UPDATE: Lincolnite raising funds, awareness for those in Sudan crisis

UPDATE:

Mesoun Hassan and Adong Akot are both Sudanese immigrants.

They said their relatives have been impacted by the ongoing conflict there in the country by militant groups backed by the Sudanese government.

“My uncle, he actually escaped to America when he was 8 years old because militant groups were after his village,” Akot said.  “They burned down his village and they took his stepsister and they burned her alive in a hut.”

Hassan said she still has some memories of when she lived in the infamous Darfur region.

“One experience when they attacked my mom’s village one day, but it’s nothing too profound,” Hassan said.  “I just remember us running somewhere.”

Hassan said she’s lost family members since the genocide started in 2003, while others are living in refugee camps.

Last year, Hassan started a fundraiser to provide clothing, food and medical assistance to those caught in the middle of the Darfur crisis.

“There aren’t necessarily any medical institutions that can provide people with medical assistance, nor are there organizations or aid programs that are actively working to feed people who are also dying of hunger and starvation at large,” she said.

They said they hope the fundraiser will also serve as a way to raise awareness to the war and the broader violence in Sudan, like that surrounding the recent protests.

“A lot of people have been arrested, there’s been a lot of mass rapes that’s going on right now, there’s a lot of displacements that’s happening in that region,” Akot said.  “I feel like there’s just not a lot of news outlets that are raising awareness right now.”

Hassan said she’s also hoping to organize an event in the future to kind of bring the Darfur genocide into conversation here in America.

You can donate to Hassan’s fundraiser at: https://www.gofundme.com/letssavedarfur?member=387384&utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_email%2Binvitesupporters

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It’s a fundraiser for aid, but also a shout out for awareness.

A young Lincolnite is trying to do something to impact those affected by the turmoil in Sudan.

Mesoun Hassan, who said she immigrated here from Sudan when she was 6, said she still has some memories of when she lived in the infamous Darfur region.

“One experience when they attacked my mom’s village one day, but it’s nothing too profound,” Hassan said.  “I just remember us running somewhere.”

Hassan said she’s lost family members since the genocide started in 2003, while others are living in refugee camps.

She started a fundraiser last year to provide clothing, food and medical assistance to those caught in the middle of the Darfur crisis.

“There aren’t necessarily any medical institutions that can provide people with medical assistance, nor are there organizations or aid programs that are actively working to feed people who are also dying of hunger and starvation at large,” Hassan said.

She said she hopes the fundraiser will also serve as a something to raise awareness to the war in Darfur and the broader violence in Sudan.

You can donate to Hassan’s fundraiser at: https://www.gofundme.com/letssavedarfur?member=387384&utm_medium=email&utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_email%2Binvitesupporters