'Iolani School art teacher Cheri Keefer packs 20 children into an 8-by-10-foot canvas tent.

“;This is your home,”; she tells them.

She points to the ground.

  “;This is your bed,”; she says. “;There's no electricity, water or bathroom. You only have the clothes on your back.”;

The students find it hard to believe that someone could live without everyday conveniences, Keefer says.

Yet those are precisely the desolate living conditions endured by refugees in the Darfur region of Sudan.

Keefer plans to begin her art/consciousness-raising lesson by squeezing each of her 26 classes, from kindergarten to sixth grade, inside the tent so they can better understand the refugees' plight.

Up to 300,000 people have been killed and more than 2.5 million have been forced from their homes in Darfur since 2003, when ethnic African groups rebelled against the Arab-dominated government.

A United Nations resolution referred an investigation of killings and other crimes in Darfur to the International Criminal Court.

Keefer's 500 students are painting the inside and outside of the tent with vivid images of Hawaii as part of a nationwide Tents of Hope interfaith project. Decorated tents from all 50 states will be displayed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Nov. 7-9 as part of an awareness/fundraising campaign.

Each class will work on what previous classes started until the tent is sent to Washington on Oct. 31.

Sixth-grader Katherine Hiraoka said a giant rainbow, palm trees, Diamond Head and flowers were “;supposed to represent Hawaii and spread hope and aloha to the people chased out of their homes.”;

Bryson Hamada, a sixth-grader painting a Diamond Head scene, said, “;Mrs. Keefer told us the people were forced out of their homes and are trying to seek a place of refuge. We're trying to tell them there's hope and love.”;

Keefer said 'Iolani's tent will be the only one from Hawaii and that all 50 tents will be shipped to Darfur after the display at the National Mall.

A local philanthropist, who is an Iolani alumnus and wants to remain anonymous, donated the $500 for a kit delivered in the mail that consisted of the tent, PVC frame, rope and stakes, Keefer said.

Lisa Ritts, a contemporary-issues teacher at 'Iolani whose class sponsored a fundraiser for Darfur last year, learned about the project from the philanthropist, who had asked whether anyone would be interested in participating.

“;I immediately jumped on it because I love group projects,”; said Keefer, who has witnessed the poverty in two trips to Africa. “;Our kids are taught to participate in community projects. Character education is one of our main pushes at 'Iolani. (Through this project) they are made very aware of the problems other people have; it makes them realize how fortunate they are.

“;They'll remember why and what they're doing because they're having fun doing it,”; she added.