Prints by a number of renowned photographers are to be auctioned on Thursday to raise funds to support healthcare for refugees.
Moved to action by the Calais refugee crisis, the Hoxton Cabin in Kingsland Road will be selling donated prints by a number of photographers including Andy Lo Po, Russell Watkins and Sam Knight at prices ranging freom £100 to £200.
All of the proceeds will be going towards healthcare provision for refugees and asylum seekers through the Doctors of The World charity.
A selection of the prints that will be available on Thursday
Mark Sharrat, the project’s coordinator, told Eastlondonlines about how he was effected by the shocking photograph of Alan Kurdi, the drowned Syrian boy on the beach, which illustrated the tragic plight of refugees and circulated back in 2015. He said: “It was a bit of a wakeup call. I wanted to help somehow.”
With help from his wife, who is a doctor, Sharrat devised the initiative. After putting him in contact with Doctors of The World, they partnered up to create Prints for Refugees in 2015. Using his contacts, he recruited photographers and artists he knew to donate pieces to the collection. Over the past 4 years they’ve collected nearly £40,000.
Doctors of the World is a NGO that operates in the UK and all over the world. They have projects in war torn communities such as the Rohinga, and have bases in Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.
A representative told Eastlondonlines that they aim to work with the community they are in to provide healthcare, without imposing their will. They said: “It’s a sustainable approach to health care… they build up local access to health care.”
In the UK, their work is varied, providing healthcare for those unable to access the National Health Service, whether this is because of a language barrier or their immigration status.
Aaminah Verity told Eastlondonlines about her time working with Doctors of The World in Greece and Calais. She said: “It was very challenging and for many patients the only healthcare they had was Doctors of the World providing midwifery, paediatricians, GP and psychologists.”
The conditions treated included PTSD from warfare, rashes from no clean nappies and pregnancy. For some women, they had received no antenatal care at all.
