Darfur Green Ribbon Project

Annalise Blum and Katharine Kendrick 
Berkeley and San Francisco , CA
Issue: Genocide
Age: 18

Annalise Blum and Katharine Kendrick were brought together by a refusal to stay silent in the face of genocide. Growing up, they had learned the human cost of inaction in places like Rwanda and Guatemala, and yet they watched as history repeated itself in Darfur, Sudan. Annalise and Katherine decided to educate students at their school about the genocide by selling green ribbons—the color of Darfur awareness—and donating the funds to Sudanese refugees. Annalise and Katharine also spoke at school assemblies, screened documentaries and brought in guest speakers to teach their classmates about the ethnic cleansing. Before long, green ribbons decorated the backpacks, baseball hats, shoelaces and t-shirts of nearly every student at College Preparatory High School in Berkeley, California.

Building on the momentum of the green ribbon campaign, Annalise and Katharine designed small pins with pictures of baby chicks to raise money for the displaced. For the price of a pin, donors could buy a live chicken for a family displaced from Darfur. Not only did the chickens' eggs provide a source of food for the hungry—raising chickens provided an alternative livelihood for the refugees. Together with fellow students, Annalise and Katherine raised money to buy over 1,200 chicks.

As Annalise and Katharine addressed the emergency needs of refugees, they also fought to halt the atrocities being committed in Darfur. They organized a letter-writing campaign to pressure members of Congress to hold the Sudanese government accountable for the crimes committed on its watch.

By reaching out to other students, Annalise and Katharine were able to spread the green ribbon project to more than a dozen high schools across the country, bringing together young people nationwide who refuse to stay silent in the face of genocide.

Where are they Now?

Annalise Blum, a recipient of a NetAid Global Action Award, talks about doing tsunami relief in Thailand, teaching English in Guatemala and helping make a documentary in Cuba…all in one year. Read about her experiences >>

From a Bay Area team to the East Coast to a current Global Citizen Corps Leader, 2005 Global Action Award honoree Katherine talks about the "new life" of the Darfur Green Ribbon Project. Read about the projects expansion >>