention
(804)828-9192
email: gspjrnl@yahoo.com

Help needed handing out fliers!!!

2006-09-05T09:54:00.000-07:00

So Richmond is gearing up for a busy social calendar this fall and Osmosis would like to be there to handout fliers for the upcoming Darfur Diaries event Nov. 12th at the VA Holocaust Museum. Since Osmosis is powered by your help, anyone interested in jumping in should contact me at: perennialgenerator@yahoo.com!

Here are the upcoming events:
Sept. 22/23rd
VCU Arabic Film Fest
Sept. 22nd from 6:00pm to 9:30pm
Sept. 23rd from 11:00am to 7:50pm
***1:10 screening called "All About Darfur"
all screenings are free and 1st come 1st serve!

Sept. 23rd
River City Rocks which is a media group that supports various musician/comedian tours, and this particular tour is focusing on sending remaining proceeds to Save Darfur Coalition.
11am-10pm
this event is NOT free but having a presence around the event to handout fliers would be great!

October 13,14,15
National Folk Festival
the 68th National Folk Festival will be hopping in downtown Richmond these 3 days, an amazing 70,000 people attended last year so being able to handout fliers here would be really wonderful!

IF ANYONE has another event they'd like to flyer at, or just plain need fliers to personally have to handout at their own convenience let me know, I will gladly mail them and try to fill your request as much as possible. Since I am currently operating out of my own pocket I am doing what I can! :-)

Eric Reeves' Sudan blog making waves...

2006-09-05T09:50:00.000-07:00

KUDOS to Eric Reeves and his timely, poignant website Sudan Reeves keeping its many fingers on the pulse of Sudan, and keeping the pressure and focus on Darfur. His heroic efforts of keeping everything up to date (even while battling leukemia) is extremely admirable!
Check out the latest article on him here.

Tragedy strikes Darfur, Darfurians have no one to protect them now...

2006-09-02T06:11:00.000-07:00

In the Sudan Tribune Saturday, September 2nd 2006, the Sudanese govt. has called for the withdrawal of the ONLY PEACE KEEPING FORCE currently in Darfur called the African Union (AU). This leaves NO PROTECTION for the Darfurians who have been victims of ongoing genocide, rape and displacement since at least 2003. If there was ever a dire need for our letter and petition drive it is NOW!!! Read more on the crisis of the AU withdrawal here.

petitions and letter counts to date....

2006-09-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

You guys are FANTASTIC!! We have collected over 250 signatures and have over 100 people that joined the letter writing campaign as well! What a great response considering we only had 4 weeks to get the ball rolling, woo hoo for motivation! Keep on keeping on people, if there are still a few petitions floating around out there don't worry as we are still waiting on an appointment to speak with one of the local reps to present the petitions. If there are some stragglers still writing letters have no fear, send them in! Every little bit counts!

SaveDarfur.org joins the ranks with Osmosis!

2006-08-25T18:31:00.000-07:00

Cynthia Brown of the Richmond chapter of SaveDarfur.org has been a fantastic link up for our endeavors for Darfur. She is part of a motivated team addressing the more political nature of the issue, and is an awesome volunteer! Thanks to Cynthia for all her hard work and donations of her time!

Petition & letter writing deadline!

2006-08-25T18:27:00.000-07:00

Howdy all-
Just a reminder that the deadline for the petitions and letter writing campaign for Darfur is the end of August! Contact me at: perennialgenerator@yahoo.com if you need any help or need to turn in petitions!
Cheers!

letter writing works!

2006-08-25T18:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks to our friend Tim, we now know letter writing does work....
click here to find out!

new link added to Osmosis

2006-08-08T08:28:00.000-07:00

Howdy folks, added a link to our local veggie minded friends at SPROUT for anyone interested in VA organic grown produce! Enjoy!

email address UPDATE and URL blog UPDATE

2006-08-04T09:01:00.000-07:00

Hey folks-
Sorry for the small hiccup here but I have changed the contact email for OSMOSIS to:
perennialgenerator@yahoo.com

AND the new URL for this blog is now:
www.perennialgenerator.blogspot.com

PLEASE please update! Thanks!

