"I am Congo" video series

On May 1st, our friends at Raise Hope for Congo introduced a beautiful video series, "I am Congo."  We've shared it on Facebook but I wanted to mention it here and give you the links.  The videos each focus on one person working to make a difference in Congo, and they're really worth watching, and sharing.

Check out the intro here.   I am Congo.  

The Activist, Fidel Bafilemba.

The Human Rights lawyer, Denise Siwatula

The Community Builder, Amani Matabaro

The Artist, Petna Ndaliko

The Conservationist, Dominique Bikaba

An update on South Sudan and Sudan

I can't help but have a pit in my stomach every time I think about the worsening conditions in South Sudan and Sudan.  Violence and starvation.  Suffering.  It's absolutely heartbreaking.

This article from the BBC talks about food shortages.  

And if you're thinking, "Well that's half way around the world.  Why should I care?" We at One Million Bones think that people in need are more than enough reason to do something; but here's more reason if you need it.  You can read this article about how the escalation will impact world oil prices.  

And here's a blog post from our partners at  ENOUGH about reporting on meeting the guidelines that have been set out in Security Council Resolution 2046 which requires the governments of Sudan and South Sudan, as well as the SPLM-N, to meet a number of conditions or face the imposition of sanctions under Article 41 of the U.N. Charter. 

Please take a few minutes to send some hope out to the people who need it, and then take a few more minutes to find out what you can do to "encourage" our leaders to take some action. If you've got a few minutes after that, make a bone for the One Million Bones project.

North Carolina Re-Cap

Last week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Carl Wilkens Fellow, Scott Sutton who partnered with sculptor, Mitch Lewis to produce the Raleigh installation for the Road to Washington Campaign. Speaking with Scott about the different aspects they incoporated into their installation and how they personalized it for their community really hit home the point that this project in many ways, belongs to us all.

Scott and Mitch were able to engage local high schools and colleges and within the first three weeks of coming on board as organizers they created the first 1,000 bones of their 1,500 bones installation.

Despite Prom and upcoming finals, thirty students came to Pullen Park on that Sunday morning to lay down the bones they had made. To begin, everyone gathered as volunteers read aloud stories of struggle and survival from the Holocaust, Armenian genocide, Rwandan genocide, Darfur genocide and the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. To honor these victims and survivors, they began to silently lay down bones.

After all the bones had been laid, the group took a moment of silence over the bones before Janessa Goldbeck, spokesperson fro Make US Strong and cycling 4,200 miles from coast-to-coast to spread the word that international development (foreign aid) keeps us safe (you can learn more about Janessa and her journey here).

Scott incorporated a photo petition in to the installation.  4x6 professional photos of the installation taken by Laura Collins (2011 Carl Wilkens Fellow) surrounded by handwritten pleas to their Representatives to sign the Sudan Peace, Security and Accountability Act of 2012. Scott plans to deliver these framed petitions himself.

Although they had seen our 50,000 Bones Preview Installation Video, they still couldn’t wrap their heads around what 1,000 bones would look like.  They took a moment of silence around the bones and shared the feelings they were experiencing with one another, “It brought gravity to this situation and a sense of urgency, I mean, if this is only a thousand bones and we’re having such a reaction – think of the mass graves filled with thousands of people constantly being found – we must do something” Scott reflected to me. 

Sharing stories

We've been sharing stories from the Road to Washington campaign for the past couple weeks.  We've loved talking to the organizers and hearing their accounts; we hope you've enjyed them as well.  There are still more to share so keep an eye out on Tuesdays and Thursdays here on the OMB blog.  We'll be posting stories until we've shared them all.

For Monday, Wednesday and Friday, we'll be going back to regular blog posts, updates from our focus countries, topics of interest, the things we like to share with you that make the work we do meaningful to us.

So today, I'm going to share a blog that was written by Brian Henderson.  Brian contacted us around the April 28th Road to Washington (R2W) event in his community in Pennsylvania.  He wanted to know if One Million Bones addressed the Native American genocide and if it would be recognized during the event.  I'd be happy to talk about that in a blog at some point, but today, let me share what Brian says. We thank him for sharing his words with us.

           "All life is sacred. Yet if we looked around the world, it would seem otherwise. Have we forgotten that we are all related? That as a people we share a common interest in taking care of our Earth Mother? Fortunately, the answer in some way is yes. Then again, it can be no. For it, all comes down to each of us to decide for ourselves.

            It seems like we are in a three-way race to extinction. Not only are we trying to kill each other, we are killing the planet and the animals. This is not how Creator wanted us to live our lives. The madness has to stop before it is too late. Where is the love? The compassion?

            If we truly seek to be one nation, then we must put aside our differences. Let us rejoice in our being different. It should make life interesting. We should take our time to learn about each other. Once we get past those differences, we will see we do have a common bond and a common interest. Let us not forget that we are all children of our Earth Mother and it is our responsibility to care for her. Our actions either hurt her or help her. Unfortunately, there is more hurt then help.

            Genocide and violence are not the answer to our problems. What will it take for us as a people to learn this? Extinction? Others and I never want to see this come to pass. Yet our numbers are small and our voice can barely be heard. It is time for more people to join us and save not only us but also restore Earth Mother to what she once was before all of the harm.

            I feel this video, thanks to a wonderfully talented singer named Jana Mashonee, sums up how things should be. Please watch this and share it: 

            In closing, I wish to say a prayer:

            Creator, please hear our prayer. Open the eyes of those who do not see all life as being sacred. Let their hearts know the joy of unconditional love for everyone. May their lives change and grow to honor you. Let them know the love of our Earth Mother so that they in turn can show her love. Help those who turn from the truth that we are all related. And give them the wisdom to see our connection to each other. Please give strength and patience to us who are trying to make our world a better place. Giving us the faith to know that things will change when the time is right. Know that we love and honor you, as we really should. That we also honor our Earth Mother with all our hearts. May love truly conquer all, as we can one day become one nation. Aho."

Back to the Southwest (ish); stories from Oklahoma!

Today, I’d like to share with you a very special story about the Oklahoma City installation. Patty Ozebek, who started the One Million Bones Oklahoma Chapter joined the project early on in the campaign. We were lucky to have her join us in New Orleans for the 50,000 Bones Installation, where I was able to connect with her in person and talk about the April 28^th installation she had organized. 

The morning of the installation, before making the drive to the capital building in Oklahoma City, Patty packed up the last of the 2,745 bones- straight from the kiln to her car. Patty’s three oldest grandchildren laid the first bones, four skulls created by an artist in Denison, Texas, each of which was crafted to show signs of blunt-force trauma. The skulls faced north, east, south and west - so they could cover the whole world. Next, teenagers laid broken bone pieces around the skulls. The fifty volunteers then observed a few moments of silence before proceeding in the laying of all the bones created by the Oklahoma community.  

The Road to Washington installation was very personal for Patty, as so much of her family joined her for the installation that day.   As Patty reflected to me “You could only hear the sound of the bones clinkling on the pavement and people sniffling away their tears.” As the volunteers started reclaiming the bones, they were finding ones with messages written on them and read them aloud for the group. It was a special moment for Patty as she remembered every person who wrote a message that was read aloud.

The One Million Bones Oklahoma Chapter’s 2,745 bones raise $2,745 for CARE International through the Student’s Rebuild Challenge. Learn more about how your bone can trigger a donation by checking out their website!