Vaccination Campaign Underway in Rwanda

This week marks the annual campaign for vaccination of new born and infants in Rwanda. The campaign is organized by the MOH and other partners including the UNICEF, The Global Fund, The Access Project and other international organizations.

The campaign is held twice a year with a three day campaign at all hospitals and health centers across all of Rwanda. The event is supported by the local government, and health centers. Community Health Workers educate the public and drive the population to visit health centes in their area to protect their children against preventable disease and illnesses. The campaign addresses concerned mothers and both parents. This round is focused on polio as well as nutrition with doses of vitamin A.

I got to participate in the campaign in my district and accopmanied the Vice Mayor for Health and Social Services during her visit to one of the health centers to inaugurate the three day campaign. Such visits by high level officials, which also included representatives from local health centers, the local defence forces, and other officials, promote such prevention campaigns and encourage the general population to participate.

Books for Africa – REQUEST FOR SUPPORT (https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=696-001)

BACKGROUND

District of Gakenke is one of 5 districts in the Northern Province with 19 sectors and a total population of 233,217. Gakenke Ville is the district decentralized capital and will be the site of the proposed library. Gakenke Ville consists of two sectors, Nemba and Gakenke. Nemba sector is home to Nemba District Hospital, one of two district hospitals. The hospital provided full range of primary care services, Emergency department and other services and is supported by a community health center that processes over 150 patients per day. Gakenke Ville is also home to several schools including primary and secondary schools. The district is not supported with any vocational schools or post-secondary education. Other than a modest library at the district hospital with some dated medical books, the district has no libraries in place.

The main employers in the area include the district office including the office of the district Mayor, the vice mayors for social services and health and business development. Other local and international partners include:

GE Healthcare and GE Foundation – supporting the district hospital and local health centers through the donation of vital medical equipments as well as technical and educational staff training.
World Vision – technical assistance, education, nutrition
Medicus Mundi – healthcare services, facilities support, technical training
BTC – infrastructure support, facilities development
The Global Fund – technical support and training and facility construction in the fight against infection disease
The Access Project – technical support with medical staff education and training
US Peace Corps – community service and development


COMMUNITY NEEDS

Like many communities around Rwanda, the community in Gakenke has many needs starting with clean water sources, nutrition services, medical care and education. Several national and local initiatives as well as resources are being mobilized to meet community needs. However, despite recent development and support from local and regional authority classrooms continue to be cramped with students who also have to share one book for every 3-4 students. The community also lake a resource center or the tools that can help the next generation learn important skills and knowledge essential for this digital age.

Directors of the local schools, the district authority along with the support from the local Peace Corps volunteer and Books for Africa port from the local Peace Corps volunteer, will work to provide the initial seed for securing needed text books and resources to school aged students as well as developing a community resource center. The goal of the public resource center is to provide access to books in different subjects and domains, enrich the local community in terms of cultural exchange and knowledge, as well as provide a computer resource center to teach commuter science skills.
See Appendix A for order form.

COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTION

The community at Gakenke is very supportive and excited about the prospect of having a well stocked library in their community reflected in the support from the Mayor’s office and ending with school children at the local elementary school. In show of good will the local community is committing the following resources:
The district office to commit needed resources in terms of securing an adequate space to house a community public library.
Director of Education Services along with directors of local schools to secure clean and adequate space at schools to house library books in an environment that is conductive to learning and cultural exchange.
The proposal is being shared with other NGOs and partners supporting the community at large in Gakenke whom are expected to provide technical support and other donations in kind.
The president of the local Joint Action Development Forum known as Terimbere Gakenke, is offering store front space rent-free. The space will be used to house the Rwando-American Social and Cultural Organization (ROSCO). This organization is a joint effort directed by the local Peace Corps volunteer in Gakenke and other community members. The mission of the organization is to stimulate cross-cultural exchange between Rwanda and the US with a social atmosphere. The donated space is to showcase Rwandan art and culture, include books, references, and other media resources on American history and culture.

CASE FOR SUPPORTING THIS COMMUNITY

Similar to many other communities in Rwanda, the local population is eager to learn and hungry for new knowledge and skills. However, the community at Gakenke is home to a diverse group of population given the presence of one two District Hospitals, a boarding secondary school, the district office including the mayor’s office and other district authority facilities. In addition, this community is supported by Peace Corps and Peace Corps volunteers that will ensure continuity of the project with focus on sustainability and training of local community members.

