|
American Hero: Alyssa Lynne Baum
If there's a single defining issue today that has inspired America's youth to action it is the genocide occurring in Darfur. For twenty-eight year old Philadelphian Alyssa Baum, taking up the cause has become the inspiration for pursuing a life in service. A simple Google search generates at least a dozen listings for Darfur-related "dot-orgs" - and that's not including the plethora of more broad-based human rights groups that have also taken up the cause.
Twenty-eight year old Alyssa Baum, facilitator of Philadelphia's Solar Cooker Project and a member of the Darfur Alert Coalition, says she's not surprised, given the uniquely horrific circumstances of the Sudan conflict.
"What's happening in Darfur is so glaringly absurd, appalling, brutal, I don't think there is one person who could shrug their shoulders and turn away, if only it was brought to their attention," says Baum. "There is something that rings out fiercely, a sort of protective instinct to stand behind those whose voices and rights have been stamped out and abused and whose lives have been marked by devastation."
Since at least 2003 the Sudanese Government and militias of the Arab Baggara tribes of Northern Sudan have waged an ethnic cleansing campaign against the country's animist and Christian tribes. The result is a humanitarian crisis of epic proportion that has left thousands of families homeless and starving.
Baum recalls how she literally stumbled upon the Darfur cause, the day she walked into a coffee shop with some friends and met Lou Ann Merkle, co-founder and executive director of Darfur Alert Coalition (www.darfuralert.org). Darfur Alert Coalition is a unique grassroots NGO comprised of Sudanese and Americans united to work for security, justice, and healing for survivors of the genocide in Darfur.
Baum found Merkle's story inspiring and was impressed by her knowledge of the history of the conflict and her dedication to doing whatever she could to ease the suffering of the Sudanese people.
"We all talked for hours, eyes bulging and jaws on the floor as we soaked up the information she divulged and all the details involved in the long-evolving crisis," she recalls. "By the time she'd left, my wheels were furiously spinning towards possible projects and actions I could take in the immediate future."
The very next day she called Merkle and before long Baum was hosting benefits to raise public awareness of the genocide. Her first gathering as part of the Darfur Alert Coalition was held at the Philadelphia Cathedral and raised $3,000. While that might not sound like much in the scheme of things, as Baum explains it, activism is an ongoing process, a large gift made up of small sacrifices - and every little bit helps.
"The first step in inciting that kind of passion is awareness," says Baum. "And the next is to present a plan in which specific, measurable results are within reach."
In this case, the money Baum raised was able to supply 100 families in Iridimi Refugee Camp in eastern Chad with solar cookers. A solar cooker is a small metal oven that generates enough heat from the sun to cook meals. The devices allow women to avoid leaving the refugee camps to gather firewood, where they are often assaulted and raped.
The benefit featured the Children of Darfur art exhibit, and Darfurian speakers and poets, which Baum says allowed for an intimate perspective of -- and connection to -- the people of Darfur and the crisis they live with everyday.
A New York native, Baum says her drive to activism goes back to high school, by which time she was already known for "having her hand in everything."
"There wasn't a club that didn't know my name or at least my face; I was always pitching in, planning something, raising my voice to prod the masses into action," she says.
In college she studied everything from philosophy to art history, until finally finishing with a bachelor's degree in communications, and minors in creative writing and studio art. She says she'd like to continue her education with graduate studies in NGO administration.
"I feel that my career path is forming as more of a life purpose towards service, rather than simply a means of earning an income," Baum explains. "I don't want to merely contribute to others; I want my life to be a contribution, to have my actions ripple onwards and out, initiating a proliferating effect and mobilizing others. I want to be a cog for community and understanding in the world."
Alyssa's Heroes: Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Ghandi, Hunter Campbell ("Patch Adams"), John Lennon, Noam Chomsky, My Grandfather.
For more information on the crisis in Darfur visit these links:
www.darfuralert.org
www.savedarfur.org
www.darfurgenocide.org
www.darfurisdying.com
www.eyesondarfur.org
www.ushmm.org
|
|
|
|
Alyssa Baum addresses the crowd at the Darfur
Alert Coalition in
Philadelphia
|
|
|
|
