Dear
Friends, Family & Colleagues, February
6, 2009
I
have a wonderful opportunity to take part in a potentially important act of
service and I need your help. I’ve been invited to join a research delegation
for healthcare professionals, traveling to Cuba March 14 -28 under the auspices
of the Witness for Peace organization.
My
request is two-fold: 1) I’m asking for your sponsorship in helping me to cover
the expenses for this trip and 2) I would like you to participate with me by
sharing questions you may have about the healthcare system in Cuba which might
give me a framework for my own inquiry.
Some
of you know me as a singer and poet as well as a psychotherapist, and I will
take all these hats on this journey, investigating not only how the Cuban
universal medical care system compares with our own in its treatment of mental
illness, but what kinds of alternative treatments they have developed which
might be of use to us as our own healthcare system in the U.S. undergoes much
needed restructuring.
The
focus of this trip is for full-time healthcare professionals to research Cuba’s
urban and rural health and social service systems, meeting with other
professionals, families, elected officials, neighborhood committees and
visiting clinics and hospitals. While this trip calls upon me in my
professional role as a psychotherapist and educator, my background in the arts
and social justice work gives me a special lens with which to witness how, in a
culture which honors its poets and musicians, Cuban clinicians use the arts in
their healing practices. Delegates have a mandate to share our findings on our
return and I will certainly do that with every means possible to me. To that
end, I also invite you to consider ways in which I might make a presentation in
your community about my findings. I see this delegation as a perfect
opportunity for me to deepen my understanding of therapeutic practice and also
give something back to society.
As
you know, Cuba is still under embargo and travel there is extremely limited.
For all the constraints this imposes upon their society, Cuba has developed a
universal health care system at least on a par with our own, and has trained
doctors and medical professionals to work in service programs all over the
world. At a time when our own country is undergoing radical transformation and
there is a possibility of more open communication between Cuba and the United
States, we have much to learn from the Cuban models of healthcare. In a broader
context, the work of this delegation might have some effect on structuring more
effective and egalitarian healthcare in this country.
Witness
for Peace, the sponsoring group, is a politically independent grassroots non-profit
organization committed to nonviolence, and to the advancement of just policies
and human rights. Since 1983 they have worked to support peace, justice and
sustainable economies in Latin America and the Caribbean by changing US
policies and corporate practices that contribute to poverty and oppression.
This delegation is part of WFC’s work to establish a cross-border network for
the flow of information between educators, healthcare professionals, advocates
and activists.
The
cost of my trip includes $2,000 for basic accommodations and ground
transportation for ten days in Cuba. Since travel to Cuba from the continental
United States is still prohibited, we are flying out of Cancun, Mexico and are
responsible for that leg of the trip and ancillary expenses - an estimate of
$700 for airfare and related fees. In addition I need to cover some of the
expense of my time lost from work.
Because
this is more than I can afford on my own I am requesting sponsorshipto bring this opportunity to reality for me. Witness
for Peace has suggested a donation of $100 or more but I understand that not
everyone can do that. Please know that whatever you offer will be deeply
appreciated, including your prayers and good wishes for my journey. You may
make a check out to me, Molly Scott, or if you would like your
contributions to be tax deductible, you may write your donation to The
Sumitra Foundation, my non-profit arts for peace organization” for the Cuba
project”. My address is
Dr.
Molly Scott, 127 Warner Hill Road, Charlemont, MA 01339.
Thank
you in advance for any help you can give.Please feel free to call me with any questions at 413-339-5501.
You can read more about my work at mollyscott.com and Witness for Peace at
Witnessforpeace.org.
