Hello all. My friend Tripp is a flautist with DC's Different Drummers band. They are playing at 7 pm this Saturday 10/28 at Church of the Epiphany. Tickets are $25 ($15. for students and seniors). Link below to purchase tickets. Hope to see you there! https://dcdd.org/events/(https://dcdd.org/events/)

I hope some of you will attend this event on Sunday and consider supporting. Thank you. Continuous Trauma and Social Devastation, or Caring for All? Yasser Abu-Jamei, M.D., Psychiatrist and Director of the Gaza Community Mental Health Programme (GCMHP) In Person AND Online: Online Access at: http://bit.ly/HolyLandZoom Sunday, February 12, 2023 12:00-2PM, in person reception, lecture and fundraiser to support GCMHP Foundation for Gaza Community Mental Health, https://www.gazamentalhealth.org/ In Person at: St John's Norwood Episcopal Church 6701 Wisconsin Ave Chevy Chase MD 20815 (walk South from Red line Metro Bethesda stop) Dr. Abu Jamei will be joined by local panelists discussing social division and racisms globally, in the Gaza Strip, and impact on trauma, as well as anti-racism, equality and respect as core values going forward for all peoples: • Dr Nancy Murray, Gaza Mental Health Foundation, • Fida Adely, Phd, Georgetown University • James Gordon, MD-Center for Mind Body Medicine • Kathryn Chefetz, LCSW-Psychoanalyst • Richard Chefetz, MD-Psychiatrist, Traumatologist This free event is organized by the Massachusetts-based Gaza Mental Health Foundation, the primary sponsor of Dr. Abu-Jamei's national tour, with support from the following regional cosponsors: • Holy Land Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington • Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) • Jewish Voice for Peace – Health Advisory Council • Jewish Voice for Peace: DC/Virginia/MD Chapter • Episcopal Peace Fellowship-Palestine/Israel Network (National Capitol Chapter) • Pax Christi-DC Baltimore Chapter • USA Palestine Mental Health Network Dr. Abu-Jamei has steered the GCMHP through devastating times. For 15 years, an Israel-imposed blockade has cut its two million people off from the wider world and all but destroyed the local economy. During that time the Gaza Strip has endured five major Israeli military attacks that have had a severe impact on the physical and psychological health of children and their caregivers. Save the Children International reports, “four out of five children in Gaza say they are living with depression, grief and fear.” On July 21, 2014, Dr. Abu-Jamei lost 28 members of his extended family – including 19 children – in a single missile strike, and other GCMHP staff members have also suffered terrible losses. As the leading Palestinian non-governmental organization providing mental health services to the Gaza Strip, the GCMHP works at the nexus of mental health and human rights, to alleviate trauma and instill hope. In Dr. Abu Jamei’s words, “It is a joy to us when we see children recovering and able to go back to school. We are doing our best to ensure the children can be our future. We are calling for help from the international community to say these children need a future.”

Please consider voting for my cat Summer in the AWLA calendar contest! It is for a great cause, Animal Welfare League of Arlington. Link below. https://www.gogophotocontest.com/animalwelfareleagueofarlington/entries/359581

If you are able, please consider adopting a child's letter via USPS's Operation Santa program. This program has been around for over 100 years (although I only learned of it myself last year) and is a great way to help out a child and/or family. Link below. Thank you! https://www.uspsoperationsanta.com/

I will be attending Cheick Hamala Diabate's performance at Lake Anne Plaza on Thursday, July 29, starting at 7 pm. Some of you are familiar with this amazing musician from Mali; he has played at Lubber Run Amphitheater, most recently in summer of 2018. He plays the lute, but this is no Medieval pastoral concert; it is an international, rollicking, virtuoso experience. Welcome any fellow Salonees to attend!