Virtual Activism: Connecting Online to Raise Darfur Awareness
Ana Slavin
Massachusetts
Since 2003, over 400,000 people have been killed in Darfur, a western region of Sudan, a country in northeast Africa. The Janjaweed militia*, who is backed by the Sudanese government, has been responsible for this atrocity. Just because this conflict is taking place in Africa, though, doesn't mean that you can't make a difference. 16-year-old Ana Slavin, who attends Northfield Mount Hermon School in Northfield, Massachusetts, has proven this by launching Dollars for Darfur with her friend and classmate Nick Anderson. Dollars for Darfur is a campaign geared toward teenagers all over the United States encouraging high schools to raise money to help Darfuri refugees, and raising awareness of the situation in the hope of ending the genocide* in Darfur.
Teen Voices: How did you first hear about the current situation in Darfur?
Ana: I got into the topic over the summer. I had an internship at Wellesley College and I was doing research on gender based violence in developing countries*, and Darfur was obviously a huge topic.
Teen Voices: When did you first get involved with activism projects?
Ana: I've been doing activism projects for a while. When I lived at home, I was a part of my church youth group, so my freshman year I went to Jamaica for a week with that youth group. We helped rebuild some of the buildings in the village we were staying in and visited women's shelters and connected with people.
Teen Voices: You and your friend started Dollars for Darfur; can you tell us how the organization works?
Ana: Sure. We have Facebook and MySpace pages set-up, and the idea is high schools from across the country will set up a page that links to our Dollars for Darfur website and through that high schools can raise money and donate it. So we use Facebook and MySpace to spread awareness and reach out to people as much as possible.
Teen Voices: Where did you get the idea to use Facebook and MySpace?
Ana: Well, Nick and I were brainstorming. We're both regular users of Facebook and MySpace, and we know that everyone we're friends with signs on these websites. We just figured that it would be a great resource to get so many people involved in such a short span of time.
Teen Voices: And how are these groups on Facebook and MySpace working out?
Ana: Very well. So far, we have over 3,800 members on Facebook and 425 members on MySpace. And we got the 3,800 on Facebook just from Nick and I inviting our friends from our personal web pages and having them expand and invite all their friends.
Teen Voices: A lot of people talk about how something should be done to help the people of Darfur, but you and your friend, along with high schools across the country, are actually doing something about it. What was it that inspired you to take action?
Ana: I think Nick and I both feel that our generation has the kind of will power and the passion to do something; it's just that most kids don't feel like they have a means of doing it. So we thought that if we could set up something that would make it easy for kids to do that, it would just take off, and everyone would be willing to get involved.
Teen Voices: What steps did you take to transform your project from an idea into a reality?
Ana: Our first step was going to the organization Save Darfur. We contacted them briefly about our idea, and they asked us to come to Washington, D.C. So over the summer Nick and I flew down and met with the representatives of Save Darfur and they just loved the idea. So we decided to go with it and it became a campaign, like a branch off their organization.
Teen Voices: What do you hope that your group will accomplish in the future?
Ana: Our goal is to raise $200,000. It's more than just about the money, it's spreading the kind of message that if you have an idea and you go with it, that it can make a huge difference.
Teen Voices: Where are you in your goal right now? How many schools have signed up?
Ana: Our goal is to have 1,000 schools across the country involved. So far we are at 828. And we have collected $26,000 so far, with over 1.2 million dollars pledged.
Teen Voices: When did you start the group?
Ana: The challenge started on November 17, 2006 and it ends April 21, 2007.
Teen Voices: What sort of obstacles did you have to overcome in organizing this group?
Ana: When we first started, it seemed to really be taking off. The numbers were increasing rapidly and we were really excited about it. After the initial response, we sort of experienced a lull in how many people were signing up. So that was a little frustrating. Recently, we've seen another increase in numbers and more people contacting us through Facebook asking for ideas for fundraising and telling us their ideas. People are working towards raising the money; they just haven't raised it yet. It's looking hopeful, it's just it can be nerve-wracking sometimes and we think we may not reach our goal.
Teen Voices: Are there any other activist projects that you would like to become involved with?
Ana: I'd like to continue Dollars for Darfur, just not in the capacity of the challenge, but still working for Darfur, raising money for Darfur, and raising awareness. Our organization will stay after the challenge; it's just that a prize won't be offered to any more schools that participate.
Teen Voices: What would you say to girls who see a problem in the world and want to do something about it?
Ana: I'd say, if you have an idea and the passion to drive forward with the idea, just go with it. Even if you don't reach your goal, if you don't succeed to the fullest, taking that first initiative will make a difference and will help somebody somewhere.
*Militia: a group of citizens who serve as military soldiers.
*Genocide: when one group attempts to completely kill off another group of people because of their race, political views, nationality or culture.
*Developing countries: countries that are working toward economic growth.
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