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CONTACT:
Mark BouchardAdvocacy and Education Coordinator
(502) 637-9786 / mbouchard@archlou.org
Bart Weigel, Director of Communications and Development
(502) 637-9786 / bweigel@archlou.org
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November 5, 2007
MEDIA ADVISORY
Catholic Charities Hosts A Day for Darfur at Bellarmine University
| WHAT: |
Educational Program and Panel Discussion
A Day for Darfur will be an awareness program continuing efforts to educate and engage our community regarding the humanitarian situation in the Darfur region of Sudan. The day will feature opening remarks provided by Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz, a panel discussion and presentation, table conversations with Sudanese representatives, “What we can do” breakout sessions focusing on local activities, and a meeting with Senator McConnell’s office regarding U.S. policy in the region.
Collaborative Partners
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• Archdiocesan Catholic Schools
•Bellarmine Office of Campus Ministry
•Catholic Conference of Kentucky
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•Kentucky Interfaith Task Force on Darfur
•Metro Louisville Office for International Affairs
•United Nations Association, Louisville Chapter
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| WHEN: |
Thursday, November 8, 2007
9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. |
| WHERE: |
Bellarmine University, 2001 Newburg Road
Frazier Hall (located at the rear of campus off Norris Place) |
Darfur
A deadly conflict that began more than three years ago continues in the Darfur region of Sudan. The region, about the size of Texas, consists of three states – North, South and West Darfur. It has nearly 6 million people, and because of the conflict, one third now require emergency aid. Some 200,000 people have been killed, with another 2 million displaced by the conflict within Sudan and across the border in Chad. Malnutrition, malaria and cholera are among the greatest health risks. Equally dangerous is the vast insecurity of the region. Since the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) in May 2006, insecurity has increased in the wider Darfur region. The conflict has spilled beyond the borders of Sudan, affecting people in Chad and Central African Republic. Recent negotiations between the Sudanese government and Darfur rebels have broken down, so the situation continues.
The result is a crisis that is deemed by the United Nations as the world’s greatest humanitarian emergency today, and one that has the potential to even further destabilize Africa’s largest country and its neighbors.
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The Archdiocese 
