Tufts' newest Greek addition, Delta Tau Delta (DTD) fraternity, will host one of the lost boys of Sudan tomorrow night in an effort to reach out to the Tufts community in nontraditional ways.
Gabriel Bol Deng, one of the many people displaced by the recent Sudanese civil war, will speak in the Sophia Gordon Multipurpose Room at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday about his experiences in the war-torn nation.
"It's unbelievable, what he has been through and what he has survived," DTD philanthropy chair Ben Davis said. "It's incredibly inspirational."
Deng is the founder of HOPE for Ariang, a nonprofit organization that works to provide education and health services to people affected by the conflict in Sudan. HOPE stands for Helping Offer Primary Education, and the charity is currently constructing a classroom in Ariang, a village in southern Sudan. The central goal of HOPE is the construction of primary schools, but the organization also works to provide food, clean water and vaccinations to schoolchildren and to promote gender equality through education.
Tomorrow night's presentation aims to raise awareness and motivate Tufts students to join in DTD's efforts to fundraise for the charity.
"The reason this event is free and open to everybody is because we thought this would be a great way to generate interest and to have students see Gabriel's presentation on our upcoming fundraising efforts throughout the year," Davis, a sophomore, said.
DTD hopes to have raised over $3,500 for the organization by the time Deng returns to Tufts in March to screen "Rebuilding Hope," his documentary exploring the connections between the conflicts in southern Sudan and Darfur.
While DTD could have chosen a school closer to Tufts, sponsoring a school in Sudan "was a good fit," DTD brother junior Han Chen said.
Davis said that his involvement in the student anti-genocide coalition STAND (Students Taking Action Now Darfur) in high school prompted his support for Deng's cause.
"We didn't even really consider any other options because this was our idea from the beginning," Davis said.
Deng visited Tufts last semester to go over the details of the project with DTD brothers. The brothers on the fraternity's philanthropy commission took Deng to an informal dinner in Dewick-Macphie dining hall. "We thought he was going to just talk about himself, but he wanted to eat dinner and get to know us," Davis said.
After dinner, DTD brothers viewed parts of Deng's presentation in the campus center. "It was then that we realized this was something we wanted to do," Davis said.
In conjunction with the presentation, DTD has reached out to clubs and organizations that share an international focus, including STAND, Pangea and the Tisch College of Active Citizenship, to help in fundraising efforts.
"[This event is about] Greeks partnering with some of the most motivated students on campus to work together to make life better for those who are most in need," DTD President Chas Morrison, a junior, said.
Deng's speech is the first of a multi-part effort by DTD to raise money for the organization.
Later this semester, the fraternity plans to stage dorm wars in which dorms compete to raise money for HOPE for Ariang.
One of DTD's broader aims this semester is to bridge the gap between Greek and non-Greek organizations at Tufts and to reestablish an active presence on campus. The fraternity returned to campus last spring after a four-year suspension.
"When we came back last semester, we came back with a very specific mission: to create a new pathway and connection between Greek organizations and other parts of campus that are not traditionally associated with Greek Life," Morrison said. "We think this is a good way to further that mission."
Davis drew a clear distinction between HOPE and other nonprofits. "It's very direct," Davis said. "This isn't some big organization we're just giving money to. We're giving money to Gabriel so that he can go to Sudan and build these projects with his own hands," he said.
Davis is confident the fraternity will reach its fundraising goals. "We don't think the $3,500 is going to be a problem," Davis said. "We want to raise a lot more than that to donate to this cause."
Morrison advised students to come early to hear Deng speak. "It's going to be a great presentation," he said.
