JDC Ambassadors will be holding an important lunch marking 20 years since the start of the siege of Sarajevo, which ironically is April 6, the start of Passover this year.
The discussion centers around an extraordinary Jewish response to the breakdown of ethnic trust and cooperation in this diverse city.
But there are also clear lessons to be learned today, when ethnic strife in Bosnia, the Middle East and virtually across the globe seems to be heating up, not cooling down. We'll feature some very unique and meaningful efforts that the Jewish community has undertaken to lead in the rebuilding of trust and the solving of shared challenges across the globe.
And stay tuned for information about the Ambassadors trip to Sarajevo to participate in this work of rebuilding.
More info? Contact Rebecca At rebeccan@jdcny.org
Two decades from war, a new fight to save Bosnia
Showing posts with label WHEP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label WHEP. Show all posts
April 4, 2012
March 22, 2012
JDC Receives Prestigious Honor from Susan G. Komen for the Cure
From Steve Schwager, CEO
In 1982, Ambassador Nancy Brinker created the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, just two years after the death of her sister, Susan, who lost her battle with breast cancer at the age of 36. Since then, the Komen Foundation has invested nearly $2 billion in breast cancer research, education, advocacy, health services, and social support programs both in the U.S., through its affiliates network, and internationally, through partnerships in more than 50 countries.
Breast cancer is a global crisis. It kills more people in the world than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined. Every 74 seconds, a woman in this world dies of breast cancer, a frightening statistic by anyone's standards.
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| A Bosnian breast cancer survivor, with her kids, wears a specially made pink head covering at the Fourth Bosnia and Herzegovina Race for the Cure. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, September 2011. Photo: JDC. |
Breast cancer is a global crisis. It kills more people in the world than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined. Every 74 seconds, a woman in this world dies of breast cancer, a frightening statistic by anyone's standards.
November 15, 2011
Bringing Health Awareness to Hungary’s Women
Klara, a 52-year-old banker and mother of two, clearly remembers the day she attended the breast cancer screening that led to her diagnosis. It was brilliantly sunny and she had a full afternoon of client meetings scheduled. There were 17 women in line ahead of her to have a mammogram. As she turned to leave, a screening assistant called after her, encouraging her to reschedule after work hours to ensure she didn't put off the exam another year. She returned at the end of the week and three days later got a call asking her to come in for another mammogram—and a biopsy.
Klara had learned about and done self-examinations regularly, but the tumor was so deep in her breast she couldn't possibly have discovered it if the mobile screening project—a special JDC initiative to provide underserved women in remote areas throughout Hungary with access to health services—hadn't come to her town that year.
A prominent part of JDC's Women's Health Empowerment Program (WHEP)—currently active in Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia, and Montenegro—the mobile screening is integral to the Equal Chance Against Cancer campaign initiated by JDC in partnership with the Open Society Foundations' Roma Initiatives and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The campaign's Equal Chance Health Days have provided breast cancer screenings for over 4,500 women in 42 locations across Hungary since 2007.
The campaign strives to change the attitudes of health professionals and the majority population towards the disease and give underserved women, including the Roma and women with disabilities, access to critically needed information and services. JDC's education initiatives, awareness-raising activities, and health services reach disadvantaged women in some of the country's most remote areas, and end up saving hundreds of lives each year.
Klara considers herself lucky to have had her tumor discovered. It was spreading so aggressively that undiagnosed she would have died in three months. Instead she underwent surgery, followed by chemotherapy treatment and a successful recovery.
"Early detection can mean the difference between life and death," says Marianna Jó, JDC Program Manager of WHEP in Hungary. "Unfortunately, there is a 10-year gap in life expectancy between majority and minority populations in our country. It is estimated that Roma women are three times more likely to die from carcinogenic diseases than non-Roma." Marianna explains that this phenomenon is perpetuated by misconceptions surrounding the illness, and a lack of access to health services among populations living in remote areas in deep poverty and facing long-standing discrimination.
