Ryan Hagen
News Assistant
The Week of Peace, Hope and Justice ends with two events today as Pepperdine leaders work to raise awareness of social problems in African countries.
“Our hearts could be the difference that changes the world,” said senior James Toney at a special Convo Wednesday at 2 p.m.
Toney, founder of the nonprofit organization ACTVST and the project’s chairperson, teamed up with New York-based nonprofit Everyday People for Change (EPIC) to inform students about the struggles of less developed countries.
Pictures illustrating this theme helped kick off the week Tuesday, at a benefit art show where EPIC cofounders Tenille DeFreitas and Alexi Panos delayed their portrayals of suffering and hope to ask a simple question — “What did you do today?”
The question was meant to highlight how students often get absorbed in their own lives when even a small amount of effort can significantly improve others’ welfare.
Many students rose to the challenge. Cure International, a nonprofit organization that supports hospitals in less developed countries, received $10 for each of the nearly 100 students who committed to pray for one of five impoverished nations.
But the main goal was to raise awareness, according to Toney.
“There are so many organization students can give [aid] to, but first they have to know why they’re doing it,” said Toney, who joined forces with EPIC four months ago. “Our goal is to make people aware of [child soldiers in] Uganda, famine. . . . I know we’re only college students, but in [the world] context we’re incredibly wealthy.”
Participating students said they appreciated this message, though some were already sympathetic to the goals of the Week of Peace, Hope and Justice.
“I already pray for Third World countries, but I’m glad that they’re pledging money,” said religion grad student Erin Calderon. “We don’t talk about this enough.”
Student organizers will try to remedy that situation in the last two events of the week.
Students can sample fair trade coffee and chocolate in the Caf from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and samples of coffee will be offered. The fair trade label certifies that products meet specific requirements in six areas designed to maintain the health of consumers, producers and the environment.
The final event will be a benefit fashion show tonight in the Ocean View Amphitheater. Models will showcase ACTVST brand clothing, as well as American Apparel, FYASKO, Quiksilver and Free City. All proceeds will fund well building in Tanzania, where Panos said one quarter of children younger than five die from diarrhea, a treatable illness complicated by unsafe drinking water.
“We literally asked the people in Africa what three things they most needed,” said Panos, who lived with DeFreitas in Tanzania. “They all said the same things, in order — clean water, education, and healthcare.”
At the fashion show, Panos and DeFreitas will explain their solution to the problem. Many know the dangers of a lack of clean water, which the United Nations links to 250 million deaths every year worldwide. But few tackle source problems like this one, according to freshman JoAnne Baldwin.
“It’s really important to raise awareness of root problems,” said Baldwin, who has traveled to Africa as part of International Justice Mission and who attended the Convo. “It’s good to have campus wide [efforts].”
ACTVST has been involved in other large service projects this year, such as the letter-writing campaign to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Hospital during the event Up ’Till Dawn. Toney said he hopes to sponsor more such events to raise awareness during the rest of the year.
Panos and DeFreitas said they will likely be involved with many of those projects, as the two groups have found they make a good team.
“James found us, and we realized our goals were similar,” said DeFreitas, whose organization stands for Everyday People Initiating Change. “ACTVST brings people the truth, and EPIC shows them what they can do.
01-18-2007