Coexistence Project
Beit Jala Meeting Uses Movement to Bridge Divide Between Midwives

COHI staff, volunteers, and project participants at a meeting of midwives, Beit Jala, West Bank (Photo: Mindy Levy)

If you can tell only two people about the work COHI is doing with the Middle East Coexistence Project and if they go on to tell two other people - that is all it would take to get the message out there and to get more people involved.

Israeli midwife and Project Coordinator Gomer Ben Moshe delivered this important message at the Coexistence meeting at Beit Jala. COHI Director Leilani Johnson, Aisha Saifi, Palestinian Midwife and Project Coordinator and other Israeli and Palestinian midwives also attended the meeting.

Despite the fact that both regions have been involved in a continuous bitter dispute, for the two days of the meeting the Israeli and Palestinian midwives ate side by side, shared anecdotes, problems and concerns about their personal lives and work, laughed together and even had the opportunity to express themselves through dance and movement.

Numerous goals and issues were discussed and agreed upon, but probably the most important objective that all the Israeli and Palestinian midwives yearn for is peace and coexistence between the two regions. These courageous ladies have taken it upon themselves to play their own significant role in bringing this about by regularly meeting with each other and helping each other save the lives of women and children in the troubled region.

The Middle East Coexistence Project is in dire need of funding. COHI has had to suspend payment for its two coordinators following the ME coexistence meeting but we want them back! Be assured that COHI has been submitting numerous grants for this program, but we still need your help in this in-between time. To donate to this project, please click here and be sure to designate your donation for the ME project.

For more about the meeting at Beit Jala, click here.

Holiday Giving

Left: COHI brings together midwives to share their commitment their profession and to peace. Right: Sudanese refugee attends COHI event that aims to empower and support pregnant refugee women throughout the birthing process. (Photos by Rachel Ellison, Jessica Alderman)

It’s that time of the year! Time to get together with family and friends, to be thankful for all that we have and to celebrate the holidays!

What better way to celebrate than to give to the women and children in countries around the world devastated by war and natural disasters. You can save and enrich a life by helping COHI help them and its as easy as 1 2 3!

1. Visit the COHI Bazaar on our website and purchase an eclectic T-shirt, piece of jewelry or other COHI accessories. A portion of all proceeds will go towards COHI projects helping women and children in crisis settings around the world.
2. Purchase knitted items from the Tanzania Knitting Project. All proceeds will go to the COHI Tanzania Project. For more information email info[at]cohintl.org to learn what is available for purchase.
3. Give a donation in honor of a friend or family member. COHI Cards featuring COHI’s work in Israel, Palestine, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Louisiana and Sudan can be purchased by emailing info[at]cohintl.org. All proceeds will go towards COHI projects. Cards can be purchased at $10, $15 and $20 price points.

Bridges: Women’s Health Care as an Agent of Change, June 4^th, 2010

Circle of Health International is happy to announce we will be holding our 1^st annual women’s health summit in June of 2010! The summit will be held at Boston University’s School of Public Health.

As part of our summit, we would like to issue a call for posters. These posters will be displayed during the summit, and are a great opportunity for you to present your current programs and work to like-minded professionals in a supportive and friendly environment. We are also looking for sponsors and will have space available for product displays. Please contact Nechama at nwildanah[at]cohintl.org for more details regarding the poster presentation guidelines and sponsorship opportunities.

For more information about the COHI Summit, click here.

Careers at COHI

Position title: General-purpose IT specialist
Compensation: $150/month stipend
Commitment: 3-6 hours/week, minimum 1 year
Duties: Provide a range of IT and desktop publishing services, including:

• Work with staff and volunteers to update and develop web assets
• Lay out various print publications including booklets, business cards, grants
• Basic editing and distribution of video
• Assembling HTML e-letters and ability to learn third party e-letter distribution process
• Managing IT resources such as email accounts and hosting
• Providing IT troubleshooting to Executive Director and Board of Directors members as needed

Requirements:

• Familiarity with web and desktop publishing (ideally Adobe CS 3/4 -- very little of the work uses non-CS software)
• HTML experience is a plus but not a requirement (comfortable using HTML editor)
• Basic Photoshop and Illustrator (or equivalent) skills
• Prior experience managing websites and other IT resources
• Have ability to obtain software: HTML editor (i.e. Dreamweaver), Bitmap image editor (i.e. Photoshop), vector art editor (i.e. Illustrator), desktop publishing tool (i.e. Indesign), video editor (i.e. iMovie). Existing files are Adobe CS3/4.

To apply, please send an email with resume to info[at]cohintl.org and csutton[at]cohintl.org.