Thank You

The 8th grade curriculum at Hawken Middle School in Lyndhurst, Ohio, challenges all students to make a difference in the world. Unlike most of his classmates, however, Aaron Kohn did more than write a paper or a letter to Congress. Inspired by a short documentary feature on the DVD of "The Gods Must Be Crazy," Aaron made a documentary of his own. Then, he invited the documentary maker, Daniel Riesenfeld, as well as Megan Biesele and Robert Hitchcock of KPF, to speak at a conference at his school in order to raise awareness regarding the issues facing the Kalahari San. Preceding the conference, Aaron organized media coverage on NPR, local TV stations and printed press, as well as mounting a photo exhibit and publicizing the event at his school. KPF volunteer Catherine Collett also visited middle school language classes to give presentations on Ju|'hoan language and culture. The event was a great success, bringing together San scholars, the Cleveland community, Hawken students, and attendees from across the US as well as Botswana, and raising over $4,000 for KPF sponsored projects.

As a 9th grader, Aaron organized a second set of conferences and brought two San leaders to speak at his school, a local radio and TV station, and a university in Cleveland. Through these events, he raised $5,000 for the Nyae Nyae Conservancy, the Ju/'hoan peoples organization.

your school or organization be interested in hosting a similar event? Contact KPF for details!

"The reason why I chose Kalahari Peoples as the charity for my donation which was part of my award from school, was due mostly in part that I have spent the past summer living in Botswana in a homestay and working with Habitat for Humanity. I lived in the rural village of Oodi in a 2 room house with 7 siblings and my "mother". I became extremely close with them, overcoming the language barrier and learnt an infinite amount about the country and its situation, including the San people (only one of my family members spoke english so I have learnt a significant amount of setswana).

During my time in the village I taught in local primary and secondary schools, visited Bona Lesedi AIDs orphan centre in Kanye, and became extremely close with my family there and with my countless cousins and neighbours. As I spent my days making bogobe, tea, doing chores and working I additionally spent countless hours talking with the people of my village, many who were unemployed or sick and learnt much about Botswana and its future.

I chose KPF as the beneficary before leaving due to my research on Botswana and its people before leaving on my trip, but my trip and the stories I have heard and experiences that I have witnessed first hand have only enforced my choice. I also worked in Machaneng with Habitat for Humanity, working with locals building houses and making bricks. I hope that the donation will be used in Botswana and make a difference, for I have traveled the country myself and met many san who have told me their detailed stories. I have also visited Jwaneng, and questioned people involved in Debswana andknow that what is happening in the country must not go unchallenged.

Besides Botswana, I have done a lot of charity work for various organizations including Free the children (freethechildren.org) and CARE Canada's Sudan initiative. For the past year I have been having bakesales and organizing events raising a lot of money for the genocide in Sudan but once I realized the plight the san were facing in the country I was to be living in, I knew immediately I wanted to do something more than just live in the country.

I miss Botswana so much and would do anything to return but since that is not an immediate possibility, I plan to continue to fundraise more for KPF and send letters to my family at "home" in Oodi."

-Martha Chertkow

PS attached is a picture of me and 2 of my sisters in Oodi

Michael Marx attends Monte del Sol Charter School in Santa Fe, NM. He celebrated his Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, September 11, 2004, at Temple Beth Shalom in Santa Fe. His choice for his 'Tzedakah' project was to support the San (Bushmen). Tzedakah is the Hebrew word for justice. Michael's decision came when he learned that some San people had been evicted from their homeland in Botswana's Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Five San people from Botswana and South Africa visited Monte del Sol School in early September 2004, where they participated in a film project with classes there.

Michael's Rabbi commented that he was very glad Michael was making the connection between the Jews and the San, as both were exiled from their ancestral homelands and struggled to maintain their identity, language, and traditions. KPF is very thankful to Michael for his donation, as we are for the donations of other middle school and high school students over the years.