Week 3 (Ibyumweru Gatatu)

Third week of August was exciting with a change of pace!! I had learned the week before of a planned visit by a team of executives from GE Health to assess and review the installation and utilization of medical equipments that were donated in the past, to have an inauguration party and to assess a few more sites for future donations.

Monday I met with the assessment team and planned for a reception and inauguration party to receive the GE Foundation executives.

I worked with my counterpart and other hospital staff on putting together a pp presentation highlighting the services and statistics from the hospital, highlighting local and global partners, reviewing some of the equipments donated by GE and success stories from the field.

The reception was a great success complete with a secondary school drummers and cow dancers; the attendance of all district officials including the mayor, vice mayor for social development and health, representative from the local police and defense forces!!

The GE team was taken on a tour of the hospital grounds and got to see the impact of the modern equipment in action. The equipment the hospital received empowers health providers and is saving lives. A list of equipments includes patient monitoring systems, infant warmers and incubators, radiology modalities, lab equipments as well as anesthesia workstation!!

The GE team seemed to be pleased with the tour and the visit and were most impressed by the accountability and professionalism of the staff. The GE personnel noted how all donated equipments were accounted for during their visit and promised to provide further support through training and maintenance.

I'm also glad to announce that the team's trip was a success that GE Foundation is committing another $300,000 in equipments to support health centers and hospitals around Rwanda.

August in Rwanda (Week Kabiri, 2)

Week 2 of August was Peace Corps In Service Training, or following with PC's love for acronyms, IST. IST is a weeklong retreat marking the completion of Phase I of our deployment in the field. It was the first time all of us PCVs reunited since we were sworn in on April 15th and shipped out to site. During the first three months we were expected to acclimate and adjust to our new homes, conduct a community based assessment identifying community needs and starting to think in terms of what our projects will be like.

IST was a time for us to share on our experiences, successes and failures during the first three months. We each gave a 10 minute (timed) presentation to the rest of the PCVs. In between, we had some language training and other group activities such as brain storming for group projects.

I should mention that IST was held at a nice resort in the town of Kibuye on Lake Kivu. Kibuye is a beautiful lake front town in the western province and sits in a lagoon on the lake. Lake Kivu, one of the great lakes of eastern Africa, boarders Rwanda to the west with the shore on the opposite side belonging to the war-torn DR Congo. The lake is crystal clear despite disputed reports of possible Schistomises and pockets of methane gas and is dotted with several islands.

On Wednesday, we sailed off to Amahoro or Peace Island. PC set up a picnic for us out there along with full service lunch (the kitchen staff along with all the silverware, big stainless steel food containers, and drinks joined us on the 35 minute boat ride to the island!! it was cheaper than ordering brochettes on a stick and french fries!!)

IST turned out to be a relaxing and rejuvenating week for us. The days consisted of breakfast in the morning starting at 7 followed by training sessions from 8 to 12 when we break for lunch. we then start again from 1 till 5. At 5, a group of us would change in to swimming trunks and bathing suites and go for a swim in the lake with the watchful eye of our medical director!! (p.s. non of us contracted Schisto as far as I know, yet to be confirmed). With the full moon lighting the night sky during this week, one couldn’t resist night swims in the lake under the bright light of the full moon reflecting on the lake!!

I must say that I was looking forward to go back to my site after IST full of energy and excited to start my new project.

August in Rwanda (Week 1)

August has been full of adventures for me in Rwanda. I moved yet again to a new site (luckily to a place I've been before and with strong connections), but I also got to add to my experiences here in Rwanda.


Week 1: trip to Nyungwe National Park and Chimpanzee trekking. Took the bus 5 and half hours to Kate's site where I met with other friends and crashed in Kate's little tiny one bedroom house!! That same night, went to a interesting BBQ at some South African contractor's pad. In Rwanda constructing a new tourist's 5 star lodge for Dubai World, these guys lived a life that was far away from what we've been accustomed to while in Rwanda...it was a welcome change of scenery for sure


Waking up at 4 AM and getting ready for a two hour ride on the back of the Acre Fund truck was priceless. Laying in the flat bed in the back and staring at the sky as the sun rises over the tea fields was quite an experience. We had to get to the park early to catch the Chimps during their morning ritual of grabbing on leaves and fruits for breakfast followed by grooming sessions before they start coming down the trees and finding a new place to set up their nests. So turns out Chimps set up a new camp every night!! Chimps move in big groups usually a family of 50 that's lead by one alpha chimp.

