“Voices of Women”: An Inspiring Evening with the Traffina Foundation and Project PAC
Thursday, July 30th marked a memorable night for Wagner College’s Project PAC. The Wagner-based non-profit organization was created by PAs with the goal of “Providing Access to Care”; namely to serve those with limited access to medical service via medical mission trips, local community initiatives, and educational programs in the United States and abroad. Aimed at increasing awareness of global medical issues, Project PAC teamed up with the Traffina Foundation for Community Health, a Nigerian non-profit maternal health organization, to host “Voices of Women: Songs and Stories of Women Across the World”. This series of presentations discussed subjects concerning women in different nations across the globe, with a particular focus on health and inequality issues.
The eight presenters included six members of President Barack Obama’s Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, which consisted of 500 African men and women who were invited to the United States to study community and non-profit organizations. The other two presenters were Wagner’s very own Karoline Escobedo and Fatbardha Shala. Karoline, a Wagner PA alumna, presented “Plight of Women in Central America” and discussed the experiences of the Wagner PA Class of 2015 on their Project PAC sponsored medical mission trip to Guatemala. Fatbardha, a graduate PA student, presented on the devastation of war crimes (specifically rape), on women in her home country of Kosovo.
It was a moving and impactful evening as many of the presenters included the stories behind their personal strife that eventually lead to the creation of their organizations. This included the story of Amenuveve E.A. Kudzu, who due to her diagnosis of Sickle Cell Disease, was not expected to live long in her native country of Togo. The nation’s limited medical resources meant that the disease usually proved deadly to its sufferers. Amenuveve not only survived to adulthood, but went on to found United Against Sickle Cell, an organization aimed to improve care and prolong life expectancy for Africans suffering from Sickle Cell Disease.
In summary, the evening was educational, as well as emotional and inspirational. While the main goal of “Voices of Women” was to draw attention to the heath and equality deficits suffered by women and girls in places around world, I believe the event served the greater purpose of providing meaning and power to the work that we, as PAs, do. It was a beautiful reminder of the potential that health care and activism can have on impacting the lives of those in need.
“Voices of Women: Songs and Stories of Women Across the World.”
“Nigerian Mothers and Childbirth” — Chinomnso Ibe, Traffina Foundation
“Repercussions of War on Women” (Kosovo) — Fatbardha Shala, Wagner College graduate student
“Plight of Women in Central America” — Karoline Escobedo, Wagner College alumna
“Toll of Cancer on Women” (Nigeria) — Rukayya Nasir, Project Pink Blue
“Challenges of Women With Sickle Cell” (Togo) — Amenuveve E.A. Kudzu, United Against Sickle Cell
“The Effect of Ebola on Liberian Women” — Joyce Laykah Kilikpo, Public Health Initiative Liberia
“Female Genital Mutilation in Guinea” — Aissatou Diallo, Aide et Action
“Women’s Lack of Access to Education and Information” (Ethiopia) — Marta Tsehay Sewasew, Mobile for Students Reproductive Health (M4SRH)
The Spoken Word: “Seventeen” (Malawi) — Tadala Thembakako, Girls With a Vision Association
“Voiceless Woman”- Papa Aly Gueye- Guediawaye Hip Hop, FoireCivico-Hip Hop; Brian Bwembya Kasoka- HIV/AIDS and Social Commentary Committee of the Zambia Association of Musicians
Please look out for our future in-depth article on the “Voices of Women” event, for interviews with the incredible presenters and ways in which you can support their valiant causes.
