Jordan Refugee Humanitarian Mission
Donation protected
Hello to friends, family and visitors,
"The legal stuff":
My name is Erik Moore and I am a social worker, located in Atlanta, GA. I am connected to Atlantic Humanitarian Relief (AHR) through my interest in humanitarian work and social causes. The funds raised through this campaign will be donated to AHR to purchase over the counter medicine and medical supplies, to support the humanitarian effort. Some funds may be used to curb travel and lodging expenses associated with the trip. The funds will be directly donated via check or money order to AHR and I will post an update as this happens. You all have trusted me in the past with fundraising endeavors and I appreciate your continued support.
From June 30 - July 7th I will be traveling to Jordan, and working with refugees in various camps throughout the region of North Jordan. I will be acting as a social worker in support of a humanitarian medical team that treats refugees on the ground and in the camps. I will be working with my friend Drew Alexander, who is a videographer, and a team of doctors, pharmacists, medical professionals, social workers and humanitarian volunteers. Hopefully I will be an asset with my experience in the HIV world , working with those that have experienced sexual trauma, experience in elementary education, child development and with conflict resolution. Our goal is to raise $10,000 to cover the expense of medical supplies and medications for the refugee population displaced by the ongoing conflict in Syria.
I am also paying for this trip out of my own pocket and using vacation time to cover my time off. A small portion of the funds raised may go to covering expenses associated with the travel costs and accommodations needed to make this trip a reality. I'd like to give you an idea of the scenarios we may encounter. 80-90% of the individuals in the refugee camps will be women and children. Many will be expecting mothers while others will be elderly or horribly injured from the conflict. Most of the males will be either family elders or severely injured or crippled. I fully expect to encounter extreme trauma and some horrific scenes and I will most likely shed more than a few tears.
We will also encounter pregnant mothers in the camps. Some of these expecting mothers have never seen a doctor. They have not had access to medical care or pre-natal vitamins. Most of the children have also never seen a doctor. It is a possibility that children born in the camps have lived their entire life without medical care. Imagine being a young girl born in a refugee camp, with no identification, no house or country to call home - nameless, stateless children. Is that what we need more of in this world! I'd say the answer is no.
This trip will have multiple meanings for me, both professionally and personally. From a professional stand point, as a trained social worker, I feel the pull to treat and assist any human experiencing tragedy and ostracism. My favorite saying is, "an injury to one is an injury to all". Simply put, sitting on my hands and just saying, "oh well, that sucks, but what can I do about it" is not an option - admit it or not, we are all affected by the refugee crisis in the Middle East. On the first day of my masters program we went around the room and each person said what it was that they hoped to accomplish with training in social work. My response was that I wanted to help anyone that was at the absolute bottom, people with no options and those left behind by society. I believe that this mission will serve as a corner stone for fulfilling my professional goal of working with those in the most need, those that have run out of options and those that have been forgotten.
On a personal level, this mission is everything that I've always promised myself that I would do. Since the election this past November, I have rededicated myself to getting involved on a deeper level and to not letting the unknown hold me back. I've worked enough in the refugee community here in Atlanta to be able to speak to importance of refugees to our state. I hope to serve as an example of how we as a society can do multiple things at the same time that don't always, directly benefit American citizens. I've heard a lot of people say that we can't support refugees until we end homelessness here in the states or we can't spend federal money on refugees until we take care of Americans first. I understand this point of view but personally, I know that we can do both at the same time. I know that we can make good on being the a country of refuge for the afflicted and preyed upon. I know that we can do this and I'm going to do my part to make sure that it happens.
Thank you for reading and please feel free to ask questions. If you have any special requests, please let me know. Drew and I would love to able to provide a sizable donation to the team to improve the work that we will be doing. I'll post updates frequently both before we leave and while we are in country. Thank you again all - we really appreciate your support!