Saturday afternoon we drove to Tyazo on Lake Kivu and home to the Acre Fund office. The Adventist Church owns an amazing house on the lake with canoes, rafts and other water sport toys.

The Travel Bug: from the Northern Province

Rwanda is blessed with unfettered beauty and endless hills and valleys that it earned the nick name the land of thousand hills. However, these hills seize to dominate the terrain once you’re deep in the Northern Province and arrive to Musanze. Musanze is the third largest city in Rwanda (after Kigali City and Butare) and sits on a plateau that’s half encircled with the Virunga volcanic mountains. The Virunga Mountains are declared a protected national park known as the Volcanoes National Park (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanoes_National_Park) which is also home to the endangered Mountain Gorilla.

The Volcanoes National Park offers a great place for hiking with several trails with various levels of difficulties. I recently hiked mount Bisoke (3,711m), one of the five volcano mountains, with a group of friends and other muzungu tourists. The other mountains are: Muhabura (4,127m), Gahinga (3,474m), Sabyimbo (3,634m), and Karisimbi (4,507). (reference: 1m = 3.28084 ft)

Mount Bisoke is home to the Amahoro Gorilla group and is crowned with a crater lake, which makes the three and half hour hike to the top worthwhile. The scenery from Bisoke is breath taking with amazing views of the other mountain tops breaking through the clouds atop the villages way below, and if you’re lucky you might come across other wild inhabitants of the national park such as the mountain elephant and the mountain buffalo. Our group was not lucky enough to see neither but we certainly stepped in their TERD!! The fauna in the area is just as amazing starting with potato fields right at the entrance of the part and starting with bamboo park (home to the mountain buffalo and elephant). As you continue ascending, you’ll reach the rain forest and as the weather gets colder with elevation, you’ll start noticing the more Siberian type plants with small leaves and tiny flowers!!

If you’re an avid mountain trekker but feel constrained by you modest PC stipend and feel the pinch to spend the $65 for park fees and another $80 for a car hire, another option is just as fascinating. Mount Kabuye is one pf the largest mountains in Rwanda and is right outside my new hometown of Gakenke. Mount Kabuye is about 3,500m offers an interesting hiking experience and is FREE. And for the price of a cold beer and a chocolate croissant from Naukumat you can spend the night at my house and get an early start the next day with a guided tour from yours truly.

In addition to trekking and visiting the Mountain Gorillas, Musanze offers a great opportunity for mountain biking, and is also a short bus ride (1:15 hours) to Gisenyi, which sits on the northern end of lake Kivu.

Updates on my earlier post titled "My New Home Away from Home"

Moving yet again. this time I'm relocating from the Rwandan capital of Gorillas and volcano mountains to a small little village on the way to my old home of Musanze from Kigali.

My new home is a village...one dirt road that leads at the end of it to the district hospital...the market here is open only twice a week and has 1 or 2 decent restaurants. On the bright side, I get to enjoy quiet time, clean air, and the view of the second largest mountain range in Rwanda.

To coupe with the slower pace in my new village I acquired some additional books to pass my evenings. On my immediate reading list are the following (as of Sept 12, 2009):

Recently finished: We Wish to Inform you That Tomorrow we will be killed with our families: stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch, Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, Three Cups of Tea By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

Currently reading: The Big Necessity by Rose George
In my possession:
A Thousand Hills: Rwanda's rebirth and the man who dreamt it by Stephen Kinzer ,
Kilimanjaro: a Complete trekker's guide to Africa's Highest Mountain by Alexander Stewart

Book I refuse to continue reading: Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri. The writer is too negative and presumptuous!! unless someone can convince me that it gets better I'll leave it at chapter 2!!

Enroute from the my dear friend Huong back in Chicago:
Dead Aide by Dambisa Moyo and Niall Ferguson

Books I'd like to read: Mountains beyond Mountains
I'd like to watch: Real Time with Bill Maher, other HBO shows