About PreventHer
To fill this lack of education about Breast Cancer among refugees and immigrants, we are dedicated to raising awareness among these populations, informing them about Breast Cancer, promoting prevention and early detection, and finally to connect them to the right resources.
Awareness
Most refugees and immigrants are from countries with fewer Breast Health resources and education, so a lot of refugees and immigrants do not know about Breast cancer issues. There are also various factors that contribute to the lower rates of routine, and preventive health care about minority population such as refugees, immigrants or African-Americans including socioeconomic factors, language and communication barriers, education or understanding of health care risks and symptoms, cultural practices, and expectations, or religious beliefs related to health care, and so on. Screening with mammography has been identified as one of the most effective methods for early detection and treatment. Refugees, as with all U.S. populations, should receive preventive screening according to Cancer Screening Guidelines.
Education
To accomplish our mission, we:
- Organize educational workshops every year about topics related to Breast cancer.
- Walking to local events, and working with local institutions.
- Hosting Mobile Mammogram for communities
Support
We want to raise funds to properly educate refugees and immigrants and also support those who have Breast concerns and connect them to the right resources.
Amira Kherrallah
Founder
Born and raised in the Central African Republic, Amira came to the USA in 2019, she founded PreventHer a platform to educate refugees and immigrants about breast cancer in memory of her mom who passed away a couple of years ago after 17 years of fighting Breast Cancer.
When she came to the US she realized that there are a lot of resources in the US and her community is not taking advantage of them because of a lack of education and other barriers that contribute to the lower rate of routine among her community like language barrier, understanding of preventive health, culture, religious belief, etc.
So she decided to start reventHer which is for her a BRIDGE between the resources and her community. Amira believes that education plays a massive role in preventing Breast Cancer.
Beth Colosimo
Executive Director of The Mill Entrepreneurship Center
Prior to joining SLCC, Beth owned and operated her own small business, Wasatch Home Furnishings.
Beth works with numerous non-profit boards and community partners in the
spirit of collaboration and promoting Utah’s small businesses. she is a 2021 recipient of Utah Business
Magazine’s 30 Women To Watch Award. She was also named as a 2021 Pathfinder winner by the Salt
Lake Chamber and Women’s Business Center Athena Awards.
Beth is passionate about working with entrepreneurs and small business owners and those looking to
make a difference in their businesses and communities. She especially enjoys working with
underserved, ethnic and minority students. She is equally passionate about family, travel, golf and India.
Kim Swain
Breast Cancer Survivor & Regular mammogram screening Advocate
Born and raised in Salt Lake City Utah. She considers it a great privilege to have worked in the refugee community for several years. In 2003 Kim was diagnosed with breast cancer. After 2 surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation, she was able to return to a “normal life”.
In 2019 she was once again diagnosed with breast cancer. Kim credits being educated about breast cancer and getting regular mammograms with saving her life. She is passionate about helping others by removing the stigma about talking about breast cancer and mammogram screenings.
Jonessa White
Health advocate and educator
Jonessa received a master’s in public health from the University of Utah in 2012 and has been working to promote women’s health among marginalized populations ever since. She has taught women’s health classes abroad in South America and Asia. Locally, she has worked to improve the quality of life among the homeless at the Fourth Street Clinic, and currently, with refugee populations at the International Rescue Committee. She is passionate about providing education around preventive care and empowering women to make informed decisions regarding their personal health care.
Mukasa Agnes Flavia
Breast Cancer Advocate
From Uganda, Flavia is a mother of 3, she came to the USA in 2019. Strong and Hard worker, Flavia wants to encourage mothers to breastfeed their babies. She believes that Breastfeeding can give your baby a healthy start also can lower the breast cancer risk. She said “I always breastfeed my kids”.