The United Nations has called it the worst humanitarian crisis on earth.

A four-year tribal conflict within the Darfur region in the African country of Sudan has left at least 400,000 people dead. An estimated 500 people are killed there each day.

The United States government has described the state of affairs as genocide but has been unwilling to devote many resources to stopping the slaughter. Fortunately, there is a burgeoning movement among American citizens to help the cause.

Such is the case this weekend in Lawrence, when the Dar4Life Benefit Concert will showcase 10 bands and three acoustic acts. All of the proceeds from the concert will be donated to Genocide Intervention Network, a nonprofit organization directly funding the protection of those being threatened.

Concert organizer Ryan Davis first embraced the idea of doing something to stop this current African conflict after learning about previous ones.

“Watching movies like ‘Hotel Rwanda’ and a ‘Frontline’ special on Rwanda made me feel pretty bad,” Davis says. “It made me wish I could do something to help. Because I’ve done other bookings for bands and I play in one myself, I applied the only thing I know how to do.”

The guitarist of the Lawrence band Device first volunteered his own group for a benefit, then went about contacting other local and national acts about putting together a bill.

“Half the bands (scheduled to appear) came to me after they heard about it,” says Davis, a 2006 Kansas University graduate in human biology. “There is some rock, hard rock, acoustic rock and punk rock. They’re all doing it for a cause.”

Performers slated to appear include Downpour Prophecy, Sometimes Three, Cassiopeia, Ten Hour Drive, Fermata, Sidewise, Censura, Device, Distance to Empty and Aubrey.

“Kansas has been a really great state on this issue,” says Sam Bell, director of advocacy at the Genocide Intervention Network. “Sen. Sam Brownback has been one of our champions, if not the lead champion on this issue. He’s consistently talked about it even when no one else wants to listen.”

Bell says money from Dar4Life that is given to his nonprofit organization will go directly to supporting African Union peacekeepers.

“We’re paying to organize firewood patrols at 11 camps in Darfur. It’s when women go out of the camps to collect firewood that they are the most vulnerable to rape, torture and kidnapping,” he says.

The Washington, D.C.-based Genocide Intervention Network started as a means to give concerned Americans an opportunity to take action against genocide in a number of different ways. Bell says the group is currently giving half its money to support civilian protection initiatives in Darfur.

“It’s not only about lives lost and people living in horror, it’s also us taking a stand against tactics and crimes that shouldn’t be around anymore,” Bell says. “We’ve abolished slavery for all intents and purposes. Genocide should not be around either. People intending to eliminate whole groups of people should not exist.”

Despite not knowing anyone personally from Sudan, the 23-year-old Davis has already invested $6,000 of his own money in producing the Dar4Life concert. He is expecting between 350 and 700 people will attend Saturday’s gathering.

Davis admits to being surprised at the lack of business sponsorship interest in the event, and he’s been frustrated by some early cancellations of bigger-name acts he had originally booked.

“The concert has consumed every moment of every day,” Davis says. “I want people to know that I took this risk to help those in great need, hoping that I could also set an example.”