Teen makes movie, raises awareness about crisis in Darfur

By Jennifer Burke  

Catholic News Service

ONTARIO, N.Y. (CNS) -- Erin Schultz has never been to the Darfur region of Sudan but that has not stopped her from reaching out to ease the suffering of the people in that region.

After learning that Darfur is currently in the throes of a crisis so violent that many are classifying it as genocide, 15-year-old Erin, who lives in Ontario, created a short movie about the crisis and e-mailed it to everyone she knows.

She had only intended to raise awareness about the problem, but she has also raised approximately $2,000 for relief efforts in Darfur.

Last year at this time, Erin had barely even heard of Darfur. She was active in the youth group at her parish, St. Mary of the Lake in Ontario, and had volunteered at a food bank a few times, but she had never been overly involved in activist efforts. She did, however, regularly read news magazines and that’s where she first learned about what was happening in Darfur.

“I found it horrible how almost nobody knew” about what was going on there, she told the Catholic Courier, newspaper of the Rochester Diocese. She found out more information from news stories and Web sites devoted to raise awareness of the crisis.

Then she used a computer program to put together a five-minute movie that incorporates photos from Darfur, statistics about the number of people killed, injured and displaced, and a poem written by a Sudanese man who fled the country on foot when he was a teen.

She showed the video to her parish youth group, then she e-mailed it and asked friends and family members to pass it on.

In early February, the parish youth group raised money for relief efforts in Darfur when they took part in a national effort called Souper Bowl of Caring. Through this program, youth groups collect money in soup pots after Masses on Super Bowl Sunday and donate the proceeds to charities of their choice.

The teens raised $582.87 that weekend. Those who donated received a prayer card and a petition to send to President George W. Bush, asking him to push for a stronger multinational force to protect the people of Darfur.

Although there is no mention of fundraising in Erin’s video, people who saw the video soon started sending donations to Erin and Carol May, youth minister at St. Mary of the Lake, who then forwarded the money to Catholic Relief Services asking that the funds be used only for humanitarian aid in Darfur. Erin hopes to eventually raise $10,000 for this relief work, but says fundraising is not her primary goal.

“That’s second. I’d really rather raise a lot of awareness,” she said.

May was so impressed with Erin’s efforts that she nominated her for the town’s “Catch a Kid Who Cares Award” honoring children and teens who do kind deeds. The town supervisor presented Erin with a certificate this spring.

“It was nice,” she said. “I just like that it’s going to spread more awareness, not because I want to have my name in the paper.”

Editor’s Note: Donations for Darfur relief may be sent by check to: Erin’s Darfur Project, c/o St. Mary of the Lake Parish, 5823 Walworth Rd., Ontario, NY 14519. Copies of Erin Schultz’s movie on Darfur are available by contacting Carol May at: (315) 524-2611.