Witnesses to HungerWitnesses to Hungerhttp://www.haverford.edu/calendar/details/80112Stokes Auditorium2008-12-03T19:30:002008-12-03T21:00:00
December 3, 7:30PM
Stokes Auditorium
Panel Discussion
Description
Witnesses to Hunger is a photography project initiated by the Philadelphia GROW Project, an organization that addresses issues of child hunger and development in Philadelphia. Over forty mothers who receive public assistance have come together to document their lives and struggles raising their children using digital photography. An exhibit in the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship Café and the Multicultural Center will be on display from December 3rd through the end of the fall semester. Through presenting these images we will be challenging ideas and stereotypes on campus about public assistance, child hunger, and the right to representation through the voices of those most affected by these issues in Philadelphia.
To better hear these voices, we will begin the exhibit with a panel discussion involving some of the mothers involved in the project as well as experts and advocates working in the field. The panel discussion will take place on Wednesday, December 3, from 7:30 to 9:00pm, with a reception and exhibit viewing following the discussion.
The purpose of this discussion is to raise awareness of issues of poverty and hunger in Philadelphia. These issues will be explored in the context of public assistance programs and with a focus on public health. The discussion will be moderated by Professor Kaye Edwards, and Mariana Chilton, Principal Investigator of the Philadelphia GROW Project and of Witnesses to Hunger, will introduce the project with a brief presentation. Six panelists will speak on the following:
Ashley Ortiz, Whitney Henry and Erica Smalley will speak about their involvement in the project and the issues that concern them as mothers receiving public assistance in Philadelphia. They will likely speak about education and limited job opportunities, violence, housing, her experiences with the welfare system and the stress of food insecurity.
Melita Jordan, CNM, MSN, APRN C, Director, Bureau of Family Health, will speak on issues of maternal and child health in relation to state policy-making. She will present on the multiple levels on which the issue of child hunger can be addressed, ranging from the singular experiences of women and children to experiences with government agencies like the US Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Carey Morgan, Executive Director, Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger, will speak to the advocacy component of work on hunger in Philadelphia. She will explain about the Coalition’s Food Stamp outreach and hunger-alleviation programs and offer a look at the resources for fighting hunger in Philadelphia.
Jenny Rabinowich ’08, Haverford House Fellow at the Philadelphia GROW Project, will speak about her involvement in the Witnesses to Hunger project following her graduation from Haverford. She will discuss the relationship between her Haverford education in anthropology and her current work on the project, and speak on the possible intersections of advocacy and academics.
The Witnesses to Hunger Exhibit rests at the meeting point of art, public health, and public policy and demonstrates that these fields are inextricably intertwined. At Haverford, students are encouraged and required to participate in a liberal arts education, meaning that we must take classes in the humanities, the quantitative sciences, and the social sciences. However, we are rarely asked to draw connections between these areas of study and therefore often miss the synergy that resides in the intersections between disciplines. This event at Haverford is intended to inspire a conversation on campus that bridges these gaps and creates meaningful reflection and action.
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