Westmont Magazine Helping the Poor and the Enslaved

Art for Life

In its first exhibition of the season, Reynolds Gallery used art to draw attention to the continuing problem of poverty by pairing 36 etchings by Rembrandt of the poor in 17th century Holland with eight oversize, color photographs by South African artist Zwelethu Mthethwa of the poor and marginalized in present-day Mozambique. Admission to the gallery is free, but this exhibition featured an alms box near the door that invited visitors to help the poor. The gallery raised $300 and donated it in honor of Mthethwa to World Vision in support of a school sanitation and hygiene education project in central Mozambique. “It’s a great example of the way art helps us understand the world and goads us into action,” says Judy L. Larson, Askew professor of art.

Training to End Trafficking

Last summer, Westmont’s Clunie Conference Center, the home of the San Francisco Urban Program, hosted more than 100 modern abolitionists for the Not For Sale Campaign’s Investigator’s Academy. College students, retirees and professionals came from the United States, Canada, Australia and beyond. Arriving as strangers, they left as a community dedicated to the eradication of human trafficking. Westmont Professor Karen Andrews and several Urban alumni participated. “I’ve appreciated meeting people who are passionately involved in fighting human trafficking,” she says. She’s joining the San Francisco Community Coalition against Human Trafficking.

Inspired by “Not for Sale,” the book by alumnus David Batstone ’80, the Academy teaches participants to identify the most likely places in a community where human trafficking occurs, understand the major warning signs of modern slavery, and work for change.

Five students in Westmont’s Urban Program have interned with Not For Sale and helped it become a leading source of information about trafficking. Such internships help students integrate their classroom experiences with real-life situations and make a difference in the world.