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Darfur the focus of Power of You’s energy

Mystic arts gathering at MY Place next weekend

What: The Power Of You

Where: MY Millennium Place

When: Sept. 9-10

Tickets: $19.95

There were several events in Whistler last January organized in response to the devastating Tsunami that hit Southeast Asia on Boxing Day.

Most had a financial aid focus – imploring participants to open their wallets to help those in need.

One event, however, also encouraged participants to open their minds, sending their healing psychic energy along with their financial aid to the Tsunami afflicted, and gaining a heightened awareness of their own place in the global community in the process.

The Power Of You presented a fusion of culture and spirituality, organized by a team captained by mystic arts practitioner and advocate Kelly Oswald, owner and proprietor of The Oracle shop at Nesters and the West Coast Institute of Mystic Arts in North Vancouver, and Christian Kessner, a Whistler-based can-do man who would go on to form the Higher Ground Entertainment event planning company with partner Jessica Salvador in March, 2005.

The event took place in the theatre at Millennium Place and featured an eclectic lineup of guest speakers, photography, First Nations drumming, dance and healing arts such as Tibetan Singing Bowls and guided meditation. In addition to the main event, the Power Of You featured a silent auction, raffle, psychic readings and massage with an intermission performance by Whistler reggae players Kostaman.

According to Oswald, the evening raised approximately $7,000 from ticket sales and additional donations, which was forwarded to UNICEF for relief in Southeast Asia.

Oswald and Higher Ground have come together again to stage the second Power Of You event at Millennium Place next weekend. This time, it’s the people affected by the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan who will be the recipients of the event’s financial donations, compassionate spirituality and healing energies.

Oswald and Higher Ground have expanded the upcoming Power Of You into a two-day event featuring a Celebration gala evening on Friday, Sept. 9 and a series of workshops on Saturday, Sept. 10.

The Power Of You Celebration will feature guest speakers offering what Oswald deems "wise words on relationships, laughter, (and) life purpose," live music and an African drumming performance. The event is also bringing back the Tibetan Singing Bowls – a collection of metal bowls in a variety of sizes that produce resonances when struck and are said to have healing effects – and another session of guided meditation involving the entire theatre. In addition there will be hors d’oeuvres and the return of Kostaman for another world beat/reggae set at intermission.

The Sept. 10 lineup includes workshops dealing with intuition, sound healing, relationships (in context of personal growth), non-spontaneous laughter, numerology, rhythm and tools for accessing life purpose – a journey through body, mind and spirit.

Admission to each of the Power Of You workshops and tickets for the Celebration event are $19.95 with proceeds donated to the Darfur crisis via UNICEF. A two-year conflict between rebels in the Darfur region in Western Sudan and the Sudanese government in Khartoum allied with an Arab militia known as the Janjaweed has resulted in what the United Nations describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

A U.N. News Centre article dated Aug. 25, 2005 estimates the fighting has resulted in 180,000 dead and a wave of displacement resulting in nearly 2 million people in Sudanese camps and 200,000 others displaced in refugee camps in neighbouring Chad. More than 3 million people are estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance.

While the scope of the crisis may seem overwhelming, Kessner said that’s no reason to turn away.

"I think it’s sad when people close their eyes and don’t realize what’s taking place," he remarked. "It’s essential for people to realize these events are taking place in the world and that it’s important to make a stand and make a difference, and every dollar counts."

"If you can make a difference to one person’s life, why wouldn’t you?" Oswald said. "If you look at Whistler, we’re so lucky. If you took one of those people and brought them here they would be so overwhelmed. I just feel we’re in heaven; they’re in hell. What can we do to give them a hand?"

Oswald also reiterated the concept of The Power Of You as not simply a call for aid, but as an opportunity for participants to experience personal growth and reflect on their place as citizens of a global community.

"If we’re all connected and we are all one then we’re part of those people that are suffering in Darfur," Oswald said. "The world comes to Whistler and it would be nice if Whistler went out to the world."

Those interested in making a donation in support of the Power Of You who can’t participate in the events next weekend are encouraged to do so directly through UNICEF at www.unicef.ca. For more information on the Power Of You go to www.thepowerofyou.org.

SIDEBAR

Conflict in Sudan

Februrary 2003: Rebel factions in southern Sudan rise against the government claiming their region is being neglected by the administration in Khartoum.

January 2004: The Sudanese army moves in against the rebel uprising, displacing hundreds of thousands of villagers in the southwestern Darfur region to neighbouring Chad. Allied with the Khartoum government in their fight against the rebels are the Janjaweed, an Arab militia whose repressive tactics in Darfur include mass rape, systematic killings and the burning and looting of villages.

September 2004: U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell declares the situation in Darfur to constitute genocide.

January 2005: Government and southern rebels sign a peace deal with accords on wealth and power sharing. A U.N. report accuses the government and militias of systematic abuses in Darfur but stops short of calling the violence "genocide."

April 2005: International donors pledge $4.5 billion in aid to southern Sudan.

June 2005: A reconciliation deal is signed between the government and the exiled National Democratic Alliance rebel opposition allowing the NDA into a power-sharing administration.

July 9, 2005: Former southern rebel leader John Garang is sworn in as first vice-president. A constitution offering a large degree of autonomy to the south is signed.

Aug. 1, 2005: The government in Khartoum announces the death of Garang in an air crash, sparking clashes in the capital between southern and northern factions.

Aug. 24, 2005: The number of people killed in the region over the course of the two-year conflict is estimated by the U.N. at 180,000 with 2 million people displaced within Sudan and another 200,000 living in refugee camps in neighbouring Chad. More than 3 million people in Darfur are said to be in need of humanitarian assistance. The systematic rape of displaced women and burning of villages in Darfur continues.

Sources: www.bbc.co.uk, www.un.org.