The following year, when the mobile screening unit came back to Klara's town, she volunteered her support and experience to help newly diagnosed women. She'd fought the cancer on her own because her husband was too devastated to be able to help; now she had renewed strength. "I could explain to women how to use a prosthesis, where to find psychological support…all those things I did not know when I got ill," said Klara. "I was so happy I could help these women, to listen to them and to their needs."
This peer support concept inspired a new program JDC is launching this month for underserved women, particularly the Roma, in Hungary in partnership with the Open Society Institute. The new Mothers Centers for disadvantaged women in the countryside will provide information about and access to public services; develop community through common activities; and contribute to the Roma women's active citizenship in Hungary.
Melinda, a civil society professional from the local Roma association who helped bring the mobile screening unit to Klara's town, will volunteer as a coordinator for their Mothers Center. She sees it a unique opportunity for Roma women to meet, discuss, and deal with issues that are relevant for them as mothers and women, as individuals and as a group. For example, she and Klara are focusing on making their Center health-oriented and inviting women from their Roma community to discuss topics like women's issues, diet, disease prevention, and diabetes.
Melinda believes openness and authenticity are critical to this empowerment program. "We solicit the needs of women in the community before we start the program. They see that the community house is for them, that we do these things for them, so that their lives get better," she explains. "These women do not get to go anywhere. They go to the supermarket to do the shopping, they see the public nurse or the doctor with their kids, but they have nothing else, only the household."
That's what makes each of the four centers such a critical resource: they will provide a forum for women to raise issues and share concerns about their health, their children, financial management, and domestic issue. "We think that women's health, child-care, early childhood development, and school issues are their main interests. They want to be good mothers, so that they can raise good children. This is what they see in us—an opportunity to learn and be better."
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| Melinda, a local Roma volunteer professional (left) and Marianna, JDC’s WHEP Program Manager in Hungary (middle), share information about breast cancer with a Roma woman at a Health Day in Pécs. |
Klara had learned about and done self-examinations regularly, but the tumor was so deep in her breast she couldn't possibly have discovered it if the mobile screening project—a special JDC initiative to provide underserved women in remote areas throughout Hungary with access to health services—hadn't come to her town that year.
A prominent part of JDC's Women's Health Empowerment Program (WHEP)—currently active in Hungary, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia, and Montenegro—the mobile screening is integral to the Equal Chance Against Cancer campaign initiated by JDC in partnership with the Open Society Foundations' Roma Initiatives and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The campaign's Equal Chance Health Days have provided breast cancer screenings for over 4,500 women in 42 locations across Hungary since 2007.
The campaign strives to change the attitudes of health professionals and the majority population towards the disease and give underserved women, including the Roma and women with disabilities, access to critically needed information and services. JDC's education initiatives, awareness-raising activities, and health services reach disadvantaged women in some of the country's most remote areas, and end up saving hundreds of lives each year.
Klara considers herself lucky to have had her tumor discovered. It was spreading so aggressively that undiagnosed she would have died in three months. Instead she underwent surgery, followed by chemotherapy treatment and a successful recovery.
"Early detection can mean the difference between life and death," says Marianna Jó, JDC Program Manager of WHEP in Hungary. "Unfortunately, there is a 10-year gap in life expectancy between majority and minority populations in our country. It is estimated that Roma women are three times more likely to die from carcinogenic diseases than non-Roma." Marianna explains that this phenomenon is perpetuated by misconceptions surrounding the illness, and a lack of access to health services among populations living in remote areas in deep poverty and facing long-standing discrimination.
The following year, when the mobile screening unit came back to Klara's town, she volunteered her support and experience to help newly diagnosed women. She'd fought the cancer on her own because her husband was too devastated to be able to help; now she had renewed strength. "I could explain to women how to use a prosthesis, where to find psychological support…all those things I did not know when I got ill," said Klara. "I was so happy I could help these women, to listen to them and to their needs."
This peer support concept inspired a new program JDC is launching this month for underserved women, particularly the Roma, in Hungary in partnership with the Open Society Institute. The new Mothers Centers for disadvantaged women in the countryside will provide information about and access to public services; develop community through common activities; and contribute to the Roma women's active citizenship in Hungary.
