St. Catherine's Hosts Dinner for Darfur

On July 15, 2007, St. Catherine Parish in Morgan Hill hosted a Dinner for Darfur coordinated by their Social Justice team. Silvestro Akara Bakhiet from the Sudan was the guest speaker.

The Dinner was a tremendous success with over 200 attending and a total of $13,000 raised. Mario Banuelos, Social Justice Liaison for St. Catherine's said they expected about 60 and when more and more came, they just kept putting up chairs!

The funds at the Dinner will be donated to the work of Catholic Relief Services in Darfur. Estimates are that it will reach 150,000 people across Western Sudan and will help to provide food, shelter, clean water, sanitation, education, and agricultural support for those in desparate need in this humanitian crisis. The Social Justice team also put together additional information to the community on how to get involved such as fair trade, volunteer opportunities, and access to email alerts.

Congratulations to St. Catherine's and the Social Justice team as well as all involved including the Lifeteen group who provided the necessary chairs and much needed help!!

For further information on Darfur:

• CRS - Catholic Relief Services webpage on Darfur has educational and background material and ideas for further involvement.


• Save Dafur - Coalition of faith-based groups