Letter writing campaign for Darfur!!

2006-08-02T20:39:00.000-07:00

Available for download right now is a letter to accompany our petition drive to help support sending peace keeping troops to Darfur! Download it here.

Easy as pie, sign it, or if you want to get creative write your own, and mail it to your corresponding rep! Here's some of their addresses, if you want to make more local impact send it to their VA address rather than their DC address.

If you can't figure out where to mail it, email Osmosis at : agreatleapforward@yahoo.com and we'll either
a) find it for you
b) if you want to drop it off at Trademark Tattoo I can mail it for you!
or c)drop by Trademark Tattoo and I will have copies there to sign and mail out.

Thanks for your help!

Awareness+fundraising benefit 4 Darfur Nov. 12th!!

2006-08-01T19:30:00.000-07:00

So I am so pleased to announce the beginning plans to have an awareness and fundraising benefit at the Virginia Holocaust Museum this coming November 12th! There will be an hour long screening of the documentary Darfur Diaries, as well as a small panel of speakers, including one of the film makers from the documentary! This event is intended to be educational and humanitarian. I plan on having information booths available for relevant groups to Darfur, and will update info. as it solidifies! Keep posted!

video game for Darfur?

2006-08-01T07:29:00.000-07:00

What? Yep! mtvU started a competition among students to find ways of raising awareness for Darfur and this one is the winner:
Darfur Is Dying
It features several interactive games where you can play as a Darfurian trying to do various things like get to a distant well without being caught, or trying to navigate and keep a village up and running....

petition deadline

2006-08-01T07:22:00.000-07:00

To all the great peeps involved with our petition, we need all of them signed/returned by the end of August. Please email me at : perennialgenerator@yahoo.com if you need to mail it in, or would like to drop it off, or know others interested in signing!
We have already begun to collect signatures throughout Richmond, and have had a great response!
I other great news, a wonderful website : www.passionofthepresent.org has posted a link to our petition as well, so we hope to get double, triple, quadruple the traffic for this effort!

Darfur is not a clothing company....part II

2006-07-28T18:05:00.000-07:00

THIS is Darfur:
the basics:
1. Darfur is a region in western Sudan, in northern Africa.
2. Since 2003,due to fighting between the govt. of Sudan and rebel groups, up to 400,000 civilians have died.
3. Over 2 million people have been displaced(not able to remain to their homes) inside Darfur, or have become refugees outside of Darfur.
4. Thousands of villages in Darfur have been burned to the ground.

The politics of the situation are sometimes muddled and extremely difficult, and some people have said it is a war between the Arab govt. and the black ethnic Christians, but the main point is that regardless of why they are fighting, they should not be allowed to kill, rape, and traumatize hundreds of thousands of civilians in the process. Already labeled a genocide by the US and others, the Sudanese govt. has already publicly announced that it is "ethnically cleansing" the region, and has made repeated refusals to allow any peace keeping entities to enter the region, including dogged attempts by the UN.

This coming September, the only grass roots peace keeping body will pull out of Darfur, called the African Union, leaving no one to protect the civilians of Darfur until January of 2007 at the earliest. See the petition to SAVE DARFUR in my earlier posts on this blog, and the link to view it as well.

In response to this information, I have been doing what I can now for Darfur, every little bit helps, even if its just educating others about the situation. As I have said again and again, when I have asked my peers, clients,and friends one question: " If you knew that the Nazi holocaust or Rwandan genocide were happening today, would you do anything about it? Would you try and stop it?" their resounding response it "yes, of course" and I say : "well, it is happening, right now."