Melinda, a civil society professional from the local Roma association who helped bring the mobile screening unit to Klara's town, will volunteer as a coordinator for their Mothers Center. She sees it a unique opportunity for Roma women to meet, discuss, and deal with issues that are relevant for them as mothers and women, as individuals and as a group. For example, she and Klara are focusing on making their Center health-oriented and inviting women from their Roma community to discuss topics like women's issues, diet, disease prevention, and diabetes.
Melinda believes openness and authenticity are critical to this empowerment program. "We solicit the needs of women in the community before we start the program. They see that the community house is for them, that we do these things for them, so that their lives get better," she explains. "These women do not get to go anywhere. They go to the supermarket to do the shopping, they see the public nurse or the doctor with their kids, but they have nothing else, only the household."
That's what makes each of the four centers such a critical resource: they will provide a forum for women to raise issues and share concerns about their health, their children, financial management, and domestic issue. "We think that women's health, child-care, early childhood development, and school issues are their main interests. They want to be good mothers, so that they can raise good children. This is what they see in us—an opportunity to learn and be better."
October 4, 2010
JDC and Susan G. Komen For The Cure® Hold Third Annual Race For The Cure® in Sarajevo
On October 2, 2010, more than 3,000 Bosnians, Muslims, Croats, Serbs and Jews united at the Third Bosnia and Herzegovina Race for the Cure®, organized by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and Susan G. Komen for the Cure®. This year's Race for the Cure honors the memories of Susan G. Komen (who died from breast cancer 30 years ago) and JDC’s Marcia Presky, founder of the Women’s Health Empowerment Program (WHEP) –an JDC-Susan G. Komen® for the Cure overseas breast cancer education program -- who lost her battle five years ago.
“We’re proud to once again be bringing together the diverse people of Bosnia and Herzegovina to join us in the battle against breast cancer. Through our continuing educational efforts and by recalling two great women who have come to symbolize the fight against this disease, we are giving a public face to those Bosnian women who struggle daily with breast cancer,” said JDC CEO Steven Schwager.
The funds raised at the 2010 Race will be used to distribute immediate post-surgery medical kits to women and provide free mammogram checkups for uninsured women (in Bosnia, 1 in 7 do not have medical insurance). Proceeds from 2009 helped to purchase vital medication that significantly improves breast cancer survival and is not affordable for many Bosnian women. All funds raised for the Race will remain in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“This Race and the work it supports are making a significant difference in the quality of life for women with breast cancer in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and all around the world. It has always been so gratifying to see people of all faiths, political backgrounds and nationalities united as one against this disease, and to see how this effort is making life better for so many,” said Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
This year’s Race for the Cure coincided with the Seventh WHEP National Conference which will took place on October 1, 2010, focusing on the challenges and successes in breast cancer treatment and early detection in Bosnia. Established in 1995, WHEP encourages the early detection of breast cancer, creates support groups and hotlines, strengthens doctor to patient communication, and facilitates partnerships among government agencies, NGOs and the medical community. WHEP programs have impacted the lives of women in Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Montenegro, Georgia, Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
The Race for the Cure Series, Komen’s signature event, is the world’s largest and most successful education and fundraising event for breast cancer. More than l.5 million participate in the Race Series annually.
“We’re proud to once again be bringing together the diverse people of Bosnia and Herzegovina to join us in the battle against breast cancer. Through our continuing educational efforts and by recalling two great women who have come to symbolize the fight against this disease, we are giving a public face to those Bosnian women who struggle daily with breast cancer,” said JDC CEO Steven Schwager.
The funds raised at the 2010 Race will be used to distribute immediate post-surgery medical kits to women and provide free mammogram checkups for uninsured women (in Bosnia, 1 in 7 do not have medical insurance). Proceeds from 2009 helped to purchase vital medication that significantly improves breast cancer survival and is not affordable for many Bosnian women. All funds raised for the Race will remain in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“This Race and the work it supports are making a significant difference in the quality of life for women with breast cancer in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and all around the world. It has always been so gratifying to see people of all faiths, political backgrounds and nationalities united as one against this disease, and to see how this effort is making life better for so many,” said Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
This year’s Race for the Cure coincided with the Seventh WHEP National Conference which will took place on October 1, 2010, focusing on the challenges and successes in breast cancer treatment and early detection in Bosnia. Established in 1995, WHEP encourages the early detection of breast cancer, creates support groups and hotlines, strengthens doctor to patient communication, and facilitates partnerships among government agencies, NGOs and the medical community. WHEP programs have impacted the lives of women in Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Montenegro, Georgia, Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
The Race for the Cure Series, Komen’s signature event, is the world’s largest and most successful education and fundraising event for breast cancer. More than l.5 million participate in the Race Series annually.
