Eden Jablon

News Editor

With its goal of education and advocacy, the Jewish World Watch (JWW) Yozma group introduced the exhibit “From Darkness to Light.” The exhibit, housed in the Beit Midrash, is open to all Milken students on Wednesday, February 29 and Thursday, March 1.

“The exhibit is called from ‘From Darkness to Light’ because students first learn about the darkness of genocide in Sudan, then realize that there can be hope through advocacy,” Arielle Reich ’13, co-chair of Yozma’s JWW, said.

The exhibit begins with a moving video about a Congolese woman named Renee, who suffered both rape and the deaths of her two children. Though she is not from Sudan, her suffering can be compared to that of hundreds of thousands of women in Sudan who suffer displacement, rape and murder.

“People walk in joking, laughing with their classes. As they start to watch the videos you can see their faces change,” Leah Gluck ’12, chair of Yozma’s JWW, said.

Students then learn about how difficult even daily life is for the people of Sudan. While leaving their villages is a dangerous endeavor, it is unfortunately required to collect daily necessities, like firewood. The exhibit displays pictures Sudanese children drew, most of them depicting the Janjaweed, who brutally destroyed their families.

“Seeing those pictures was really sad. When I was five I was drawing flowers and houses. It made me realize how different life is for them,” Jamie Port ’13 said.

Finally, after realizing the horror of the current events in Sudan, students are told the simple ways through which they can make a big difference. Examples include spending five hours in the JWW Walk to End Genocide or donating money to buy solar cookers that will help eliminate the need for firewood and help women stay within the protection of the village.