Gabe raises awareness for JWW's Backpack Project.

The realm of social action and tzedakah is vast and intimidating. Many of us stand in the face of suffering, grief and oppression and wonder how on earth we could make even the smallest difference. You can imagine, then, that when I learned about these two teenagers, each of whom is making a difference in the lives of literally hundreds—even thousands—of refugees in Darfur, I wasn’t only humbled—I was floored.

Gabe Ferrick and Shelby Layne are members of Jewish World Watch (JWW), a California-based organization that aims to fight genocide and other violations of human rights through education, advocacy and relief. Founded by Rabbi Harold Schulweis and his congregant, Janice Kamenir Reznik, JWW unites Jews from all backgrounds and movements and is passionately committed to “‘Never Again’ [being] silent in the face of genocide.”

Read on to learn about these two exceptional teen members of JWW and what they’re doing to change the world.

Gabe Ferrick
When Gabe was in fifth grade, his class was taught two lessons on Darfur—and that did it. After hearing about the horrors and injustices of genocide and refugee life, Gabe decided he wanted to make a difference. The young Santa Rosa, Calif., native went to his rabbi to see how he could help—and guess where he was directed. That’s right, to JWW, and it was a match made in social-action heaven.

Gabe learned about JWW’s Backpack Project, an effort to provide the 15,000 school-aged children who have fled the genocide in Darfur for the Oure Cassoni refugee camp with well-stocked school packs. A donation of only $36 is enough to provide one child with a backpack containing shoes, books, school supplies, soap and a toothbrush, but most important, as Gabe said, “Each backpack also contains something intangible but vital to their well-being: HOPE.”

Gabe decided to start a letter-writing campaign, asking his friends and family for donations on behalf of the Backpack Project. The response was sensational—Gabe raised $7,500, a sum matched dollar for dollar by a family foundation to total $15,000. 

In addition to raising money for the Backpack Project, Gabe helped organize “mitzvah day” at his synagogue. For one of the activities, he and other congregants made more than 150 tags for the Backpack Tag Project, an effort to create personalized tags for each backpack. Gabe has also been a featured speaker at several schools and synagogues, during which he discusses his inspirational involvement in and dedication to social-action causes.

At just 13, Gabe has high aspirations and a record of success. When I asked him about his dreams for the future, he said he’d like to start a non-profit one day and perhaps get involved in a cause that would aid Sierra Leone. This is definitely one young teen on a mission.  

Shelby Layne
When Shelby Layne’s father came home one day from an American-Jewish Committee (AJC) meeting and shared what he had learned, Shelby knew she had to jump into action. JWW had spoken at the AJC meeting and had shared with the attendees the goals of its Solar Cookers Project.

Darfurian women living at the Iridimi refugee camp are forced to put themselves in great personal peril—risking assault and rape—every time they leave the confines of the camp to search for firewood to cook food for their families. JWW’s Solar Cooker Project provides sun-powered portable stoves for women and their families so they’re no longer faced with making that dangerous journey for firewood—and only $30 provides two stoves. A recent evaluation of the project shows that refugee women are now taking 86 percent fewer trips out of the camp to look for firewood. To date, JWW has outfitted the entire Iridimi camp with solar cookers and is now working to outfit the Touloum and Oure Cassoni camps as well.

“I felt fortunate. I knew the value of my own family,” said 17-year-old Shelby. When thinking about how she could get involved, she asked herself, “What skills do I have?” That’s when the idea of a jewelry sale came to mind. Shelby asked for donations of old jewelry and skillfully refashioned each piece.

Shelby found the community response astounding—locals got involved (and bought, bought, bought!), shop owners opened their doors and synagogues welcomed mitzvah-day jewelry sales. Holding her first major sale in September 2006, Shelby has held several since and has raised a groundbreaking $40,000 for the Solar Cooker Project.

“What keeps me going is knowing that I’m making a difference—even a little bit of my own money makes a tangible difference,” she said. “Actually providing a solar cooker—it doesn’t get more literal or direct than that.”

And she didn’t stop there. Shelby also founded a Darfur awareness and activist club at her high school and has rallied and inspired her fellow students to get involved in the cause. The club is part of the JWW Activist Certification and Training (ACT) program.

What’s next for this high-school senior? “I see this as a journey I’m on, rather than a mission I have to accomplish. There’s a sense of not knowing what’s next,” she said. “It’s invigorating.”

For more information about JWW, visit jewishworldwatch.org.

Liz Imber is a JVibe editorial intern. She loves singing, Scotland and reading crime thrillers.