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HOLLYWOOD
HUMANITARIANS ASSIST CRITICAL UN AIR OPERATIONS IN DARFUR
(MaximsNews)
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UNITED
NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / 07
April 2008 -(Originally
published 13 March 2008) -A
few days after the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned its air
transports for aid workers in war-ravaged Darfur could be grounded for lack of
funds, an organization of Hollywood celebrities has provided the first donation
of the year to keep it running.
WFP’s
Humanitarian Air Service (WFP-HAS) has received $500,000 from Not On Our Watch,
the humanitarian organization founded by actors George Clooney, Don Cheadle,
Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, producer Jerry Weintraub and civil rights lawyer David
Pressman, the agency said today.
WFP-HAS
announced earlier this week that by the end of March it would be forced to
ground the helicopters and aeroplanes that carry 8,000 relief workers, along
with supplies, to remote parts of the vast region because no confirmed donations
had arrived toward its $77 million budget this year.
Most
passengers using the service, which began operations in 2004, are staff members
of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) providing assistance in health care,
water and sanitation or food relief.
"Having
seen first hand the epic humanitarian challenge in Darfur, George Clooney and
his colleagues know the life saving power of the Humanitarian Air Service,”
WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran said.
“This
contribution will make a difference to the millions of vulnerable women and
children trapped there, and we hope it will inspire other donations,” she
added.
In 2007,
Not On Our Watch granted $1 million dollars to the WFP-HAS, whose monthly budget
to run its 24 aircraft throughout North and South Sudan, including Darfur, runs
to $6.2 million.
“We
are proud to help ensure the survival of this lifesaving program and strongly
encourage others to do the same,” said UN Messenger of Peace and award-winning
actor George Clooney, who recently returned from a visit to Darfur with
peacekeeping officials.
“Protection
of these victims should not fall solely in the hands of charitable
organizations,” he added. “Governments have a responsibility to help those
who cannot defend themselves.”
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