|
'Bella'
Star & Producer Return from Successful Aid Mission to Sudan
in Spite of Heighted Concerns After Arrest Warrant Issued
for al-Bashir
March
2009 - Sudán
LOS
ANGELES, Mar. 31. Just 10 days after the International Criminal
Court (ICC) at the Hague issued its first-ever arrest warrant
for a sitting head of state, Sudanese President Omar Hassan
al-Bashir, three international aid organizations entered
the country to continue their collective mission of hope.
This despite the fact that Bashir responded to the warrant
by expelling more than a dozen other foreign aid organizations
already in Sudan, and State Department warnings that it
was unsafe to travel in country at this time. Under the
leadership of the Persecution Project Foundation and its
president, Brad Phillips, the Human Rights Education and
Relief Organization (HERO) and Manto de Guadalupe (MdG)
went to the Darfur region to inspect 26 new water wells
the Persecution Project had built and to distribute $2 million
in food, medicine and other aid.
"It
was a privilege to be a part of this trip with the Persecution
Project. Brad truly puts his faith into action. His work
should serve as an inspiration to all concerned with the
plight of human rights, and I hope that all will recognize
that it is possible to make a difference to those who are
suffering," said Eduardo Verįstegui, founder of MdG, an
organization dedicated to providing housing for the impoverished
in developing countries. In the last six years, it's
estimated that 500,000 people were killed in Darfur and
2 million more have become internally displaced refugees.
The Persecution Project is serving a region in Darfur that
has grown from less than 100 people to 90,000 in the same
time period.
Verįstegui
is a household name the world over after his recent turn
as producer and star of the motion picture Bella, which
won the "People's Choice Award" at the 2006 Toronto Film
Festival. It was during pre-release tours for Bella that
the public experienced firsthand that Verįstegui stood out
among his Hollywood peers. He would often engage audiences
on the need for socially responsible film-making and how
his rekindled faith had given him a sense of ownership and
personal responsibility over his work. "We must all remember
to keep the plight of these precious people in our prayers.
But it is equally important to remember the scriptural warning
that 'faith without works is dead,' and therefore we must
also back our prayers with whatever actions we can rally,"
concluded Verįstegui.
"I've
known Brad for many years and we have often discussed his
invaluable work, but it was truly humbling to experience
it firsthand on this trip," stated Jason S. Jones, president
of HERO. Jones, a co-executive producer of Bella, has long
been involved in defending the dignity of the human person
throughout the United States and has recently expanded that
work to the international arena. An often-sought-after public
speaker, Jones was almost at a loss for words to describe
the profound impact this trip has had. While on the trip,
Jones arranged for HERO to purchase a healthy cow to provide
milk for an orphanage and school that the Persecution Project
supports. "HERO is committed to promoting the dignity of
the human person at all stages, from the child in womb to
the child in Darfur. From the embryo to the elderly, we
must be consistent in our stand to honor the intrinsic worth
of every person," Jones said.
The Great Campaign is an association of organizations that
is dedicated to the whole-life ethic, which recognizes and
respects the dignity of the human person.
|
