Westminster Students Launch Sudan Community Empowerment Project

Student activists host activities to support local refugees and build a school in Southern Sudan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Krista DeAngelis, (801) 832-2682

March 30, 2009


SALT LAKE CITY– Student activists at Westminster College will hold a series of events in April entitled the Sudan Community Empowerment Project. The project will highlight the need for aid to local refugee populations with schooling needs, education in post-genocidal communities and raise funds to continue construction of a primary school in Duk Padiet, Southern Sudan.

The goal of the project is to help end poverty and violence by promoting universal education, starting in Salt Lake and Southern Sudan. Participating Westminster groups include the student-led Social Science Club and STAND coalition, the Center for Civic Engagement and the Spiritual Life Office. This project is a part of 26 other YouthLINC Youth Service Marathon projects this April.

Sudan Community Empowerment Project events range from education, to fundraising campaigns, to direct service with at-risk populations. The events are all FREE and open to the public.

• April 3, 6 p.m. – Free showing of Invisible Children’s latest film, “The Rescue,” in the Gore Auditorium in the Bill and Vieve Gore School of Business.
• April 8, 11 a.m. – A Die-In highlighting the horror of genocide currently gripping Darfur in the Manford A. Shaw Center.
• April 13-17, All day – “The Spark of Hope: Healing and Reconciliation in Rwanda” photography exhibit by local artist, writer and activist Chris Noble in the Giovale Library Tower Reading Room.
• April 13, 7 p.m. – Opening reception for the photography exhibit and 7:30 p.m. presentations from Chris Noble and Louis Gakumba, local student activist and founder of “The World is Naked” organization at Gore Auditorium in the Bill and Vieve Gore School of Business.
• April 13-17, All day – The Two-Dollar Challenge fundraiser, benefitting the construction of a primary school in post-genocide Duk Padiet, Southern Sudan. Location: On campus.
• April 20, 7:30 p.m. – Free speech discussion on education in the Manford A. Shaw Center.
• April 25, 4 p.m. – The DROP, an international interfaith service event. Location: On campus.
•  April 28 – Hunger Banquet benefitting the Ouelessebougou Utah Alliance at the Little American Hotel.
• May 12, All Day – Camp Darfur educational display throughout the Westminster College campus.

For more information about these events, please search for “Social Science Club” on the Westminster homepage at http://www.westminstercollege.edu or contact Amanda Ruiz at (801) 832-2805.

About Westminster:
Westminster is a nationally recognized, comprehensive liberal arts college. With a broad array of graduate and undergraduate programs, Westminster is distinguished by its unique environment for learning. Westminster prepares students for success through active and engaged learning, real world experiences and its vibrant campus community. Westminster’s unique location, adjacent to the Rocky Mountains and to the dynamic city of Salt Lake, further enriches the college experience. For more information, visit www.westminstercollege.edu or check out WestminsterSLC on Twitter.