Darfur Awareness Night at Windsor High School - Windsor Connecticut Chamber Of Commerce

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860-688-5165
261 Broad St, Windsor, CT 06095

January, 2008

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Event:

Darfur Awareness Night at Windsor High School

Date:

January 31st, 2008

A powerful student-organized event at Windsor High School will raise public awareness about genocide taking place in Darfur. People from all over Connecticut are invited to attend the free program on Thursday, January 31 at 7 p.m. in Windsor High School's Auditorium at 50 Sage Park Rd. in Windsor, Conn. Visitors should use the Tennis Court entrance of the building, off Sage Park Road and Capen Street. The snowdate is Saturday, February 2 at 7 p.m.

This special event is being organized by 11th and 12th grade Windsor High School students in Alan Strauss' Human Rights class. "These young men and women are committed to becoming part of the solution to change devastating global situations," explains Social Studies teacher Strauss, who co-teaches the class with Laurie Piecewicz, an English teacher. "For the past few months, the students have intensively researched a variety of topics including modern day human slavery, child suffering, the stoning of women, the denigration of women, and other violations of the United Nation's Declaration of Human Rights. It was totally their decision to focus this event on raising awareness about Darfur, and they have made it their personal mission to create a moving event to educate the public."

Speakers will highlight a variety of topics and explore what our responsibilities, as human beings, should be regarding Darfur. Featured will be the premiere of "The Message," a short video produced by Peter Carpenter, a senior at Windsor High School. Carpenter's work will highlight the ongoing conflict in Darfur, political view points, and what the community can do to help. Throughout the evening, students will read their own dramatic, original poems that will serve as inspirational and motivational calls-to-action. The Windsor High School Gospel Choir will perform.

Featured speakers include:

Deacon Arthur Miller of the "Connecticut Coalition to Save Darfur". The Windsor resident is Director of the Office of Black Catholic Ministries of the Hartford Archdiocese and hosts a weekly radio show;
Survivors of genocide from Southern Sudan and Rwanda;
Windsor High School teachers. They will provide historical, economic and educational perspectives of Darfur, and discuss life in the Sudan today; and
WFSB Channel 3 reporter Hena Daniels. She will talk about her recent visit to her family's homeland, Pakistan, in another devastating part of the world.
"This event is a powerful demonstration of how individuals can take action to help 'make change'", notes teacher Laurie Piecewicz. "This diverse group of students have spent months of hours during and after school to personally select and contact all of the speakers, and develop the evening's agenda," she says. "All of the elements including promotional brochures, and an in-school public service announcement that is broadcast daily during homeroom were written and produced by the class."

While the event is free to the public, donations will be accepted with all proceeds to go directly to savedarfur.org. "Save Darfur" tee-shirts and bracelets will be available for purchase. Information will be provided about the "next steps" that the audience can take.

Supervised child care will be available in the cafeteria and will include activities such as face painting and movies.

The January 31 Darfur Awareness Night at Windsor High School is free and no advance registration is necessary. For more information, visit www.windsorct.org, or contact Alan Strauss at (860) 687-2020 ext. 476 or Laurie Piecewicz at (860) 687-2020 ext. 388.