US Actress Angelina Jolie donates $50,000 to Sudan refugees

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 09, 2004 (UPI) — U.S. Actress Angelina Jolie, a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, personally donated $50,000 to Sudanese refugees.

Chief U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard said Jolie is urging individuals and corporations around the world to donate money to help Sudanese refugees in Chad.

UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond said Jolie’s donation was for water projects in Chad, where an estimated 110,000 Sudanese refugees have gathered after escaping civil conflict in Sudan’s western Darfur region.

Redmond said Jolie called on other individuals to help finance the projects, which supply clean water to the arid, desert areas where the refugees have taken temporary shelter.

The UNHCR spokesman said the actress was the first person “to make a major private donation” to the agency’s emergency appeal for Chad. So far only $7.5 million of the $20 million needed has been received.