Where Women Have No Doctor was a collaborative project of hundreds of women worldwide to bring information on reproductive health and women’s lives to poor women without access to basic health care and information. It is now translated into over 30 languages from Iban (language of the Longhouse People of Sarawac East Malasia), to Bengali. Written in simple language and with more than 1500 illustrations, it depicts women from all cultures and their shared problems and solutions. It was written to be used by the village health worker or anyone who could read or be read to and who wanted to improve women’s health and lives.
While it is a valuable resource that we at Grounds for Health would like to share with our community partners, it is also valuable for any woman who wants to learn about her body or address a health concern. Its 600 pages packs in information ranging from pregnancy, cancer, family planning, to domestic violence, refugee issues, and substance abuse. It includes practical information on basic health exams and contains a wealth of information on treating illnesses with 40 pages dedicated to complete information on medicines including info on their indications, use, and contraindications.
It’s an excellent resource available to low-income groups at an affordable price and is available to download for free at Heperian.org. Check it out and spread the word about this useful resource.
In today’s socially conscious world, we’re gaining a greater and greater understanding of how to responsibly help the less privileged world—be it in health care, agriculture, economics or otherwise. We’re no longer just asking, “what needs to be done,” but we’re examining how things can be done to have a lasting and meaningful impact. However, these days “sustainability” and “sustainable” are buzz words that seem to be thrown around haphazardly.
So we’re going to throw it out there:
What is “sustainability?”
How can we tell if our efforts are leading to it?
How do we know when we’ve accomplished it?
What are some good examples and why?
What do you think? What’s your experience? Are these questions even answerable?
Grounds for Health has had a busy year, and people are beginning to notice. Within the last few weeks and months, we’ve seen a flurry of articles in magazines and on blogs.
Follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on what’s being said about Grounds for Health.
The 2010 Grounds for Health Auction raised an impressive $106,500, which is 10% more than last year! 100% of proceeds will benefit our programs in Tanzania, Mexico and Nicaragua.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who donated coffee and all of those who bid. This event is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and without your support, much of what we do couldn’t be possible.
A huge thank you also goes out to Malcolm Stone at Stoneworks Auctions, and Rocky Rhodes, our Auction Guru. Their dedication and drive made the entire auction a success. Thank you.
We just stumbled across Tambaroo Coffee‘s interview with Grounds for Health volunteer Sylvia Estrada from SCAA. Sylvia is a Nurse Practitioner in California and is one of our most active volunteers. Thanks to the Tambaroo blog for posting this great vid. Check it out:
The Grounds for Health Coffee Auction rallies the coffee industries together in a meaningful way to generate funds for our programs in coffee-growing communities. It is our biggest fundraiser of the year—last year it helped raise close to $100,000.
Even though it is an event for coffee importers, producers, roasters and retailers, everyone can get involved to help spread the word.
How You Can Help
Print out this basic flier, and then the next time you pick up some coffee from your local roaster (this week or next week), do the following:
Ask the barista: “Do you guys roast your own coffee?“
If the answer is “Yes” – then say: “Could you pass this on to your roaster” (hand him/her flier) “It’s a green coffee auction that benefits a non-profit.“
If the answer is “No” – then just enjoy your coffee
We know this is a long shot … but you can’t blame us for trying, right?
If you have any luck (good or bad), come back to this page and leave a comment. Or if you have any other ideas, let us know.
Thanks, and keep your fingers crossed for another great auction.
It was all a matter of time before we plugged into Facebook and Twitter. As you can see, we don’t have many followers yet … but we had to start somewhere, right? Joining us on social networking sites is a quick and easy way for you to get involved and help educate others about our work.
Help Us Spread The Word
Follow us on Facebook – “like” us (it sounds corny, but FB did away with the “Fan” feature)
On Facebook we will post links to our latest blog entries, give updates from the field and provide info on upcoming events, fundraisers, and volunteer opportunities.
Twitter
We’re still learning the ropes with this one, but on Twitter we’ll update you with links to interesting articles, real-time Tweets from the field, and quick thoughts on cervical cancer concerns and women’s health issues in general.
RSS Feeds
Subscribing to our RSS Feed is a quick and easy way to see the latest from our blog. You’ll need an RSS Reader, or if you use Firefox, you can create a folder in your bookmarks that updates automatically. To do this in Firefox:
On May 17th the Huffington Post ran a commentary by Irene Natividad, President of the Global Summit of Women, entitled “Lifting the Burden.” The piece talked about the importance of an all-out international effort to stem the incidence of cervical cancer.
Natividad rightfully talked about how cervical cancer strikes women in their 30s and 40s and takes a disproportionate toll among women in the developing world, where 80% of deaths occur. Natividad calls all to recognize that cervical cancer is not only a health issue but an economic issue as well. She reasons that the knowledge and the tools to prevent, screen and treat cervical cancer arewell known and identified, and raises the question: what’s stopping us from wiping out cervical cancer?
Now that the cross-country jetlag has subsided, we’re just coming to terms with the enormous success of the SCAA conference. Grounds for Health sent a strong crew from Vermont, including relatively new team members and coffee-industry-newbies, Development Director Jane Dale and yours truly. Our Office Manager Brendan Dudley-Downs put together a smashing reception that communicated the spirit and power of what Grounds for Health is achieving.
Slow down? Fah. Never. From the Coffee Auction to more project trips, Grounds for Health has lots lined up for next month. Hopefully by May’s Newsletter, we’ll have many more updates from the field and from our supporters.
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It was all a matter of time before we plugged into 
