Hold on to Hope

From the beginning of the atrocities in Darfur, I remember thinking to myself "what can I do to help?." My question to myself was an overwhelming thought. The news from Darfur seemed to get worse and worse and I felt helpless and at times hopeless. However, every time I learned that people were uniting to raise awareness on Darfur, I began to regain hope and felt that if we all just kept talking about it, maybe some good would result. If just one more person knew about what was happening in Darfur that is one more person closer to making a difference. When I joined the Human Rights Committee I decided that I was going to make it my mission to have a voice for those who do not. We must forge ahead with whatever we can do and by talking about it and keeping aware of what is happening, we can work together to do something about it. I guess what I am trying to say is, as untouchable the situation appears to be for an effective change, we must hold on to hope.

Recently I did a Google search on 'Crisis in Darfur' and came upon an amazing tool. The United States Holocaust Museum has partnered with Google in an unprecedented online mapping initiative. The program "Crisis in Darfur," enables more than 200 million Google Earth users worldwide to better visualize the genocide unfolding in Darfur. Overtime this tool will include information on potential genocides, allowing for citizens, governments, and institutions to respond.

I liked what the Director of Unites States Holocaust Museum said about the initiative.

"Educating today's generation about the atrocities of the past and present can be enhanced by technologies such as Google Earth. When it comes to responding to genocide, the world's record is terrible. We hope this important initiative with Google will make it that much harder for the world to ignore those who need us the most."

Learn more...
http://www.ushmm.org/googleearth/

— Sara J. Bloomfield, Director, USHMM