Welcome!
This website is my portfolio and also where I post my current projects. I work in the non profit sector
and many of my projects involve examinations of health care systems world wide. My last project
took me to Kenya and was funded by a venture grant at my college. My latest project studying cross-cultural comparison of local midwife practices in
conflict and disaster ridden communities is in the funding stage. Please take a minute to look at my project, and if you are interested
in make a tax deductable donation, it will help to get this project off the ground.
- Jessica
Project: Cross-cultural Comparison of Local Midwife Practices in Conflict and Disaster Ridden Communities
The purpose of my project is to use the power of photojournalism to
conduct a cross-cultural comparison of local midwife practices in
conflict and disaster ridden communities to communicate how these
practitioners provide the best services they can despite their
circumstance. I also want to document the barriers to accessing
medical attention at the most critical moments during prenatal and
postnatal care. My ambition is to learn how to augment the
methodology of public healthcare systems through photography and
illustrate how to incorporate traditional birthing methods into
disaster relief.
To conduct this project I plan to spend eight months among four different communities affected by different types of crisis: drought in Tanzania, genocide in Sudan, poverty and geographic isolation in Tibet, and on-going violence in Israel and the Palestinian Territories where I will work side-by-side with both foreign-trained and local midwives. I will be working with an organization called Circle of Health International (COHI) whose mission is to build the capacity of nurses and midwives in crisis settings. COHI tailors initiatives to the needs of local midwives in each of these countries blending traditional practices and obstetrics and bringing necessary healthcare to women and their children in crisis-plagued regions. In completing this project I hope to communicate the valiant efforts of COHI and the local midwives with whom they work, as well as bring to attention the need for the cultural integration of medical practices to set an example for disaster relief teams and medical volunteerism in the future.
To make this project possible I am trying to raise $30,000 for the organization. If you know any philanthropist, organizations, foundations, or individuals who would be interested in contributing to this endeavor which encompasses issues of human rights, women's rights and empowerment, child and maternal health, education, conflict resolution, and would like to make a donation to a 501-(c3) non-profit organization please contact me.