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ON NOVEMBER 9, 2009, MY FIRST 40' CONTAINER WITH HOSPITAL EQUIPMENT FOR 2 HOSPITALS IN DARFUR WAS FINALLY SHIPPED FROM DENMARK!
It was the most amazing feeling to finally be able to pack the first 40' container with all the equipment I have been collecting. I started collecting in August last year as a part of my second Simple Living campaign, without knowing anything about the process of shipping such items, especially to a difficult area as Sudan. I felt very inspired by my good friend Ulrik Fredslund Andersen, who built a hospital in Guinea. At first it took a very long time to find a receiver in Darfur. There are many aid groups in the area although Sudan's president expelled many of them in March this year. However, most of them are not used to working with single persons, and I was told numerous times: “We simply don't have a form for someone like you. You can donate money through our website”. But I wanted to do more than that. I wanted to send help in more specific way and show all the people who support my campaigns, that we CAN do something. Something that helps immediately, like 50 new hospital beds, meaning 50 more patients can lie down comfortably. Finally, a big NGO agreed to work with me. I can't name them because I am on a black list in Sudan because of my first Simple Living campaign which got the atrocities committed by the government back in the media. They are NOT happy with that. The NGO provided me with a “wish list” from 2 hospitals in the North Darfur region. And then I started calling Danish hospitals, asking them to donate items on the list. Gentofte Hospital have been very very generous and within a year I had enough equipment to fill up the first 40' container. It contains 50 hospital beds complete with covers, 5 baby beds, 21 wheel chairs, 14 rollators, 25 bed tables, 70 sets of crutches, 41 drop holders and more. The receiver is the Elfasher Teaching Hospital and the Elfasher Maternity Hospital in Darfur. It feels so amazing to finally reach this point after much hard work during the past year. And the best part is that I now have a great collaboration with the hospital, so in December we will go back and fill up yet another container. Maersk Line supported the project by giving me a great offer for the shipment and the Danish organization Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke are sponsoring the shipment. JYSK has given me a great offer for covers and sheets for the hospital beds and Carlsberg has provided the storage space for the equipment until now, so all in all this has been amazing team work. I couldn't have done any off this without the help from these companies or without the help from many wonderful volunteers from Wheels Of Action, 100% For The Children, Kadaver and helpful friends. And a special thank you to Ulrik Fredslund Andersen from Living Village for inspiration and support from the very beginning. At this point I am still trying to raise funds for the fees and taxes we have to pay when the container arrives in Port Sudan. Do you know someone who can help? Can your company help? It is approximately 37.000 Danish Crones. If you can help me, please contact me: info@nadiaplesnerfoundation.org. Thank you!!! Or - order a Simple Living 2 t-shirt, all profits support this project. You can order the t-shirt here. MAY 2009: I FINALLY FOUND A RECEIVER IN DARFUR FOR THE HOSPITAL EQUIPMENT I HAVE BEEN COLLECTING! The past 6 months I have been working hard to find a receiver in Darfur for the hospital equipment I have been collecting through my second Simple Living campaign the past 10 months. It has been challenging, especially since Sudan's president Omar Hassan al-Bashir expelled all aid groups from Sudan in March this year as a response to the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court. However, a few weeks ago 2 hospitals in the North Darfur State – the peadiatric section of the Elfasher Teaching Hospital and the Elfasher Maternity Hospital - agreed to work with me and provided me with lists of the things the need the most. Luckily the things I collected already were also mentioned on the lists. I am now in contact with Gentofte Hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark who have been so kind to agree to donating some of the things mentioned on the lists and it looks like I will be able to fill up the first container very soon. STOP THE GENOCIDE IN DARFUR! My first Simple Living campaign was inspired by the medias constant coverage of completely meaningless things. My thought was: Since doing nothing but wearing designer bags and small ugly dogs apparently is enough to get you on a magazine cover, maybe it is worth a try for people who actually deserve and need attention. A few years ago as I was reading the book "Not on our watch" by Don Cheadle and John Prendergast, I felt horrified by the fact that even with the genocide and other ongoing atrocities in Darfur, Paris Hilton's prison insident was the one story getting all the attention. Is it possible that show business has outruled common sense? When we're presented with the same images in the media over and over again, we end up believing that they're important. If you can't beat them, join them! This is why I chose to mix the cruel reality with showbiz elements in my drawing "Simple Living". When I was sued by Louis Vuitton because of the bag appearing in my Simple