I

Frankel Jewish Academy
&Temple Shir Shalom

invite the community to
a free public lecture by

Rabbi Dr. Dana Evan Kaplan

FILM AS
MODERN MIDRASH

The school in Kyakagunga, where Chesterman and other Ngogo

researchers help with education, especially about conservation;
they also are raising money to get state funding for the school.

Poachers set snares throughout the
forest to catch pigs and antelopes;
this upsets the ecosystem and puts
chimpanzees and other endangered
species at risk. Four of our chimps
are missing limbs and many more
have serious injuries caused by
poaching.
The threats to the forest create
problems not only for chimps,
but also for the surrounding
communities. Rainforests prevent
soil erosion and trap moisture so
that rain, one of few water sources,
can continue to fall. With the vicious
cycle of encroachment, crop raiding
and poaching, the forest and the
villages are in danger of ecological
collapse.

Making A Difference

I graduated from Hillel Day School
and the Frankel Jewish Academy,
and grew up in Huntington Woods
as an active member of the
Habonim Dror and Young Judaea
youth movements, so social action
was part of my upbringing. I was
taught that tikkun olam, repairing
the world, is based on the idea that
the world will never be perfect, but
we, as Jews, must tirelessly pursue
that ideal.
I feel we have a duty to not only
help the villagers achieve a higher
quality of life, but also to preserve
the forest's inhabitants. Projects like
paving the road are important, but
development without conservation
hides the true issues under a veneer
of asphalt. The future of the forest
and the surrounding communities
are inextricably linked, so we need
to confront the challenges facing
both.
One solution is education:
providing villagers with the
knowledge to improve their
circumstances while conserving
their environment. This is why Aaron
Sandel and I have been working

with a school in a nearby village,
Kyakagunga ("Chah-kah-goonga").
Twenty years ago, the community
founded Kyakagunga Primary
School because the closest schools
were miles away. At first, students
learned in temporary mud shelters,
but during the last five years the
school has built four permanent
classrooms with help from Ngogo
researchers.
These four classrooms are not
enough to accommodate the
school's 150 students. Without
adequate infrastructure, the school
cannot qualify for government
funding and must rely on tuition,
which parents cannot afford.
Aaron and I are raising money to
build two more classrooms so the
school can receive state support,
making it free.
Conservation is a central part
of the curriculum. Access to free
education means that the village's
next generation will have the
tools they need to protect their
environment and break from the
cycle of poverty.
Our goal is to raise $20,000 by
Passover. Our campaign is based on
many people giving whatever they
can. We can succeed only through
collective effort.
To learn more about the school
and how to contribute, please
visit our website: igg.me/at/
NgogoChimps. I welcome your
questions and suggestions; email
me at nathan.
chesterman@gmail.com .
I will leave Ngogo in a few
months. While I may not have
another chance to visit the chimps
or take pride in the progress at
Kyakagunga school, I hope to look
back on the community, the forest
and the baboon I met on my first
day, and know that their futures are
secure.

Hollywood's Shift from Mocking Jewish
Particularism to Serious Jewish Ritual

Thursday, March I2
7:00 pm
Frankel Jewish Academy
on the West Bloomfield JCC Campus

Rabbi Dr. Dana Evan
Kaplan is one of the

leading scholars of
Reform Judaism. He is
the rabbi of theUnited
Congregation of Israelites
in Kingston, Jamaica and the Rabbi
Bernard Hooker Lecturer in Jewish

Studies at the United Theological
College of the University of the West

Indies.

He is the author of numerous publications
including The New Reform Judaism (Jewish
or
Publication Society),American Reform
Judaism:An Introduction (Rutgers U
Press), and Contemporary Debates in
udaism (Routledge).
American Reform J

RANKEL

IEWISH* ACADEMY

❑

1985470

JN

March 5 • 2015

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