A breath of fresh air

As I traveled across Darfur and Eastern Chad, I would stay in friends' houses along the way. There was one particular house that I especially enjoyed stopping at, for it was located on a large hill. In the morning, with the rooster still crowing and smoke from the morning fires just beginning to trickle into the air, I would climb the rocky hill and stand on a large rock overlooking the village beneath me. I would spread my arms wide and inhale deeply. I loved the fresh, cool morning air filling my lungs. It was such a nice difference from the hot, dusty air I would breathe all day in the car.

I had a similar experience today as I read an article in the St. Pete Times. I read about a group of Tampa Bay teenagers getting passionate about Darfur and raising awareness and money to help save my friends. Hearing that a least a few of America's youth found a place in their hearts for someone other than themselves is so refreshing. This extraordinary group of high school graduates have attacked the notion that 400,000 people don't matter if they don't start with the letters M-E. They have given me hope that my friends can be saved if more people accept their role as global citizens.

These teens have banded together to host a benefit concert on July 9. It is called the Sudan Relief Jam and is going to be an awesome eight-hour concert event featuring all sorts of different music. They are just getting started, but have already organized, rounded up sponsors, and are working hard at getting an official t-shirt made, TicketMaster account set up and spreading the word.

Where: Skipper's Smokehouse - Phone: (813) 971-0666
When: July 9th from 2:00pm - 10:00pm
How much: $15.00 in advance/$20.00 at the door

I will post as much information about this event as I can, but you can also check out their website: www.sudanreliefjam.org. I believe strongly in what they are trying to accomplish and know firsthand the difficulty of motivating people to care about anything, much less Africa.

To read the article about the teens, click here.