Want to drink while learning about an organization that provides free civilian health care in countries devastated by war? Head to Madrone this Thursday night from 6pm to 9pm.
Based in San Francisco, Emergency USA is an NGO that “raises awareness and funds to provide permanent infrastructure for medical care and rehabilitation efforts for victims of war and poverty.” Incorporated in 2008, Emergency USA is part of Emergency, an independent Italian NGO founded by Gino Estrada in 1994, which also operates in the UK, Japan, Switzerland, Belgium, and Hong Kong.
As an organization, Emergency is committed to the belief that access to quality, high standard medical treatment is a basic human right. Currently, Emergency USA has programs in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Iraq, Italy, Sudan, and Sierra Leone. Emergency USA works to build medical facilities and provide doctors to treat civilian victims in these highly volatile areas.
In fact, the only surgical center that operates 24/7 in the entire country of Sierra Leone, a nation decimated by a brutal civil war, is a facility run by Emergency in Goderich. Emergency has been there since 2001 and has treated over 464,801 people in that time.
Their presence in Sierra Leone is of particular significance in recent times as a result of the massive Ebola outbreak in West Africa. As the only full-time treatment surgical center in the country, Emergency USA is directing $10K per month to support their staff and facility there.
Given this recent world health emergency, Thursday night’s fundraiser couldn’t have happened at a better time.
Originally scheduled to raise general awareness of their organization, the event will now focus mainly on the Ebola crisis in Sierra Leone. In fact, Executive Director of Emergency USA Eric Talbert spoke about the issue with Melissa Harris-Perry on MSNBC just last Saturday.
We caught up with Talbert, who will be giving a presentation at the event on Thursday, for some more insight into the event and his organization.
“In today’s conflicts up to ninety percent of victims are civilians," Talbert told us. "It’s important for us as civilians in this country to provide human rights medicine to people in affected areas."
“The event on Thursday is a social, fun way to have some food and engage with people locally who are globally minded, and also to provide direct support to the outbreak in Sierra Leone.”
Interested? Tickets are available for purchase here . The suggested donation is $15, but no one will be turned away, so donate what you can.
From 6-7pm, food will be provided by Pinx Catering, Love and Hummus and Don Bugito. Afterwards, Talbert will give a short presentation, and the rest of the evening will be open to a Q&A and general mingling. There will also be a raffle and a silent auction, and photography by Gino Strada and Massimo Grimaldi of Emergency programs abroad will be on display.
If you can’t make the event, but wish to donate specifically to Emergency USA’s efforts in Sierra Leone, click here.
