March 15, 2010

Speaking Tour Schedule

Here is the new speaking tour schedule (please note that it is still subject to change given our having to change speakers)!  Between March 29 and May 2,  I will be in Iowa, Northern California, Southern California, Missouri, Florida, Tennessee and DC.  I hope you all will try to make it to one of the events!

IOWA

MARCH 29 @ 6 PM- Community Potluck, Eastern Iowa Quakers.  Contact: Ruthie Tippen, tynwald@mchsi.com

MARCH 30 @ 7 PM- Sponsored by Campus Ministries, Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois.  Contact: Deborah Dakin, deborahdakin@augustana.edu and Richard Priggie, RichardPriggie@augustana.edu

MARCH 31- Iowa City Public Library, Peace Iowa, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Free and open to the public.  Contact: Lori Nelson, peaceiowa@iowatelecom.net

APRIL 1 @ 12:30 PM- Global Health Luncheon Series, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa.  Contact: Robin Paetzold, robin-paetzold@uiowa.edu

APRIL 1 @ 7 PM- Peace by Piece Community Access Television.  Contact: Pat Minor, patminor51@gmail.com

APRIL 3 @ 10 AM- Free Women in Christ, Cedar Rapids Iowa. Contact: Mary Brent, jubimaprinting@yahoo.com and Deborah Dakin, debdakin@earthlink.net

APRIL 5 @ 7:15 PM- “Child Labor and International Human Rights,” University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. Contact: Jeremy Brigham, brighamjeremy@q.com

APRIL 6 @ 12:00 PM- “Sub-Saharan African Culture,” Benton Hall 357, Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Contact: Jeremy Brigham, brighamjeremy@q.com

APRIL 6 @ 3:30 PM- “War and Health,” University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa. Contact: Dr. Maureen McCue,  mickiq@earthlink.net

APRIL 6 @ 7:30 PM- Amnesty International, U.N. Association, Women for Peace, and People’s Unitarian Church, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Contact: Kathy Hall, khall479@aol.com

APRIL 7- Prairiewood’s Women’s Group, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Contact: Sister Marjorie English, menglish@prairiewoods.org


NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

APRIL 8- Santa Rosa Friends House, Santa Rosa, CA. Contact: Kay Kerriden, kkerri40@friendshouse.org

APRIL 11- Grass Valley, CA.

APRIL 12- FACE AIDS, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA.  Contact: Julie Veroff, julie@faceaids.org

APRIL 13 @ 7:30 PM- Berkeley Friends Church, Berkeley, CA.  Contact: Kathryn Barnhart, kabarnhart@comcast.net

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

APRIL 15- “African Storytelling: Then and Now,” University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. Contact: Rachel Fretz, fretz@humnet.ucla.edu

APRIL 15 @ 4 PM- Public Health Faculty, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California.

APRIL 17 @ 6 PM- Community Potluck at Stan Sterl’s Home

APRIL 18 @ 10 AM- Santa Monica Meeting, Santa Monica, CA.  Contact: Rachel Fretz, fretz@humnet.ucla.edu

MISSOURI

APRIL 19 @ 4 PM- Eden Seminary, St. Louis, MO.  Contact: Deborah Douglas, dwdouglas13@gmail.com

APRIL 19 @ 7 PM- Evangelical UCC, Webster Groves, MO.  Contact: Deborah Douglas, dwdouglas13@gmail.com

ARIL 20- St. Peter’s UCC, Washington, MO.  Contact: Deborah Douglas, dwdouglas13@gmail.com

FLORIDA

APRIL 22-24 – Friends Peace Teams Annual Meeting, St. Petersburg, FL

TENNESSEE

APRIL 25 @ 9 AM- Pleasant Hill UCC, Pleasant Hill, TN.  Contact: Tom Warren, phcc@frontiernet.net

APRIL 25- Congregational Potluck Supper, Pleasant Hill, TN.  Contact: Tom Warren, phcc@frontiernet.net

APRIL 27 @ 12 PM- Fairfield Glade Noon Rotary Club, Fairfield Glade, TN. Contact: Steven Douglas, sdouglas13@charter.net

APRIL 28 @ 6:30 AM- Crossville Breakfast Rotary Club, Crossville, TN. Contact: Steven Douglas, sdouglas13@charter.net

APRIL 29 @ 12 PM- Crossville Noon Rotary Club, Crossville, TN. Contact: Steven Douglas, sdouglas13@charter.net

WASHINGTON, D.C.

