Celebrated One Billion Rising in Second Life 2019

https://youtu.be/ErlQFsxdcSI

SL10B: Meet The Community - Saffia Widdershins meets the Non-Profits

Just had to share this videoclip featuring my first  Second Life 10th Birthday celebration (SL10B) event...

  On Wednesday June 19th, I participated on a "Meet the Community" panel with several members of the NonProfit Commons in Second Life (NPC) community as part of the Second Life 10th Birthday celebration (SL10B). The discussion was hosted by Saffia Widdershins. Her guests included Gentle Heron (Virtual Ability), Rhiannon Chatnoir (Joyce Bettencourt) and me, SarVana Haalan aka Sally S. Cherry. It was great to see Zinnia Zauber, Oronoque Westland, and other community members in the audience. 

The SL10B event was a virtual milestone for me... It was my  first voice panel discussion within a virtual world community. It was indeed a bit tricky in the beginning but thanks to Rhiannon's technical assistance, I had a good sound check.

Please note: The videoclip is raw and unedited. The start of the video was not captured due to an overlap of broadcasting sessions.

National Health Blog Post Month: 30 Days; 30 Posts 02 - “Quoted Inspiration”

  On November 2^nd, I started Day 2’s Post for National Health Blog Post Month but real life interfered with my writing. Although it is a bit late, I wanted to share my “Inspirational Quotation” with you.

The issue of “injustice in health care” has been the “call to action” that inspires much of my community outreach and professional work. With each community activity, I try to do my part in helping to eliminate the “injustice in health care” that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke about at the

1966 Second National Convention of the Medical Committee for Human Rights in Chicago, IL.

The African American Museum of Philadelphia

  Over the years, the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. have inspired many people to action including me (and my alter-ego). Although virtual worlds did not exist during Dr. King’s life, his words still inspired many colleagues working within virtual world communities as in real life. When we were asked to find an inspirational quote for Day 2 of National Health Blog Post Month, Dr. King words about “injustice in health care” again echoed in my ears.  When I sought out Dr. King’s exact quotation, I found an excellent article in The Charlotte Observer written by Dr. Jessica Schorr Saxe. Being a Charlotte physician and a board member of the Health Care for All North Carolina, it is apparent that Dr. Saxe was also inspired by the words of Dr. King. At the 1966 Second National Convention of the Medical Committee for Human Rights in Chicago, IL (USA), the words of Dr. King rang out…

"Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane."

  As I read Dr. Saxe’s article entitled, “Next civil rights frontier? It surely has to be health care”, I found myself thinking of the 12 year old African-American boy who died of a toothache several years ago. Yes, you read right… a toothache! Apparently the boy’s family had lost its health insurance which happens so often after the loss of a job; a medical bankruptcy, or another life challenge. As in many cases, the young boy’s family had no health insurance and could not afford the expense of a dentist for… a toothache.

University of Maryland Dental School in Second Life

  Many people may not realize that an untreated toothache can lead to intense pain, gum swelling, and even death. In the case of the young boy, a toothache did indeed lead to death. His untreated toothache lead to his admission to the hospital but too much time had passed. Apparently an infection from a dental abscess had spread to his brain which resulted in his death. Yes, a toothache!

This young boy was just one of many victims of the “injustice in healthcare” which still exist 46 years after Dr. King spoke on “injustice in health care”. So, I definitely agree with Dr. Saxe’s statement… “Dr. King would find the next civil rights frontier in health care, with nearly 50 million uninsured, almost 45,000 deaths annually due to lack of insurance, and more than half of all personal bankruptcies linked to illness and medical bills.”

 Thus, my inspiration for community outreach, collaborations, and related activities. With still much work to be done in our cities,  the words of Dr. King are  indeed our "call to action"…

"Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane."

        Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1966)

 

Related Health Links

Maryland Health Care for All!
2011 National Healthcare Disparities Report (AHRQ)

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