Pressroom

Join us for a week-long series of guided meditations, conversations, and personal stories encouraging collective empathy, self-reflection, and thoughtful action on our current moment and the inextricable challenges facing us.

As part of a collaboration with the voices of designers and artists across the globe, we will thoughtfully engage our hearts and minds to explore and consider solutions to collectively address the deepest questions we face.

WE BELONG TO EACH OTHER is brought to you by EMI's Seattle Network Chapter, as part of the Seattle Design Festival. Check in daily between Aug 15th - 23rd as we grapple with issues such as inequality, climate change, homelessness, and more.

Maggie McNeil traveled to Uganda 15 years ago with the intent to be a support for her family who had moved to Uganda a year or so before. Within 3 months of this move, she was convinced that God wanted her to stay longer than she had initially planned, eventually even becoming a citizen. Over the next several years, Maggie’s service with the EMI Uganda office has evolved to include initial assessment of volunteer housing, office administration; reviewing and updating local transportation resources; recruiting, supervisory and training roles; and being the office Jaja (Grandmother). Her favorite and long-standing role within EMI Uganda has been in the care and keeping of our interns and guests. Maggie has often been the first welcome for new interns and has carried out the housing orientation for the fresh faced and jet-lagged, keeping an eye on sick interns and sternly instructing the overstrained to take care of themselves. 

Here’s to and in appreciation of Maggie, who continues to be a blessing to EMI.

Design skills are having an impact on the frontlines in the fight against COVID-19 in South Asia!

EMI India is providing pro-bono design services for five different mission hospitals in rural areas to help them prepare for COVID patients. Using plans of the existing hospital spaces, the team is creating layouts for managing COVID patients with the required social distancing and hygiene protocols. These layouts include staff and patient flow patterns, bed layouts, and more.

Two of these mission hospitals have been given notice that they will be taken over by the state and district health departments, as an official government COVID-19 hospital shortly.