The screening of the movie “A Walk To Beautiful” and our own “Footsteps To Healing” newly released video drew a large crowd at the Hollywood Theater last week. We are humbled by the response many people have to the maternal conditions that occur in Ethiopia and other parts of the world.
The video I shot for our film was the first time I used the Canon 5DM2’s video capability, and I was amazed at the quality results.
My work surrounding maternal health in Ethiopia has been included on the Stirring The Fire website, and I was invited to chat with Phil Borges about the direction of the project. I will return to Ethiopia in January 2011 for a month, and perhaps as early as November 2010 to continue documenting the maternal issues which rural Ethiopian women face.
Just returned from a very quick trip to the Mt. Shasta area, where I photographed University of Washington alumni monks who have lived in the Shasta Abbey monastery for over 20 years. I only had a few hours to create images, but it was a thoroughly delightful time.
The world is small: the monk who led me around grew up as a boy in California with one of the doctors who is involved with our Ethiopia maternal health efforts.
We are pleased to announce that our book, Footsteps To Healing, has been published! This book relays the intimately personal stories of three Ethiopian women and the maternal health issues they each endure. In the book, we also outline solutions to help alleviate and heal the various conditions.
Maternal health issues in Ethiopia and other developing nations around the world are devastating to women. Help us take steps to provide medical training to local health officials, donations of materials, and medical attention to those countries that need it most.
Purchase the book here: http://stores.lulu.com/ethiopianwomen
Many thanks to David Maier’s Mt. Hood Community College Integrated Media class for taking on the design project, and to student Julia Art for her beautiful design work.
Join us for a celebration and rally around the lives of Ethiopian women! Invitation is here.
I will be giving a lecture on Humanitarian Photography on April 21 a 7:00pm at Oregon Health & Sciences University’s Center For Women’s Health.
Here is a link to sign up. Seating is limited, so registration is required.
Humanitarian Photography Lecture
1859 Magazine is now on the shelves, and they ran a 10 page spread of my images from the “Lesser Man Vs Wild” article on survival training in Umpqua forest.
They also ran an image and story from the recent Ethiopia medical trip.
Our first collaborative story about the Ethiopia medical trip was published this week in Goodness Magazine. It is wonderful to see the story in print, even though it was difficult to narrow the focus to certain aspects. There were so many intertwined stories, all worth telling.
It looks like we will be going back to Ethiopia in early 2011 to stay a month. I will travel with a team of doctors and nurses to a very remote area, where we will focus on obstructive childbirth issues. I will also be documenting the lifestyle of a rural Ethiopian woman, in an in-depth manner.
Global Soul International, a 501c3 organization, will help us with fund-raising for this effort. Donations are also accepted online here under the Projects section.
One of Portland’s most successful private practices, Everywoman’s Health, sent two surgeons to assist with the surgeries in Ethiopia. Owners Dr. Philippa Ribbink and Dr. Kim Suriano took time from their busy schedules to provide care to the women in Ethiopia. Their partners back home had to fill in during their absence, so appreciation goes to the whole practice for assisting with this incredibly important work.
Read Dr. Philippa Ribbink’s first hand account on her blog.
