Put the Active in Activism: Walk to End Genocide

This post was written by our guest blogger:
Janice Kamenir-Reznik, the Co-Founder and President of Jewish World Watch.
Jewish World Watch is a leading organization in the fight against genocide and mass atrocities with particular focus on Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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Our headlines are full: government repression in North Korea, targeting of Muslims in Burma, sectarian violence in Central African Republic and South Sudan, and continuing conflict in Syria. With so many injustices near and far, how do we decide where to show our support?

As Rabbi Schulweis, my esteemed fellow co-founder of JWW, says, the response to this is not “either/or,” but “and/also.” We recognize those tragedies, but we do not ignore the cause we have dedicated ourselves to for ten years, since our founding in 2004. The situation is still dire in Darfur and Congo. Just a few weeks ago, “35 villages were burned to ashes” in Darfur, leaving many casualties and thousands displaced. Congo continues to be plagued by marauding militias, leaving tens of thousands traumatized and in need of all matter of support.

How do we address this? April is Genocide Awareness Month, and so every year around this time, we hold our Annual Walks to End Genocide. We walk to educate the greater community about the conflicts and to show our government that there is a large constituency– thousands of Walkers representing hundreds of thousands throughout the country– that is passionate about this cause. This year, we have five Walks in California, including one in Orange County, as well as our first annual Walk in New York.

At each Walk, we will feature opportunities to advocate and support JWW’s life-saving projects on the ground in Congo and the Darfuri refugee camps. Follow us on Facebook to see our advocates in action!

We are also hosting the Tents of Hope, a parallel to I-Act’s Camp Darfur (our Redondo Beach neighbors). While each tent in Camp Darfur houses information about a different genocide, the Tents of Hope each represent a different community that has come to Walk to End Genocide. In the months leading up to the Walk, they educated their community about the conflicts in Sudan and Congo, and then decorated canvas that will be sent to the JWW-supported Little Ripples project, a pre-school education program. The canvas will be used to create shaded play areas for the Little Ripples students. It will be a beautiful and moving addition to our Walk.

Can’t make it to the walk? Become a virtual Walker. You can still bring your effort and passion to the cause, even from afar.

Just remember: every step you take, every dollar you raise serves to help our cause. Register today!

Visit our Walk website for dates and further information about each walk.