http://postnewsgroup.com/blog/2014/02/11/overcoming-healthcare-barriers-eritrean-ethiopian-women/
Overcoming Healthcare Barriers for Eritrean and Ethiopian Women
[image: The Habesha (Eritrean and Ethiopian) Women's Health Expo committee
members Helen Woldai, Mimo Haile, Selam Asmerom, Almaz Nigusse, and Tigisti
Weldeab . Photo by Spencer Whitney]
The Habesha (Eritrean and Ethiopian) Women's Health Expo committee members
Helen Woldai, Mimo Haile, Selam Asmerom, Almaz Nigusse, and Tigisti Weldeab
. Photo by Spencer Whitney
By Spencer Whitney Posted February 11, 2014 11:24 am
Over 60 people attended the first Habesha Women's Health Expo (HWHE) last
weekend at the African American Art & Culture Complex, an event designed to
raise awareness in the Eritrean and Ethiopian community about healthy
living.
The groundbreaking event was organized by and for women in the Habesha
community, a term that refers to anyone from Ethiopia or Eritrea, and
featured doctors of Habesha background who gave health seminars on breast
cancer, sexually transmitted diseases, mental health, nutrition and
pharmacy information.
The presentations were in both English and Tigrinya, a language spoken
mainly in Eritrea. Translated health informational packets were also
available.
Event organizer Almaz Nigusse said the group hopes to host another health
expo later in the year that is translated in Amharic, a mainly Ethiopian
language. A social worker and mental health therapist, Nigusse has yet to
have a Habesha client.
She says it is difficult to give people facts about the health concerns of
Habesha women when no concrete research has been done to address their
issues.
"When I would take my mother to the doctor, I noticed that she would shy
away from fully disclosing her health concerns, partly because of the
language barrier and not feeling comfortable speaking to a non-Habesha
doctor," said Nigusse. "I had to be there to translate the conversation. In
many cases, trust, cultural differences, and a lack of understanding stop
Habesha women from asking questions."
During a break in the event, free lunch was provided. A nurse checked vital
signs check, and massages were available throughout the day. Financial
support for the event was provided by San Francisco Mental Health Education
Fund.
Members of the audience praised the committee members for their efforts to
bring awareness of health concerns to a community that is often overlooked
due to language barriers and cultural differences.
"Thank you for providing a stage where the women of our community felt safe
enough to be vulnerable and share personal stories about their physical and
mental illness," said Luwam Ghebreab, a local resident. "It is encouraging
to see how we as a community are finally talking about mental health openly
and freely without fear of being judged."
A presentation on mental health by the committee resonated with the
audience when they shared experiences dealing with stress and other
factors, such as immigrating to the Unites States and the struggle of
finding balance between traditional values and western traditions.
"We wanted to normalize for everyone learning about health services as well
as talking about the struggle of being an immigrant," said Nigusse. "Mental
health is a topic that isn't usually discussed in the community, which is a
big problem because many Habesha women may experience Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder, whether it was from fleeing civil wars or losing loved ones."
For more information, visit www.habeshahealth.com or email
habeshahealth_at_gmail.com.
Received on Wed Feb 26 2014 - 20:55:20 EST