Living drawing the campaign got a lot of media attention all over the world with the wonderful result that more than 30.000 $ was raised. I decided in the end to stop selling my t-shirts and start a new Darfur campaign. My decision to cease the sales of the first Simple Living products can not in any way be concluded as giving in to the objections from LVMH. I stand up for my artistic freedom and will continue to do so, but when my attorneys told me that we would probably have to spend 5 to 10 years in court I figured there are more efficient ways I can spend my energy. But I am puzzled by the fact that our world has come to a place where protection of copyright apparently is more important than protection of human lives and I am trying to integrate this fact in my work. My main objective was - and still is - to try and help the people suffering in Darfur. That is why I decided to stop wasting good energy on the wrong things and get my focus back on what really matters. Darfur is in immediate need of the world's attention to stop the ongoing genocide that has killed more than 400.000 people so far and sent more than 2.7 million people in exile. Success is often rated by appearance instead of human values, so my theory is that we have come to a point, where the children of Darfur (and other countries in need) have to imitate the popular western trends to get the attention that they should have had anyhow. You need to come up with very creative ways to put Darfur in the head lines now that the genocide no longer is a “new” story even though the situation is still horrific and escalating. I have deep respect for famous people who realize that they can raise awareness on the atrocities through their fame since Darfur's own story isn't enough. Don Cheadle and John Prendergast wrote the amazing book “Not on our watch” which inspired my first Simple Living campaign and Mia Farrow started a hunger strike recently to raise awareness for Darfur. Honorable initiatives but also thought provoking that the media only finds importance in their coverage of Darfur if they can mention someone famous to sell the story. My first Simple Living campaign and the reactions to the lawsuit proved that Darfur needs to be wrapped in glossy paper to be noticed. The situation in Darfur gets more and more horrific every day, for instance the helping organizations are no longer allowed to get through with neither water nor food or medicine for the refugees. Let's change focus and direction. Together we can create new standards for the world and the people in it. On July 14 2008, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued formal charges against Sudan's President, Omar al-Bashir, for genocide. How Bashir will respond is unclear. His record suggests that he could take his vengeance out on Darfuris and we need to provide the needed help now more than ever. The goal of the second Simple Living campaign is via donations to collect medical equipment and ship it to Darfur. Through Gentofte Hospital in Copenhagen, I have already received 150 pairs of new crutches and 20 wheelchairs. All 100% of the profits of the campaign are donated to sponsoring containers and shipment of the medical supplies. I have felt extremely inspired by an amazing project called Living Village, where Ulrik Fredslund-Andersen together with friends from Denmark and Guinea has raised money to build a hospital in Guinea. He, and all the people who worked with him, are a living proof to me that anything is possible if you really believe in it. Read more about the project here: http://www.living-village.com/Living-village/Afrika.html In my second Simple Living campaign I am collaborating with A Question Of, who provides fair trade t-shirts made in Tanzania: "A QUESTION OF T-shirts are made of organic African cotton and fabricated under fair trade conditions in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. When producing our T-shirts on a textile factory caring for good working conditions for their employees, we are making a small effort to support employment, better living conditions and sustainable growth in a developing nation." Watch a film from the factory: http://aqo.dk/fairtshirtmovie A SPECIAL THANK YOU To Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke for sponsoring the shipment. To Gentofte Hospital for donating all the hospital equipment. To EVERYONE who bought a Simple Living t-shirt or poster and is part of making this happen! To Ulrik Fredslund-Andersen from Living Village for unwavering support and advice. Learn more about the crisis in Darfur: http://www.savedarfur.org/content Learn more about Designers for Darfur: http://www.designersfordarfur.org/ Learn more about Living Village: http://www.living-village.com/Living-village/Afrika.html Learn more about A Question Of: http://www.aqo.dk/ |
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BECAUSE OF THE LAWSUIT 
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100 DKK/ 13 €/ 21 $ Bigger image |
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Simple Living is printed on fair trade t-shirts made in Tanzania |
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On September 18, 2008 I went to Denmark to collect my first donation: 150 pairs of crutches and 20 wheelchairs amongst other things. Amazing! |
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© Nadia Plesner 2010 • Last updated March 23 - 2010 • Visitors: 19874
