TOPEKA, Kansas, Mar. 20, 2007 -- Genocide in Africa is the focus of a bill moving through the Kansas legislature as some lawmakers try to do something about a tragedy half a world away.

The lawmakers are trying to do something about the bloodshed in Sudan for one reason: Many think Kansas is contributing to the problem.

Refugees are on the run from Darfur, a region in western Sudan where rebel factions are killing and raping Africans. Others are dieing of starvation. Some call it genocide, putting the death toll near 400,000.

"I think something should be done about it," said Senator Donald Betts, (D-Wichita).

Donald Betts is not with the United Nations, nor is he a U.S. ambassador. Rather, he is a Kansas state senator. The tragedy in Darfur is top of his mind.

"Young girls are raped and maimed and young boys are being murdered, massacred. It should be on the top of our list," said Betts.

So Betts introduced a bill that prevents state retirement funds from being invested "in a company with business operations in Sudan." Companies like Petro China, which Kansas currently invests in. Petro China, in turn, buys millions in Sudanese oil.

Critics charge that money is being used by Sudan to buy weapons and support genocide.

"If our dollars are going to the blood of young babies and the raped, we're contributing to this atrocity," said Betts.

The Kansas Senate agrees. They have passed the bill unanimously. The challenge now is to get it through the House.

Matthew Vines is an unlikely champion of this cause. In fact, he leads the Darfur action committee at Wichita's East High School. 150 students are on board and wearing ribbons as a reminder to others. Some have followed Vines to Topeka to force legislators to listen.

"I think it's also important for our state legislators to hear that it's an important issue for Kansas constituents and not just something they read about in the media," said Vines, East High School junior.

Kansas is one of 22 states now considering such legislation. Seven states have already passed it in some form. The hope now is that the loss of money to Sudan will not only talk, but save lives.

"And hopefully that pressure, with those resources being taken away, they'll realize, 'hey, this is costing us more than we intended,'" said Betts.

Though the United States has called the Darfur crisis "genocide", Sudan and China have made arguments against that saying the death toll has been seriously inflated. In the meantime, pushing this bill through the Kansas House has proven more difficult than the Senate. That's why Matthew Vines is spending his spring break lobbying in Topeka.

For more information on this effort, you can log on to DivestKansas.org.