We did it! Tents of Hope splashes color and compassion in Washington DC!

Below are excerpts from an email sent from the National Coordinator of the Tents of Hope campaign recapping the event and updating us the efforts and things needed to move forward even further on the project.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear Friends,

In June 2007, I began a 40-day train trip around the country to speak about Darfur and ask activists, students and people of faith about an idea for a new one-year campaign called Tents of Hope. We launched the campaign in September 2007.

Would the campaign take off? I wasn’t sure. I had many discussions with Darfur activists about low morale in the Darfur movement and I spoke about my concerns with Elly Simmons, a brilliant Marin artist with a long history of social activism. We thought the idea of painting tents would work because it could bring communities together in a creative and fun way. But the task of organizing Tents of Hope was daunting. We had no office, no staff and no money. We only had an idea. I was very discouraged and wondered if we should give up.

Then something remarkable happened. In January 2008, we began to receive calls from dozens of small towns across the country. Youth directors at churches and synagogues and teachers at K-12 schools wanted to use the tents as a way to teach young people about the world and social responsibility. In the end, over 400 cities in 48 states and 8 countries had joined the campaign.

The “Gathering of the Tents” at the National Mall in Washington DC on November 7-9 was incredibly successful. Almost 400 tents were on the National Mall! The tents are beautiful works of art and a powerful message of our solidarity with the people of Darfur.

We did it! In the coming weeks, we will post your stories, photos and media coverage on the website. (www.tentsofhope.org) I encourage everyone to continue this creative dialogue of hope and compassion as we work together for an end to the genocide in Darfur.

The campaign still faces some challenging financial hurdles. We will be sending hundreds of tents to Darfur through the Darfur Peace and Development Organization. We need your financial help to ship the tents to Darfur. Please consider making a donation online at www.tentsofhope.org. Small donations are welcomed just as much as large ones because Tents of Hope has always been about people everywhere pitching in to help.

My understanding of the Darfur Movement has been radically transformed. I used to think that hope would arise from a change of policy toward Sudan by the international community. In other words, I thought that hope for ending the genocide in Darfur rested in the hands of governments. It doesn’t. You are the hope. It may take many years for peace and justice to come to Sudan. At times, we may get discouraged and want to give up. The only thing that will keep us going in this movement to end genocide in Darfur is the strength that we get from one another. We are a community of compassion. Compassion is a powerful force for change. It allows us to see that we all belong to one human family and that we have a responsibility to one another. When you look at the images and messages on the tents, you will see this consciousness of global solidarity in every color and every language.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your decision to act on your compassion and desire for peace and justice in Sudan by participating in the Tents of Hope campaign. Remember, you are the hope.

With gratitude and joy,
Tim Nonn
National Coordinator
Tents of Hope

The Patchwork Tent

One tent that had an exceptional story was a patchwork tent. Half of the squares were painted by elementary school children in California, and the rest of the squares were done by children in Darfur. The differences in the images painted on the squares were shocking. The squares done by American children were pretty typical, spread with images of flowers and butterflies, however the images on the squares by Darfuri children carried some images that were difficult to absorb. Rather than showing images of butterflies and rainbows, the squares depicted pictures of men with guns, and houses being burned....everyday images in their lives.

Here are some of their pictures...

The way the tent was constructed was quite interesting as well. There were more squares from American children than were Darfuri children. With that unbalance, the Darfuri squares were all in a strip in the middle of the tent, with the American squares surrounding them. Those who put the tent together did that to symbolize how those in Darfur are constantly being thought of and prayed for by people in America.

Tune in later to see the full story of this tent through video!

What a huge day today!

We arrived on the National Mall shortly after 9:00 this morning. By that time, the hustle and bustle of the day started to pick up and both tourists and locals were out in full force. Since we had thirteen tents all packed into a fifteen passenger van, we were given a super cool permit thingy to put in our front window that allowed us to drive on the National Mall. Not many people can say they've done that before!

Once we checked in and were given our assignments on where we were supposed to set up, we began the long process of unloading the van, and getting the tents where we wanted them. It was quite the site to see what our space (which was very large) looked like before and after setting up the tents! Naturally, after setting up thirteen tents, we had things down to a science. We also had a lot of extra people come help us out, since we had so many tents. They were AMAZED at how many tents came from one area, and enjoyed walking around and looking at them all.

After getting all the tents up and situated, we then took some time to walk around and see what other tents looked like. Yeah...they were pretty amazing. It was fascinating to see the tents done by professional artists, and also tents that were done by children. They all carried the same message, but all had a different way of depicting it.

Arrival!

Well, the tents have made it to Washington D.C.! After battling traffic for quite a bit, the tents arrived in D.C. at about 5:00 last night. Throughout the day we passed through Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and finally D.C...lots of time in the car, but well worth it.

Because of the traffic we missed registration and set-up time, so we will be wandering over to the National Mall first thing this morning to get the set-up process under way.

Late last night we went over to look at the tents that are already set up, and about the only word to use to describe it is: WOW. The amount of tents that were up, along with the tents still sitting waiting to be set up was amazing! It was evident (even without people around) that this project was a HUGE stand against the genocide in Darfur. It was very cool to see all the different designs on the tents, and to see the tents done by artists. Since it was dark out, we did not get many good pictures....so check back in later today to see just how many tents are up!

13 tents & 6 states!

Hello Everyone!

We're writing you from the great state of Pennsylvania. Yesterday morning we packed up the tents, and left Appleton with Ohio as the destination. After a nine-hour drive, we made it to Camp Mowana--an ELCA camp in central Ohio. The weather so far has been fantastic, and traffic has had its slow moments, but for the most part has been GREAT! We're hoping to make it to Washington D.C. later this afternoon, to register and set up the tents.

Stay tuned for pictures of your tent set up on the National Mall!
Dara

Journey of the Tents!

A number of ECSW congregations and campers at Crossways
have been working on painting tents for Tents of Hope,
a project designed to raise awareness of the genocide happening
in Darfur.

The time has come for the final culmination of this nationwide
project with the Gathering Of Tents event on the National Mall in
Washington D.C in November. This weekend of prayer and education
will be the sending event for the tents before they travel
across the world to Darfur, Sudan to be put to use in providing
shelter for refugees in the region.



View Larger Map