Want to help Darfur?
Keep posted here, contact me at: perennialgenerator@yahoo.com , I have plenty of websites to pass along.
Come support me at my awareness and fundraising event for Darfur and possible launch for OSMOSIS at the VA Holocaust Museum Nov. 12th.

many many thanks-

Darfur is not a clothing company....part I

2006-07-28T17:40:00.001-07:00

So that is what I discovered June of this year, 2006, to my utter dismay. Being one of the typical numbed-by-too-much-information people, I had been getting sporadically and minimally educated on general refugee situations since 2004 when my friend Hilary asked me to donate a gift certificate from my shop for an auction she was having. I had no problem donating some time for it and missed going to her event called "Rock For Refuge", and didn't think to investigate further. 2005 She invited me to go to my 1st World Refugee Day opening ceremonies in DC, I was late and missed the press conference but met alot of interesting people and stayed for a viewing of Hotel Rwanda, which was followed by speaker Paul Rusesabagina who the film portrayed. I was deeply touched and vowed to get more informed. It was during 2004/2005 I remembered seeing a few celebrities here and there displayig tshirts that simply said "darfur" on them, which I thought odd but signed it off as yet another logo for another clothing company hollywood was embracing. Fast forward to May,2006. I was fervently researching refugee situations as I wanted to be prepared for this year's World Refugee Day preparations. I read Ms. Jolie's book on her refugee camp travels, started looking into the various websites from www.unhcr.org to www.theirc.org to amnesty's site and beyond. For some reason I did not focus on Darfur though until the main speaker at this year's opening ceremonies gently spoke of the problems still happening there, and that is when I realized my folly...Darfur is a place? I had been so swept up in getting to the ceremony and was thrilled that Hilary had invited me again even though it was "invite only" this year, and had completely swept by Darfur again. When I got home from the event, I went online and started to read.....

link to petition to SAVE DARFUR

2006-07-28T17:32:00.000-07:00

howdy folks, here is a link to be able to view(and maybe print out?) our petition. Its circulating now, keep your eyes peeled!

darfur petition link

Petition to SAVE DARFUR!!!!!

2006-07-27T20:47:00.001-07:00

Okay people, in an effort to begin awareness for Darfur we at OSMOSIS have lovingly crafted a petition for your use to help the people of Darfur, Sudan. What is Darfur? I will outline specifics in the next post. For now, I am focusing on getting the word out that doing something for this situation is as easy as signing you name. The petition consists of this:

WE, the undersigned, call on Congress to move forward with their efforts to enact HR 723 (Calling on the President to take immediate steps to help improve the security situation in Darfur, Sudan, with a specific emphasis on civilian protection.) As the May ceasefire has been largely unsuccessful at curtailing the violence, and the Sudanese government continues to fuel ethnic conflict--including murder and rape--the crisis continues to grow:

* Nearly ninety percent of the villages in Darfur have been burned.
* The death toll is now over 200,000, and may be as high as 400,000.
* Two million people are living in refugee camps.
* The Sudanese government continues to impede the flow of humanitarian aid.

With the planned withdrawal of the African Union in September (2006), and no further action expected from the United Nations until January(2007), the need for intervention by the United States has become imperative for the survival of the people of Darfur.

Would you like to help circulate and get signatures, or keep one available at your place of business to collect signatures? Email me at : perennialgenerator@yahoo.com , I'll bring it to you if you'd like!

A letter writing campaign is accompanying this effort which we are drafting now! There will be at least one petition available for signing at: Trademark Tattoo, 3125 W. Cary St., Richmond, VA 23221 (804)254-9006

OSMOSIS supports local organic community gardens in Richmond

2006-07-27T19:45:00.000-07:00

The Richmond Community Garden Collective (RCGC) is looking to change the world through Organic Community Gardening. A growing number of individuals, neighborhoods, communities, organizations, institutions and govt's have formally collaborated in a growing collection of Organic Community Gardens throughout the Richmond Region, as the only way to achieve the full potential of this is organically! RCGC will act as an organizing,administrative, financial & reference entity for thecollection of Richmond organic gardens. They are searching to unite all elements of the Richmond Regional Community in an effort that will forever strengthen our community and our ability to help strengthen other communities around the world. Affiliated with VCU, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden among other prominent Richmond groups, RCGC is actively looking for volunteers to help them in various aspects of their endeavors! I will post contact information as it becomes available!

the kick off!

2006-07-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

Greetings all! I finally got a virtual meeting place for people to keep tabs on what is happening with OSMOSIS, helping build community through grassroots efforts and word of mouth. This blog will be open to all topics, I will be updating on my current projects and all the friends I know with projects in motion. Let's do this! :-)