Tent being painted will go to Darfur

Residents will paint a canvas tent in central Phoenix Saturday that will be sent to the war-torn region of Darfur in Sudan, to be used as a school room. It will also be a work of art.

Painting will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Steele Indian School Park, Central Avenue and Indian School Road.

The project is part of the nationwide Tents of Hope, a one-year campaign in which schools, congregations and activists are painting tents to raise awareness about the genocide and raise funds for humanitarian relief.

Before the Phoenix tent is shipped to Sudan, it will be displayed in Washington, D.C., along with tents from around the nation. That exhibition, Nov. 7-9, will include workshops, a live feed from a Chad refugee camp and a taped message from the U.S. president-elect.

A half-dozen people from Phoenix plan to attend the Washington event, including Doreen Romney, the organizer of today's project. She is a member of Save Darfur.

The war in the Darfur region of western Sudan began in 2003. Estimates of the number of dead from violence and disease vary; the United Nations puts the number at as many as 500,000. As many as 3 million people are thought to have been displaced.

The national project has more than a dozen partners. Among the local participants is the Lost Boys of Sudan Center.

Information: www.tentsofhope.org or PhoenixSaveDarfur@gmail.com.

Megan Kellether, 17 sits on the shoulders of Austin Rivera, 17, to paint a tent to be used as a school room for the people of Darfur Saturday at Steele Indian School Park in Phoenix.