On Friday, September 15, 12 Nobel Peace Prize winners gathered in Denver, Colorado to voice their desire for the building of education and peace in impoverished and war-torn areas of the world. This was the largest-ever gathering of Nobel Laureates on US soil. Luminaries such as the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu attended to speak out against global conflicts and increased military spending at the expense of human health and welfare, especially children’s rights. As a part of this momentous conference, Debi Wexler, CEO of the premier online diamond retailer Whiteflash.com, presented the new Dreams of Africa(TM) pendant to WCCCI founder Betty Williams, a 1976 Nobel Peace Prize winner, to support the company’s commitment to providing safe havens and educational opportunities for children.
Signifying the beginning of a charitable partnership between the two organizations, 100% of the sales proceeds of this $4,400 conflict-free diamond pendant necklace will be donated to the WCCCI in the creation and support of learning centers to provide a second chance for children to be educated about peace.
“Our Dreams of Africa are not for partial peace. They are for total peace,” Wexler said. “Betty and I are aligned in our vision to build safe and nurturing environments for children who need a second chance in life. If we start teaching peace at the beginning of these young children’s education, we will help these children to shine like brilliant diamonds for the world.”
Specifically, Whiteflash.com will focus on efforts to help children who have suffered from conflicts in Sierra Leone, Liberia and other African countries. Conflict or “blood” diamonds are illicitly smuggled diamonds, the sales of which are used to finance wars against countries’ legitimate governments.
“We need consumers to understand that there is a huge difference between blood diamonds and conflict-free diamonds,” said Wexler. “Not all diamonds are ill-gotten. When diamond mining is undertaken in the correct manner, without child labor or government conflict, the profits build infrastructure and serve as a source of livelihood for hundreds of thousands of people. As a socially responsible design company in the diamond industry, we believe it is our duty to support children who have suffered under blood diamond conflicts and to create awareness in order to combat such illicit diamond trade.”
In coming months, Whiteflash.com and WCCCI will work to establish the first center for learning, headquartered in Italy, with the purpose of providing scholarships for children from Sierra Leone and other African countries, and to instill values of peace and understanding during these children’s’ early education. Land has already been donated by the Italian government to start these centers until hot spots of conflict stabilize in vulnerable areas of Africa. Whiteflash.com and WCCCI will also work to develop a web site that features the Dreams of Africa(TM) pendant as well as information on the largely-successful United Nations resolution, the “Kimberly Process,” which uses rigorous tracking to ensure that illegal blood diamonds are not available for sale around the world.
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Diamond Jewellery US 
December 1, 2008 at 4:14 pm |
Now that’s what I call genuine charity with a noble cause! Donating 100% of the sales proceeds for the creation of learning centers is truly an admirable act of total support for the less-fortunate children of the world. I also believe in the promotion of conflict-free diamonds and I hope that what Debi and Betty has started will be successfully carried out to total fulfillment of their goals.