On July 24th and August 1st, Healthy Women Healthy World, (HWHW) are screening Soufra at their Portland and Seattle Movie Night event, sharing their message of women’s empowerment with a new perspective around refugee connection.
Started by Medical Teams’ Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations Debra Hirsh, HWHW is a volunteer-run initiative of Medical Teams International – healing the issues women face around the world by creating community, shifting awareness, and driving action. Debra launched this initiative with the belief that empowered women will nurture the world.
It is a woman’s inherent nature to nurture. If we want to find the most sustainable solutions to our local and global issues, we must look through a lens of awareness, compassion, innovation, and inclusivity. This belief that is woven into the fabric of HWHW, as leadership team member Peg Chamberlain shared, “When you help a woman she doesn’t take to hoard, that is not the nature of a woman... She uses it to help her children, her family, and her community.”
This year, they have set their focus on our global refugee crisis. Their summer event is set to provide education around the mental health and wellness of refugees and local services available as part of the solution. HWHW provides a platform for program managers, care workers and former refugees to share their voice, letting first-hand experience provide insight, provoke thought around needed solutions, and foster understanding through compassion.
Their summer movie is an intentional gathering of like-minded women in the Portland and Seattle communities coming together to grow in awareness. Their goal is to inspire action and build support for programs that provide life-saving care for women.