Dear Sudan is a charitable campaign to support humanitarian relief in the Darfur region of Sudan. The original campaign began in 2004 in Petaluma, California as "Dear Sudan, Love Petaluma" and was founded by Tim Nonn. The goal was to raise enough money to feed 55,000 refugees for one day – equal to the population of Petaluma. Since each Sudanese refugee requires only 16 cents per day for food provided through a program supported by the Church World Service, the goal was to raise $8,800. The "Dear Sudan, Love Petaluma," campaign surpassed its goal in just a few months.
From this successful venture, a national effort arose, endorsed and supported by Church World Service, the American Jewish World Service and several national religious denominations. Dear Sudan is an interfaith, community-wide movement with three basic goals:
- To raise funds for Sudanese refugees and displaced persons;
- To end the genocide in Darfur, Sudan; and,
- To educate the public about the crisis in Sudan.
Dear Sudan is based in Petaluma, California, with dozens of similar local campaigns scattered across the United States.
Text of the Dear Sudan letter
Local Dear Sudan campaigns adapt the original Dear Sudan letter for their own communities:
Dear Sudan, We see your suffering, dying people. We refuse to turn away from genocide. We care enough to feed ____________ refugees in Sudan for one day. That is the population of our community. We trust that other communities will do the same. We are striving to ensure that Sudanese displaced by violence will not have to die from starvation and disease. We know what it is like to be mothers and fathers, children and grandparents, friends and community. We also know that even though you are far away, you are like us, mothers and fathers, children and grandparents, friends and community. We are making a modest contribution so that you may live another day. You may never know our names, and we may never know your names, but we are one. Love, Anytown, USA