By BetteAndTinaForever

On June 11, Operation USA will hold a benefit event to debut Mia Kirshner’s Literacy project in Malawi. At first, this event was supposed to happen on April 22 and Jennifer Beals was going to co-host it. Many supporters were scheduled to attend, including: Chris Abani, Mike Bender, Jason Blum, Jodie Evans, Janina Gavankar, Laurel Holloman, Walter Mosley, Rose Rollins, Shiva Rose, and Danny Sussman. Since it had been rescheduled, the guest list and location might be different but the idea behind the event will stay the same.

Operation USA (www.opusa.org) is an international relief agency that helps communities abroad and at home overcome the effects of disasters, disease and endemic poverty by providing privately-funded relief, reconstruction and development aid. They also have several long-term projects promoting education and health services worldwide.

As you remember, last year Mia Kirshner’s book “I Live Here” was published and it’s a visually stunning narrative about war in Chechnya, ethnic cleansing in Burma, globalization in Mexico, and AIDS in Malawi. Mia spent most of her savings to personally go to all these places to tell their stories through journals, images, graphic novellas, and interviews. I have this book and it’s brilliant, educating and heart-breaking.

It’s no surprise that Operation USA had joined forces with Mia and an award-winning author James MacKinnon to begin creative writing field projects, inspired by the book that they both co-authored. This program will launch in Malawi, Africa, with Kirshner and MacKinnon returning to work in the Kachere Juvenile Centre in Lilongwe, the boys’ prison documented in “I Live Here”

For more information about I LIVE HERE, visit http://www.opusa.org/whatwedo/ilivehere.html

All proceeds will directly support the debut I LIVE HERE field project in Malawi, Africa. Tickets are $175 and can be purchased at www.opusa.org or by phone, 310.838.3455.