HAITI MEDICAL RELIEF FOCUS OF APRIL ARTWALK ‘THE HAITI ENCOUNTER’
Two medical teams who recently returned from Haiti will share their experiences at an art event to be held at the Rowan Gallery at Spring and 5th St. during the Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk on April 8. The exhibit will include photographs taken by the teams, interpretive dance and music, an experiential mock medical clinic under tarps and tents, and spoken word performances of stories of survivors. There will also be information about how people can help bring aid to Haiti, and donations will be accepted.
The 8-person teams of doctors, nurses, and emergency personnel from Mosaic responded to the urgent call for medical providers to travel to Haiti in the wake of the earthquake which struck the country on January 13, 2010. “As soon as we got the logistics worked out, we were able to put our first team in the air just over a week later,” said Adrian Koehler of Mosaic, who led the first team. “The experience of treating patients in the midst of the devastation affected all of us profoundly, and we want to share it to inspire others. The people of Haiti are going to need support for years to come.”
The stories of survivors in their own words were compiled by team member Anson Yew, M.D, a family medicine doctor. Yew transcribed the stories in poetry form and they are being published with photographs in a book, ‘Stories from the Rubble,’ available from blurb.com.
Mosaic is a diverse, welcoming ministry which meets in various locations, including the Mayan nightclub on Main Street in downtown Los Angeles, where several hundred of the mostly young and hip gather at 7PM on Sunday evenings. Mosaic draws heavily from the creative community in LA, and artistic expression of many sorts is an integral part of the Mosaic culture. More information is available at Mosaic.org.
http://www.downtownartwalk.org/category/happening/
If you are interested in volunteering for the event, primarily with set up, please contact rosemarysova@gmail.com.