Peace and love - in the words of the immortal Mohamed Ali - "Me, We"
"The legal stuff":
My name is Erik Moore and I am a social worker, located in Atlanta, GA. I am connected to Atlantic Humanitarian Relief (AHR) through my interest in humanitarian work and social causes. The funds raised through this campaign will be donated to AHR to purchase over the counter medicine and medical supplies, to support the humanitarian effort. Some funds may be used to curb travel and lodging expenses associated with the trip. The funds will be directly donated via check or money order to AHR and I will post an update as this happens. You all have trusted me in the past with fundraising endeavors and I appreciate your continued support.
From June 30 - July 7th I will be traveling to Jordan, and working with refugees in various camps throughout the region of North Jordan. I will be acting as a social worker in support of a humanitarian medical team that treats refugees on the ground and in the camps. I will be working with my friend Drew Alexander, who is a videographer, and a team of doctors, pharmacists, medical professionals, social workers and humanitarian volunteers. Hopefully I will be an asset with my experience in the HIV world , working with those that have experienced sexual trauma, experience in elementary education, child development and with conflict resolution. Our goal is to raise $10,000 to cover the expense of medical supplies and medications for the refugee population displaced by the ongoing conflict in Syria.
I am also paying for this trip out of my own pocket and using vacation time to cover my time off. A small portion of the funds raised may go to covering expenses associated with the travel costs and accommodations needed to make this trip a reality. I'd like to give you an idea of the scenarios we may encounter. 80-90% of the individuals in the refugee camps will be women and children. Many will be expecting mothers while others will be elderly or horribly injured from the conflict. Most of the males will be either family elders or severely injured or crippled. I fully expect to encounter extreme trauma and some horrific scenes and I will most likely shed more than a few tears.
We will also encounter pregnant mothers in the camps. Some of these expecting mothers have never seen a doctor. They have not had access to medical care or pre-natal vitamins. Most of the children have also never seen a doctor. It is a possibility that children born in the camps have lived their entire life without medical care. Imagine being a young girl born in a refugee camp, with no identification, no house or country to call home - nameless, stateless children. Is that what we need more of in this world! I'd say the answer is no.
This trip will have multiple meanings for me, both professionally and personally. From a professional stand point, as a trained social worker, I feel the pull to treat and assist any human experiencing tragedy and ostracism. My favorite saying is, "an injury to one is an injury to all". Simply put, sitting on my hands and just saying, "oh well, that sucks, but what can I do about it" is not an option - admit it or not, we are all affected by the refugee crisis in the Middle East. On the first day of my masters program we went around the room and each person said what it was that they hoped to accomplish with training in social work. My response was that I wanted to help anyone that was at the absolute bottom, people with no options and those left behind by society. I believe that this mission will serve as a corner stone for fulfilling my professional goal of working with those in the most need, those that have run out of options and those that have been forgotten.
On a personal level, this mission is everything that I've always promised myself that I would do. Since the election this past November, I have rededicated myself to getting involved on a deeper level and to not letting the unknown hold me back. I've worked enough in the refugee community here in Atlanta to be able to speak to importance of refugees to our state. I hope to serve as an example of how we as a society can do multiple things at the same time that don't always, directly benefit American citizens. I've heard a lot of people say that we can't support refugees until we end homelessness here in the states or we can't spend federal money on refugees until we take care of Americans first. I understand this point of view but personally, I know that we can do both at the same time. I know that we can make good on being the a country of refuge for the afflicted and preyed upon. I know that we can do this and I'm going to do my part to make sure that it happens.
Thank you for reading and please feel free to ask questions. If you have any special requests, please let me know. Drew and I would love to able to provide a sizable donation to the team to improve the work that we will be doing. I'll post updates frequently both before we leave and while we are in country. Thank you again all - we really appreciate your support!
Peace and love - in the words of the immortal Mohamed Ali - "Me, We"
Organizer
Erik Moore
Organizer
Atlanta, GA
