On July 19th, I depart for Congo. It will be my first visit. After serving as Executive Director of Jewish World Watch for a year, I know all too well the horrific statistics illustrating the chaos, lawlessness, and violence that plague the country I will soon see. An estimated 1,100 women are raped every day…
I feel blessed and extremely fortunate to have gone through the experience of a lifetime traveling in Central Africa with Jewish World Watch. My eyes have been opened and my mind illuminated by the views and lifestyles of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. This journey has broadened my perception of the world and…
WHY are you going THERE? I traveled to Congo to bear witness. Everyone said I was so brave to go, but I discovered that I was not the brave one. The people of Congo who have survived and prevailed under dire circumstances are some of the most courageous people I have ever had the privilege…
“Congo? Rwanda? Jewish World Watch? Janice, can I go with you?” That’s how it started — helping people and experiencing a great adventure to add to my list of life adventures. My initial reasons for going do not do justice to this journey. Ten days with JWW has enhanced and deepened my understanding of genocide,…
The day is May 30th, 2014. As we all approach our fourth day out of our nine day mission, the objectives that we have accomplished and achieved are unbelievable, yet there is still so much more to do. Yesterday was one of the most fulfilling days that our group has had thus far. It began…
Friends and even my family are incredulous. They ask me, “WHY are you going there?” And they ask, “Why are you going THERE?” This trip to Rwanda and Congo I am embarking upon makes so much sense to me. As a child I was exposed to the horrors of the Holocaust, as a young adult…
I am ecstatic to be going to Africa with Jewish World Watch as a representative of the Dillon Henry Foundation. My family is from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which provided me with a household to be raised under Congolese traditions and customs as a first-generation African in America. Our background originates from the Bakongo…
It’s a few days before I leave for a much anticipated voyage. Although I have experienced a great deal for a West Los Angeles woman – Peace Corps in the 60s, social worker in the 70s, 80s and 90s, and Ethiopia, India and the former Soviet Union – I know this trip to Congo and…
As the President of Jewish World Watch, I encounter one question, again and again: why do you bother? The question can creep up slowly in conversation. Someone will remark, “Well, is there anything we can really do to help those suffering in Africa? Aren’t you just proposing band aids, not solutions?” Others convey the sentiment…
“Education through Action” By: Rabbi Chaim Tureff, Rav Beit Sefer Originally appeared in the Pressman Academy Shmoozer, November Edition. In school there are many concepts and ideas that are taught. Not all of them are taught in a book, on an I-Pad or through a lecture. Through our Middle School Tikkun Olam curriculum, Got Mitzvah?,…