Slovene aid agencies gather A870,000 for Darfur

Jun 26, 2006 (LJUBLJANA) — Slovenia’s agencies said Monday they have gathered and donated more than A870,000 (US$1.05 million) for Sudan’s troubled Darfur region.

They acted at the urging of President Janez Drnovsek, who has recently taken a keen personal interest in trying to solve the crisis in Sudan’s western province, where more than 180,000 people have died since the conflict erupted there in 2003. Some 2 million have been made homeless — a figure that is about the same as the population of Slovenia.

The largest fund-raising campaign in Slovenia, dubbed “World For Darfur,” was led by the Slovene Red Cross and the Catholic-run charity Caritas, as well as the Slovene branch of UNICEF and the Together Foundation.

The funds have already been sent to refugees in Darfur’s Al Hamidia camp, and should be used to help children there dealing with the consequences of the conflict. The program is set to start in the fall, if security conditions permit, the groups said in their statement.

“We hope that next spring there will be peace in Darfur,” they said.

A May 5 peace plan for Darfur, signed by the government and the main rebel group, is still being opposed by two other key rebel groups.

Drnovsek, who has recently changed his political agenda, has been focusing on Darfur. He has offered to mediate in the conflict and met one of the holdout rebels last month, but his efforts so far have been fruitless.

(ST)