Haverford House

On Friday, December 11th, Aftershock (a dance group at Parkway NW High School for Peace and Social Justice) performed in Pulso Latino’s (tri-co dance troupe) Dance Showcase. They first performed at Parkway’s Gender Seminar in November (see my previous post for more information). Their piece was a huge success and I knew other people needed to see how much talent was in Mount Airy. We began contacting various venues and Pulso Latino graciously gave Aftershock a spot in their showcase. Special thanks to Pulso’s Hannah Moreira ’10 and Raul Lazo ’11 who were so gracious and went out of their ways to welcome us to their showcase.

To say the show went well? Understatement. Ridiculously amazing? Apt.

Our trip started on Thursday, December 10th, when we headed to Haverford for the dress rehearsal. A few mix-ups led to a long wait in the Market East train station but the young men kept their energy up (and mine!) with beat-boxing, dance-offs, and shopping (thank you the Gallery). Once we all arrived at Haverford and saw the new lighting system in Marshall, it was game time. Talent to the left, talent to the right!

On Friday we arrived at Haverford a few hours before call time and were able to look around campus. It was quite a breezy night but we all had our layers (earmuffs, fur lined coats, intense gloves, the works!).

I was excited to show the students around; they were very easygoing and let me and Ralph Alexis ’13 play tour guide for awhile. We made sure to visit Magill Library and one of the students recited poetry in Phillips Wing.

We also shot a few hoops in the GIAC (I say we, but I retired from the bball game freshman year) and ate a hearty local food dinner in the Dining Center.

Then, the show. These students KILLED it (in the most peaceful way possible)! Even though I wasn’t dancing, I was exhausted from screaming and cheering. I’ll end with some photos from their performance. Marshall Auditorium was not ready, so much talent on one stage!!!

If anyone has ideas for future venues for these young men to perform, please let me know at parkwayforpeace@gmail.com.

-Sarah Derbew

Finally, our pictures from our painting trip to Camden! Sarah D, Max, Travis and I drove to Project Hope, a primary care clinic for the homeless, during Travis’ stay with us during fall break. There, we met some of the amazing staff consisting of social workers, nurses, nurse practitioners, family physicians, and medical interns who deliver free medical care to the homeless in Camden and of course, our lovely host for the painting event – Jane Weber! She currently works as the development coordinator for the clinic and served as the Haverford House Fellow last year in the position I am now fulfilling at the Lourdes Center for Public Health.

Project Hope is one of the much-needed efforts in the city of Camden to address the lack of access to primary care. As one of the poorest cities in nation, Camden residents face tremendous obstacles in obtaining regular medical care – a lack of transportation, housing, and access to employment are just some of the many factors that complicate people’s ability to improve their health. Thankfully, there are some exciting efforts in the city to improve access to primary, preventive care and understand these social challenges within the context of people’s health; thus, the growing importance of public health! At the Lourdes Center for Public Health, I work with students to try to generate the raw public health data to support the growing need for preventive health services. I also find it really inspiring to work for a health system that is so dedicated to serving the medically underserved, and providing services that will help those in need. Project Hope, as a former entity of Lourdes, is one of the many positive forces in the city as it provides medical, social, outreach and advocacy services to the unsheltered homeless population in Camden.

It was nice to be able to accomplish something concrete in our trip to Camden. With the help of two other staff members at the clinic, we finished painting the entire waiting room in one afternoon! Already, Jane has told me that patients have noticed the brightened atmosphere in the waiting area.  I am glad that even just a fresh coat of paint could put a smile on a patient’s face.