People talk about “compassion fatigue” when they talk about the state of activism around the Darfur genocide these days. But nothing could have been further from the truth at Calabasas High School near Los Angeles last Monday night, where nearly 300 students from about a dozen area high schools turned out to rally with Jewish World Watch for the Darfur Dream Team’s Sister Schools Project. In a unique and generous partnership, Jewish World Watch has partnered with both area high school students and the Enough Project to raise funds to build two schools in the Djabal refugee camp in Chad to provide a building, teachers, and school supplies for over 4,000 high school students in the camp.
The evening was particularly exciting for three reasons: first, two-time NBA All-Star and Clippers guard Baron Davis came to the event to thank the students for their passion and to play a round of Knock Out with 10 lucky students; second, Enough Project Co-Founder John Prendergast was on hand to accept the $115,000 check from JWW (and to play some hoops); and third, students from JWW’s Activist Certification and Training program (ACT!) took the lead in coordinating and participating in the event and in raising the funds. In fact, students raised an additional $2,000 that night to work towards funding a third school!
While Jewish World Watch continues its education, advocacy, and refugee relief efforts for the people of Darfur, we also recently launched a new campaign, Congo Now! and have begun a collaborative partnership with Enough’s RAISE Hope for Congo campaign. We look forward to more opportunities to work with the Enough Project and others in the activist community for the benefit of the people of Sudan and eastern Congo.
Here are some highlights from our event:
Tzivia Schwartz Getzug serves as the Executive Director of Jewish World Watch.