Promoting Health and Human Rights
“With Those Who Have No Voice”
Box 1761,
Decatur, GA 30031
Tel. & Fax: 404-377-3566
E-mail: dghinfo at dghonline.org
In This Issue:
DGH Reporter is edited & designed by Monica Sanchez. You can e-mail your comments, suggestions and article ideas.
DGH is administered by a volunteer Board of Directors whose members have volunteered with DGH a minimum of three years and are elected by DGH Voting Members. The Board is assisted by an Advisory Council composed of over 200 physicians, students, retirees, artists, nurses, business people and others. A diverse group of volunteers provides the vital core of DGH's resources, including this newsletter. DGH has no paid employee. Incorporated in the state of Georgia and registered with the IRS as a 501(c)3 not-for-profit, DGH welcomes your donation, which is tax deductible. To donate, please make your check out to Doctors for Global Health and send it to the address above. You will receive a letter stating the amount of your gift for tax purposes, and the very good feeling of having helped make a difference.
President & CEO
Vice-President
Chairperson & Public Relations Counsel
Treasurer (CFO)
Secretary
Registrar
Domestic Volunteer Coordinator
International Volunteer Co-Coordinator
Advocacy Counsel
Liberation Medicine Counsel
Board Alternate & International Volunteer Co-Coordinator
Board Alternate
in Uganda
on noitazilabolG
the FTAA
in the Arts
Wood
Board of Directors
Jennifer Kasper, MD, MPH
Audrey Lenhart, MA, MPH
Monica Sanchez
Clyde Smith, MS
Joy Mockbee, MD, MPH
Elyanne Ratcliffe, MD
Wendy L. Hobson-Rohrer, MD
Karen Leiter, JD, MPH
Shirley Novak, MA
Lanny Smith, MD, MPH, DTM&H
Daniel Bausch, MD, MPH
Linnea Capps, MD, MPH
Guillermo Hidalgo, MD
Wendy Johnson, MD
Stephen Miller, MD
George Pauk, MD
Andrew Schiavoni, MD, MA
Denise Zwahlen, PA-C, MPH
Jennifer Perry-Hidalgo, RN
Nick Mantini
Doctors for Global Health (DGH) believes there is an intrinsic relationship between art, health, education and human rights. Art has been an integral part of DGH since it began. The volunteers who founded DGH felt a strong link between their work and the inspiration offered by the arts in all its forms, from books to films to music. Art was used in the very first DGH project to help make learning about health fun and interesting through community theater. Below are two personal stories that exemplify how art continues to play an important role in the work of DGH.
By Ilille Sawady |
Day to day life in Estancia, El Salvador is a tremendous challenge for its residents, as even the essential needs of education, medical attention, nutrition and sanitation are a constant struggle to meet. Generations of marginalization and the atrocities of a 12-year long civil war devastated this already impoverished community.
Thirteen years ago in this tough, rural, war-torn environment, a project of accompaniment, Building Health Where the Peace Is New, began. Bringing together leaders from the community with volunteers from around the world, this project, initiated by DGH founding president Lanny Smith, has helped bring about extraordinary progress. Together, the community and nonprofit organizations like DGH and Médecins du Monde (Physicians of the World-France) have built a medical clinic and early childhood development centers, initiated adult literacy programs, constructed roads and bridges, and recruited volunteers from around the world.
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I traveled to Estancia in 2003 to visit my brother Joel, a medical student and long-term DGH volunteer in that community. I requested and received consent from the community and DGH to pursue a photography project there. It was a perfect opportunity to explore my interest in photojournalism. The combination of my multicultural upbringing, my international travels as a child, and a natural attraction to the visual arts initially drew me to this field. I was also influenced by my father, a doctor-turned-photographer, who put a camera in my hands and exposed me at an early age to a private archive of National Geographic and Life magazines.
Furthermore, while studying psychology at Bard College, I spent a year in India and moved on after graduation to a special education placement in Louisiana with Teach for America. It was during this time that I began to use the camera as a medium for social awareness. I felt a passionate drive to tell the truth about the world I saw. From my first photographs as a teacher in rural Louisiana to my work in El Salvador, I have felt compelled to give a face and a voice to the communities I encounter.
Visions from Within is the photographic rendering of my encounter with the people of Estancia and the intricate discoveries I made there. It is a documentation of the local community and the work of Asociación Campesina para el Desarrollo Humano (Peasant Association for Human Development), the nonprofit organization founded a few years ago by the community itself.
Visions from Within is a study of people that allowed me to examine, embrace and ultimately capture the raw human emotions of the community that welcomed me. The doors of homes opened along with silent nods and curiosity that matched my own. The laughter of children muted the sounds of the shutter as they became comfortable with me. Dark eyes gazed deeply into the camera with a piercing urgency. It was in these intimate creative moments that I felt a deep sense of responsibility to pursue the journey I began with Visions from Within.
Every day I worked on this project brought an unforeseen adventure. While trekking miles with heavy equipment, the shutter clicked in sync with the inspiration that moved my feet through dirt paths and the sweat from my brow dripped onto my viewfinder. My aim was to capture the empowerment I felt from the members of the community as they strive to secure a better life for themselves and generations to follow. While many images illustrate immense poverty, they more importantly speak of the community's strength, potential for change and capacity for joy. It is the vision from within the community that inspired my work.
Visions From Within was made possible with generous support from DGH and individual donations. The photographs from this project are being used to raise money and develop resources for Estancia and DGH, and in publicity campaigns throughout the US and El Salvador. You can see more images from Visions From Within at www.ilillesawady.com.
