Lives on the Line - World Vasectomy Day 2013
(PRWEB) August 14, 2013 -- Today was meant to be the ‘call out’ to men throughout the US, Australia and the world to ‘put their balls on the line’ and sign up for World Vasectomy Day (WVD) - the first ever global vasectomy-athon set for October 18th, 2013.
The goal for WVD is to get 1,000 men in 25 countries to participate in the biggest male oriented family planning event ever, while launching a global conversation about the dangers associated with an increasing population on a planet with finite resources.
Volunteers from around the world will be asked to dedicate their vasectomy to WVD. The events will be live-streamed online to a global audience. A series of discussions involving medical and population experts is planned including renowned Stanford University biologist Professor Paul Ehrlich, author of the seminal text, The Population Bomb and a lifelong campaigner for universal access to family planning.
“Can vasectomies really make a difference? Mine made a big difference in my life, and to this day I consider it the single most important contribution I have personally made to the wellbeing of future generations, “ says Ehrlich.
WVD is the culmination of a four-year journey that has taken two-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker Jonathan Stack to Florida, Haiti, Kenya, the Philippines and Australia, making THE VASECTOMIST, a film about the world’s leading vasectomist, Dr Doug Stein - a man on a mission to save the planet, one vasectomy at a time.
But just when the callout was set to go, Stack received news that Dr Stein and his daughter Alison were involved in a terrible car accident leaving them both wounded and two others dead. They had been preparing to summit Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to unfurl a World Vasectomy Day banner. Stack relayed the following message from Alison Stein on their reluctant return to Florida:
“We're very much in awe to be alive to tell the tale. I'm sad, we did not hike the mountain, but honored that the others did not give up. My summiting will have to wait for the second anniversary of World Vasectomy Day!”
“We are all resolute in making the inauguration of World Vasectomy Day a reality despite this terrible tragedy,” says Stack, “and inspired that Ramon Suarez, president of No Scalpel Vasectomy International and Maryann Stein (Doug's wife) reached the top of Mt Kilimanjaro.’’
Be it the healing of those who have suffered, the pain of pursuing the impossible dream, the summiting of a mountain or the creating of an event whose purpose is to motivate men to put their ‘balls on the line’ to protect our planet’s future, the WVD team remain intent on realising their goals for October 18, 2013.
Dr Stein says, “I did not make it to the top of the mountain this year, but World Vasectomy Day’s significance transcends any obstacle we will encounter.”
And so preparations for WVD are advancing with all the pieces in place apart from insufficient financing to achieve the scale of the day’s ambitions. It is a race against time with victory being a brighter future for the world’s children.
“Discussing population is fraught with controversy, but silence spells disaster. Even if you’re not putting your balls on the line, you can still be a part of making history by contributing much needed resources,” urges Stack.
With just 9 crowdfunding days to go, the WVD team are asking for people’s help to make WVD a reality by pledging to support their campaign here: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/world-vasectomy-day
The ‘call out’ to men to register their interest in having a vasectomy on WVD in Australia and the US will be announced within the next two weeks so stay tuned.
WVD is produced by Jonathan Stack’s New York-based Gabriel Films and Simon Nasht’s Sydney-based Smith&Nasht – both media production companies are focused on social issue storytelling.
For all media enquiries and interviews, contact:
Ruth Cross - Producer
+61 435 556 339
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/world-vasectomy-day
http://thevasectomist.net
http://facebook.com/thevasectomist
http://youtube.com/thevasectomist
https://twitter.com/thevasectomist
http://worldvasectomyday.org
Ruth Cross, Smith&Nasht, http://thevasectomist.net, +61 435556339, [email protected]
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