APRIL 30 @ 12 PM- Friends Committee on National Legislation, Washington, DC. Contact: Rebecca Sheff, rebecca.sheff@gmail.com

MAY 2- Bethesda Friends Meeting, Bethesda, MD. Contact: Liz Hofmeister, hofmeister@earthlink.net

MAY 2- William Penn House, Washington, DC. Contact: Brad Ogilvie, brad@williampennhouse.org

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March 15, 2010

Sad News and Change of Plans

Hello friends,

I am sad to announce that Dr. Alexia Nibona, our medical and executive director at FWA, was denied a visa to enter the United States for her 1-month speaking tour.

This is a huge disappointment for us at FWA because we know how much the people attending the near 40 events we had planned would benefit from learning about our small little clinic working at the nexus of health and peace.

This denial demonstrates the many problems with the United States immigration system.  Despite Dr. Alexia being the medical and executive director of FWA, in addition to the Vice-President of a national HIV/AIDS alliance and an attending physician at a local hospital (as well as married, with a house, car, and 12 adopted children), the US claims that she did not have enough social and economic ties to compel her to come back to Burundi after her visit.   It is assumed her intent is to stay in the US and it is her responsibility to prove otherwise….and everything mentioned above was not enough.

However, we do not want to cancel Dr. Alexia’s tour.  Therefore, I will be taking Dr. Alexia’s place on the one-month tour of the United States.  I will have a short video of Alexia with me so that people can still “meet” her, even if she is not able to make it in person.

My next post will include the revised speaking-tour schedule.  I hope you all will try to make it if there is an event near you!

Peace,

alex

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March 10, 2010

More Pictures! From my hike in Igenda…

As promised…more pictures!  These are from a hike I took in Igenda a few weeks ago.

I’m headed up to Kibimba now for the second part of our evaluation of the trauma healing programs!

Peace,

alex

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March 5, 2010

Pictures!

Hello Friends!

I know I am behind on my posting…things have been busy here between writing proposals for medical equipment we need, planning Dr. Alexia’s speaking tour (I will get a schedule up soon so all of you all in surrounding areas can tune in), going to the DRC for an evaluation of a partner organization’s trauma program, and so much more.

I thought I’d get up some pictures so you can see some of what is going on!

First, the Democratic Republic of Congo:

I’m writing a report on the trauma healing program right now.  It will come out in the April edition of AGLI PeaceWays.  I’ll try to post in here too!

As soon as this actually loads, I’ll get a second post up from a recent hike I took.

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February 19, 2010

Trauma Healing with Women in Kamenge

For the past two days, we’ve been holding an evaluation of our trauma healing program that was held in Kamenge in 2008/2009 (we also had programs in 3 other sites up country).

We gathered around 40 women from the community to share their experiences in the program and help us shape our recommendations for the next phase of the project.

It was a moving experience and I thought I’d share with you some of what I the women shared with me:

“We have been traumatized.  We have been traumatized because of war. Because of hunger.  Because we often live without shelter or a house.  Sometimes people think we are crazy, but this program helped us understand the wounds that are inside.  We learned to recognize the symptoms and causes of trauma and we are learning how to manage our grief.”

“In our culture, people try to hide their pain, especially women.  If a girl is raped, she is the daughter of someone, and so she cannot say that she is raped because it will be shameful for her and her family.  But the person who does not talk hurts inside.  She may also not get the medical care she needs because of shame.  We learned that it is important to talk to someone about these things, that it is not shameful, and it is not something we should bear alone.   We learned that there is this clinic here which can care for us.”

“Before this program, I only had prayer.  There has been war in my country my whole life.  In 1973 [after the massacre of virtually all Hutu intellectuals], I went mad.  I was even put in a hospital.  But I only had prayer and my God to help me.  I used to ask God to forget, but now I have learned the steps to manage my grief and now I ask God for the power to forgive.”

