Lots of good news today...

GLOBALLY,
Last night the FY2011 budget compromise passed through the U.S. Senate, and I'm happy/relieved to report that nearly all of the funding for international humanitarian aid programs remained intact.  This is great news for people around the world who are helped by these initiatives.  Thanks to everyone who signed petitions, wrote letters, and made phone calls expressing your support for international aid.

NATIONALLY,
The California State Senate passed statewide conflict-free regulations!  Under the new legislation, state agencies would be barred from contracting with businesses that aren't making efforts to comply with the new Dodd-Frank legislation that passed last year.  Not only is this an important legislative landmark, but it's also a sign that awareness of the Congo conflict is spreading across the country.  As more people become aware of the crisis, we can expect to see more grassroots movements, legislative action, and commitment to the cause.  This awareness is so critical.  I think of something Nicholas Kristof wrote in an op-ed last year:

"An ugly paradox of the 21st century is that some of our elegant symbols of modernity — smartphones, laptops and digital cameras — are built from minerals that seem to be fueling mass slaughter and rape in Congo. With throngs waiting in lines in the last few days to buy the latest iPhone, I’m thinking: What if we could harness that desperation for new technologies to the desperate need to curb the killing in central Africa?"

LOCALLY,
Preparations for our June 11 5K are rolling along!  We now have printed large posters that we are ready to start distributing around the Salt Lake area.  Would you like to put up a poster or two (or 3, or 10) for us?  Leave a comment or contact us on our facebook page and we can make arrangements to get posters to you.  We also need help contacting local businesses about in-kind donations for our prizes and our raffle items.  If you would like to donate something or help  us contact businesses, let us know.

Thanks, everyone, for your support!

Sign a Petition for Congo

It is a critical time for DR Congo and people around the world who are suffering from the effects of poverty, conflicts, and natural disasters.

Right now the U.S. legislature is threatening to make devastating cuts in international aid, slashing emergency assistance as well as programs that fight AIDS, malaria, and global hunger. Proponents of the cuts claim that they are designed to reduce the deficit, but these cuts deal with such a small proportion of the budget that they won't even make a dent. Studies show that most Americans believe that 25 percent of our national budget goes to international aid--but in reality, it's less than 1 percent of our budget.

Sign this Oxfam petition to let your representatives know that you won't tolerate these cuts, which are purely symbolic in terms of deficit reduction but that have real, tragic, devastating impacts on the lives of impoverished people around the world.

And while you're getting your petition on, check out this Change.org petition that asks President Obama and Secretary Clinton to appoint a Special Envoy to the Great Lakes region in Africa. The mass atrocities aren't showing any signs of slowing down in DR Congo, and the United States needs to step up our international leadership as we seek to understand and respond to the conflict as a global community.