Peace Jam Raises Money for 'Invisible Children'

Students rocked out Saturday night while simultaneously raising money for a good cause.

Peace Jam, a concert whose proceeds will directly help 14 children in Africa who have been child soldiers or prisoners of war, had raised over $20,000 for this cause by the end of the night through ticket sales, which were $15 per person.

The concert featured performances by Cause, Vizion dance team from Howard University, the Flowers High School step team, UPenn a capella group Penn Masala, Lucky Dubb and Family Portrait. Slam Poets Messiah and Jonathan Walton hosted the event.

Henna Sharma, who was Promotion Chair for Peace Jam and a group liaison for the Flowers High School step team, said “the program was a success,” and that the money raised will help these children gain scholarships to come to universities in the US next year.

Peace Jam was a part of Africa Week 2009, a series of events held on the GW campus aimed at raising awareness about the history, culture, and current events of Africa. Other events included a lecture on child labor in the cocoa industry, a discussion with State Department Foreign Affairs Officers Simone Joseph and Stuart Cramptom, Dodgeball for Darfur and the Third Annual International Festival, which featured international entertainment and cuisine and raised money for GW-UNICEF.

Africa Week 2009 was co-sponsored by several GW organizations, including GW Books for Africa, GW Students for Fair Trade, GW Warchild, and GW Ahimsa.