Delta Tau Delta (DTD) fraternity will today be hosting the Boston premiere of "Rebuilding Hope," Gabriel Bol Deng's documentary about a group of Sudanese refugees, as part of its commitment to the Sudan cause.
The film follows the return of three "lost boys" to their homes in Darfur in the aftermath of their displacement by the civil war in Sudan.
It will be screened at 8 p.m. in Cabot Auditorium and will be followed by a question−and−answer session with Deng, the founder of the nonprofit organization HOPE for Ariang.
"We're really happy to be hosting Gabe and his documentary," sophomore Andrew Brinson, president of DTD, said.
Deng founded HOPE for Ariang to provide education and health services to people affected by the conflict in Sudan. Among other things, the organization helps build schools and provides resources, such as food and vaccinations, to schoolchildren.
DTD last September sponsored Deng's first visit to Tufts, during which he shared his experiences in Darfur.
Sophomore Ben Davis, DTD's philanthropy chair, said that the fraternity is bringing Deng and his documentary back to campus as a continuation of its involvement with HOPE for Ariang. "We're glad to have [the film] here," he said.
Davis said that the film's message was an uplifting and encouraging one that the fraternity wanted to share with Tufts community.
"It follows [Deng] and two other lost boys of Sudan who returned to Sudan in 2007," Davis said. "It's a really inspiring film, so we wanted to give people the opportunity to meet him and be inspired by him, so we raised the money to bring him back in April."
Sophomore Alex Stein, the event's co−organizer, agreed and added that the fraternity's interaction with Deng has had an impact on the DTD brothers.
"It put a lot of things in perspective," Stein said. "It's been really inspiring to our fraternity, and we hope it will be as inspiring to everyone at Tufts who comes to see it."
The DTD brothers have decided to adopt a school in Darfur as their philanthropic cause, which Stein says makes Deng's cause especially relevant.
Brinson explained that the fraternity has already raised a significant amount of money for the school.
"We were lucky that we met [Deng] and got paired up … we've raised a little bit over $2,500 already," Brinson said.
"Hopefully by the end of the semester, it will be $3,500. It's something we look forward to doing. This will be the charity we'll be raising for in years to come … [The organization] is looking to break ground on a school in Ariang soon."
Brinson pointed to the school as a milestone achievement for the fraternity's efforts.
"We kind of always envisioned it as a two−part thing — raise interest on campus about [Deng's] cause, help our fraternity … [The school] is essentially the culmination of a little bit over 12 months of fundraising," Brinson said.
Stein hopes the screening in Cabot will also lead to a local partnership. "We're hoping to connect with Somerville Theatre and work out a partnership to get Gabe's documentary presented at the theater," Stein said.
He expressed his hope that the film screening will promote student involvement in the Sudanese cause.
"What I hope is that [students] will get a better education about the causes affecting this area, and that they will gain a better understanding of opportunities to get involved," Stein said.
He added that student participation in the cause will help raise awareness about the situation in Darfur.
"Tufts students have a certain awareness of privilege, and it's important to be aware of a scenario that's the complete opposite of the Tufts environment," Stein said.
DTD will continue to work with Deng and HOPE for Ariang. "It's a continued cause,;we hope it will … set a momentum and be a catalyst for further donation to this cause," Stein said.
"We will definitely … continue to work with and raise money for this cause," Davis said.
Brinson added that DTD was last semester awarded the Tisch Civic Engagement Fund award, a $1,000 grant from the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service supporting active citizenship projects.
