Imagine Change
Friends of Global Health Ministries (and friends of friends!) will gather virtually at 7 pm on Thursday evening, May 6, for a live fundraising Gala to benefit GHM. We’re excited to be able to welcome friends from across the country who aren’t always able to join us in Minneapolis for the Spring Gala!
This year’s program will include updates and stories of the important work of our global partners as together we imagine a world where all people, everywhere, have an opportunity to thrive. Despite the additional challenges of this past, pandemic year, good things are happening in partner countries around the world. Join us to be inspired, and hear where our support, encouragement and partnerships are making a difference.
One such place is Liberia. GHM has partnered in Liberia since one of our very first shipments, and our first shipment to that country, was sent in 1989, just as the first Liberian civil war was erupting. Our support continued throughout both (essentially back-to-back) civil wars, through the difficult years that followed., through the devastating 2014 Ebola crisis, and still today. This year’s Gala program includes an interview with Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee, who was honored in 2011 for her role as a leader of the grassroots movement of Liberian women who helped end that long, brutal war. Ultimately their actions led to the election of the first woman President of an African nation. It’s an extraordinary story of ordinary, committed people who imagined change, and took action that made change possible.
You can go a little deeper into this story by taking advantage of a virtual screening of the award-winning documentary Pray the Devil Back to Hell, which tells the story of Leymah Gbowee and the other Liberian women who helped bring about an end to the war. GHM has arranged for a special virtual screening of the film prior to the Gala for friends of GHM (and friends of friends!). The event is free, but you must register to receive the link. We ask that you not post the link publicly, but would love for you to encourage friends to join you for a watch party, or to visit us at ghm.org to register for the link themselves. The link will be active Saturday, May 1st until midnight, May 2nd. The film is currently also available to Amazon Prime members at any time.
Gala festivities begin on May 1, when the Silent Auction goes live! Bid early and often! You’ll have plenty of time to watch the Gala program and see if you’ve been out-bid afterwards. The auction will end at 9 pm on Thursday, May 6, an hour after after the Gala program concludes.
It’s going to be a Great Gala! Join us!