Take Action 
1. Listen to the music of Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars and hold a listening party/fundraiser. Find out when the All Stars are playing in your area from their MySpace page, become their friend and buy their album Living Like a Refugee from their official website. Hold a listening party/fundraiser for a group helping refugees in Western Africa.
2. Investigate the relationship of so-called "blood diamonds" to the conflict in Sierra Leone. Publicize your findings and check to ensure that jewelry retailers in your community do not sell "conflict diamonds." Find out more about the issue from the United Nations' website. Be an educated consumer: from diamonds to coffee to clothing, be aware of where the products you are purchasing come from. Most products employing fair trade practices will have a fair trade certified label on the box.
4. Investigate the roots of conflicts in Sierra Leone (or other African nations) and post the results of your investigation on your blog or other relevant websites and share them with others in your community. Include the historic impact of European colonialism, current U.S. foreign policy and the practices of multinational corporations in your research.
You can start by reading through the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Report. The commission addresses the violent conflicts and human-rights abuses committed during the eleven years of the Sierra Leone Civil War and serves as a way for all Sierra Leoneans to examine their own roles in the conflict and move forward in peace and harmony. Learn more about the conflict by reading the extensive and detailed full report, or read the children's version of the Truth and Reconciliation Report, which explains what happened in simple and powerful terms.
For more background information on conflict in Sierra Leone, read the articles in this site's Sierra Leone's Civil War section and download our Delve Deeper (PDF) guide for more suggested books and videos.
5. Help draw attention to ongoing tragedies in places like Darfur or Congo. Highlight the needs of refugees affected by those conflicts. A good place to learn more is the Save Darfur website. Save Darfur is an alliance of over 100 faith-based, humanitarian and human rights organizations. Visit the website of the Washington D.C.-based advocacy organization Friends of the Congo to find out more about the on-going conflict in that region of Africa.
6. Learn about the needs of the residents of a refugee camp and find a way to help. Check out the Human Rights Organizations section to find groups that are working on these issues.
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