June 11, 2010
In Hungary JDC, Susan G. Komen For The Cure® Hold 12th Major Breast Cancer Conference
NEW YORK, NY, June 10, 2010 – The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the world’s leading Jewish humanitarian assistance organization, and Susan G. Komen for the Cure® will hold its 12th major conference on breast cancer in Budapest on June 14. The conference leverages the success of eleven other conferences and a variety of breast cancer advocacy programs that have impacted the lives of tens of thousands of women and their families through JDC/Komen for the Cure’s Women’s Health Empowerment Program (WHEP) in Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Georgia, Israel and the Palestinian Territories.
“We're utilizing our expertise in building strong partnerships to connect medical, NGO, and government professionals with breast cancer survivors and advocates throughout Hungary. By doing so, WHEP pioneers the battle against breast cancer in a country that loses more than 2,000 women a year to the disease,” said JDC CEO Steven Schwager.
In addition to a keynote address from Ambassador Nancy Brinker, founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, presentations at the conference will focus on WHEP’s four years of work in Hungary; best practices for fighting breast cancer in Hungary’s rural areas; Hungary’s current national screening program for breast cancer; and creating a strategy for disseminating information on breast cancer to Hungarian women of different ages and family backgrounds.
“In too many countries today, women still have little or no access to early detection, treatment, or even education,” said Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. “My time spent in Hungary as an Ambassador was eye-opening to the global need for cancer programming, like the Women’s Health Empowerment Program. I look forward to hearing about the progress in Hungary over the last four years.”
Established in 1995, WHEP encourages the early detection of breast cancer, creates support groups and hotlines, strengthens doctor to patient communication, and facilitates partnerships among government agencies, NGOs and the medical community.
About American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
Since 1914, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee has given global expression to the principle that all Jews are responsible for one another. Working today in over 70 countries, JDC acts on behalf of North America’s Jewish communities and others to rescue Jews in danger, provide relief to those in distress, revitalize and ensure a Jewish future for overseas Jewish communities, and help Israel overcome the social challenges of its most vulnerable citizens. JDC also provides non-sectarian emergency relief and long-term development assistance worldwide. More information can be found at http://www.jdc.org/.
About Susan G. Komen for the Cure®
Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement. Today, Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure®, we have invested nearly $1.5 billion to fulfill our promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit http://www.komen.org/ or call 1-877 GO KOMEN.
“We're utilizing our expertise in building strong partnerships to connect medical, NGO, and government professionals with breast cancer survivors and advocates throughout Hungary. By doing so, WHEP pioneers the battle against breast cancer in a country that loses more than 2,000 women a year to the disease,” said JDC CEO Steven Schwager.
In addition to a keynote address from Ambassador Nancy Brinker, founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure®, presentations at the conference will focus on WHEP’s four years of work in Hungary; best practices for fighting breast cancer in Hungary’s rural areas; Hungary’s current national screening program for breast cancer; and creating a strategy for disseminating information on breast cancer to Hungarian women of different ages and family backgrounds.
“In too many countries today, women still have little or no access to early detection, treatment, or even education,” said Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, founder and CEO of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. “My time spent in Hungary as an Ambassador was eye-opening to the global need for cancer programming, like the Women’s Health Empowerment Program. I look forward to hearing about the progress in Hungary over the last four years.”
Established in 1995, WHEP encourages the early detection of breast cancer, creates support groups and hotlines, strengthens doctor to patient communication, and facilitates partnerships among government agencies, NGOs and the medical community.
