Barley’s Taproom & Pizzeria will play host to a fundraiser for the University of Tennessee’s chapter of Amnesty International today starting at 8 p.m.
Jodie Manross, Band of Humans, the Matt Morelock Trio and the Natty Love Joys will all perform. All entrance fees and donations will go directly to the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia.
“It’s a whole cross section of music … we have everything from folk to soft rock to this music that describes itself as interplanetary,” Johanna Stiebert, faculty advisor for the UT chapter of Amnesty International, said.
Entrance is $3 for students and $5 for the general public. Barley’s is not charging the group to hold the event, and all of the bands are performing for free.
“We hope that people will come to be entertained at the event, but also come because they’re a little bit moved and inspired by the work this hospital is doing in Ethiopia,” Luke Obrock, president of UT’s chapter of Amnesty International, said.
Stiebert added, “It is an extremely worthy cause, and it is very clear how much money is needed. And what is so striking is that the amount of $450, to be precise, can immensely improve the quality of life for a woman and give her a much better existence.
“She will no longer be ostracized because of the persistent smell she will have while she has the fistula, she will be able to have more children and she’ll be able to live a life of dignity.”
A fistula is caused by a difficult labor and is common in developing countries where access to medical services is less available. It gives women discomfort and leads to infection with the leaking of urine and/or feces making an unpleasant smell that can lead to her not being accepted by the community.
Reginald and Catherine Hamlin, medical doctors, founded the fistula hospital in 1974, and it is dedicated solely to operating on fistulas. The hospital is financed entirely by donations, and Catherine has overseen more than 20,000 fistula operations. Stiebert said it is hard for the hospital to meet the demand of operations needed, because it is totally dependent on donations.
“Sometimes causes feel like just big, black holes that you just can never fill, but something like this, we can say that $450 will pay for one operation, the bus fare home and a new dress for each of the women that we can raise money for,” Stiebert said.
“We originally had … the high-up-there goal of two operations at $900, but Tomato Head with one single donation (of $450) really pushed that upwards. So we’re hoping to get enough for three now,” Obrock said.