About American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
Since 1914, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee has given global expression to the principle that all Jews are responsible for one another. Working today in over 70 countries, JDC acts on behalf of North America’s Jewish communities and others to rescue Jews in danger, provide relief to those in distress, revitalize and ensure a Jewish future for overseas Jewish communities, and help Israel overcome the social challenges of its most vulnerable citizens. JDC also provides non-sectarian emergency relief and long-term development assistance worldwide. More information can be found at http://www.jdc.org/.
About Susan G. Komen for the Cure®
Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer forever. In 1982, that promise became Susan G. Komen for the Cure and launched the global breast cancer movement. Today, Komen for the Cure is the world’s largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists fighting to save lives, empower people, ensure quality care for all and energize science to find the cures. Thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure®, we have invested nearly $1.5 billion to fulfill our promise, becoming the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world. For more information about Susan G. Komen for the Cure, breast health or breast cancer, visit http://www.komen.org/ or call 1-877 GO KOMEN.
October 30, 2009
Building Bridges Through the Women's Health Empowerment Program
The latest briefing from Steve Schwager, CEO
In today’s world, opposing sides often fight out their differences on political stages and battlefields around the globe. But JDC’s non-sectarian programs create bridges between people who have lived on irreconcilably different sides of a conflict. One such bridge was a remarkable event that took place earlier this month in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH), where over 3,000 Muslims, Jews, Serbs, and Croats came together to walk against a common enemy—breast cancer—that kills more than 410,000 women and men around the globe each year.
This second annual Race for the Cure in BH was organized through JDC‘s Women’s Health Empowerment Program (WHEP) and its partner, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and it marked the sixth year of JDC’s partnership with Komen to promote the early detection of breast cancer in overseas communities.
WHEP was the brainchild of the late Marcia Presky z”l, who was the Director of our International Development Program, until her untimely death in November 2005. The partnership with Susan G. Komen evolved after JDC initiated work in Israel in 2000 by bringing together Israeli and Palestinian women struggling with the disease and providing them with psychosocial support in Israel. WHEP is also active in Russia, Hungary, and was launched this year in Montenegro.
In today’s world, opposing sides often fight out their differences on political stages and battlefields around the globe. But JDC’s non-sectarian programs create bridges between people who have lived on irreconcilably different sides of a conflict. One such bridge was a remarkable event that took place earlier this month in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH), where over 3,000 Muslims, Jews, Serbs, and Croats came together to walk against a common enemy—breast cancer—that kills more than 410,000 women and men around the globe each year.
This second annual Race for the Cure in BH was organized through JDC‘s Women’s Health Empowerment Program (WHEP) and its partner, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and it marked the sixth year of JDC’s partnership with Komen to promote the early detection of breast cancer in overseas communities.
WHEP was the brainchild of the late Marcia Presky z”l, who was the Director of our International Development Program, until her untimely death in November 2005. The partnership with Susan G. Komen evolved after JDC initiated work in Israel in 2000 by bringing together Israeli and Palestinian women struggling with the disease and providing them with psychosocial support in Israel. WHEP is also active in Russia, Hungary, and was launched this year in Montenegro.
October 12, 2009
JDC and Komen Second Annual Race for the Cure in Bosnia and Herzegovina
On October 3rd, 2009, JDC and Susan G. Komen for the Cure held the Second Annual Race for the Cure in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sponsored by JDC's Women's Health Empowerment Program (WHEP) and Susan G. Komen for the Cure, this year’s Race was an opportunity to celebrate life, to walk together and spread awareness about breast cancer in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The community had the opportunity to rejoice with breast cancer survivors and honor those who have lost their battle with the disease.Video by Jennifer Jensen, Susan G. Komen for the Cure
The first Race for the Cure, honoring Susan G. Komen’s 25th RFTC Anniversary, was held in October 2008 with over 2,500 people participating. The Race was covered by all media outlets, and helped to raise awareness and to openly discuss this issue. All proceeds from the Race have provided more than 600 free mammogram checkups for women with no health insurance.
Video from the First Annual Race for the Cure in Sarajevo
SEE PICTURES FROM THE 2008 RACE FOR THE CURE AND LEARN MORE ABOUT WHEP BY CLICKING ON THE LINK BELOW.
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