“I am a widow.  I lost my husband during the war and was very traumatized. I used to hide myself and not talk to others.   But now, I am reaching out to my neighbors to help them with their own trauma.”

“I had never talked about my problems and what happened to me before I came to this group.  When they started the teachings, I felt like they were talking about only me.  There was one exercise where we were asked to share our problems.  I shared for the first time and I cried and cried.  People supported me and asked me good questions.  And when I listened, I realized it was not only me.  I was not alone.  Now I feel free.”

“I didn’t know anything about trauma before the workshop.  But when [the facilitators] told us what was trauma, what were the causes of trauma, I realized that I knew trauma even though I didn’t know to call it that.  During the war, you lose your beloved ones.  You lose your house.  If you are a widow, like me, you have lost your husband.  This brings you even more problems and you will be traumatized.  Even our poverty traumatizes us.”

These are only a few of the many quotes and stories I gathered over the last two days.  I’m a bit behind on my blogging and have a lot to catch you all up on!  I will try to follow up with the analysis and more soon!

Love,

alex

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February 2, 2010

GHC Fellowship Applications Open!

Hello all!

Global Health Corps Fellowship applications are now open!

We want to find two outstanding individuals to come work with us at the clinic, so please send these two job descriptions to anyone you know under 30 that may be interested and fit the bill!

To see the job descriptions for US citizens, click on this link: http://apply.ghcorps.org/fellowships/79

Applications for US citizens  are due March 1st!

To see the job descriptions Burundian citizens, click on this link:http://apply.ghcorps.org/fellowships/80

Applications for Burundian citizens are due April 1st!

As I said the other day, we are seeking a dedicated and dynamic Global Health Corps Fellows Team to work with us on developing our monitoring and evaluation process. We are looking for two individuals whose strengths are complimentary–one person who has a high level of IT proficiency, particularly around database programming and management, and a second person who has strong research and statistical analysis skills, as well as the verbal and writing skills to communicate this information to the broader community.

Together, the GHC Fellows Team will work with FWA staff to develop an electronic medical records database which will allow us to monitor our individual patients and generate reports based on the patient population as a whole. They will also work with the FWA staff to ensure that this information reaches the appropriate local, national and international government and non-government agencies.

So, as I said, get the word out if you can!

Cheers,

alex

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February 2, 2010

“Coup-plotters” arrested in Burundi

Over the weekend, 12 soldiers and 1 officer were arrested for allegedly plotting a coup against the current President Pierre Nkurunziza.  To the amusement of many Burundians, they were arrested while relaxing and spending Saturday afternoon down at the beach.   The group arrested were a mixed group of both Hutus and Tutsis.

I have received many kind emails since Saturday asking if everything was alright and what I thought of the current political situation here in Burundi.   I thought I would respond here on the blog so that I could keep you all up to date.

The 2010 elections are just months away here in Burundi and election registration has been going on for the last week and a half.  I, and many other colleagues and partners throughout Burundi, are registered through the Quaker Peace Network as election observers.

These elections are very important, as they are only the second elections since the 13-year civil war ended.  Civil society and the international community are concerned about what we call “transitional justice,” or the range of actions, policies, and politics that must be practiced in a transparent and fair way to ensure the peaceful transition from one political regime to the next, or a transition from conflict to open democracy.

In this regard, there have already been pockets of registration irregularities .  There are also expectations that pockets of violence will break out throughout the country during the five month election period from May to September (the elections are divided throughout the summer between colline, commune, provincial, Presidential, Parliamentarian and Senatorial elections…I think I got all those right).

The recent alleged “coup-plotting” is perhaps only a symptom of the tensions currently felt by the administration and other political figures.  As many people I have spoken to have said, thirteen guys on the beach doesn’t seem like a huge threat; however, the government has been very quick to publicize and criticize the “coup-plotters,” as well as promise further arrests.

I guess this leads me to the question: what is the real current or feeling on the ground here in Burundi? Are tensions building up like in 1993 when the first democratically elected Hutu president was assassinated and a 13-year civil war broke out?

And well, the answer depends on who you talk to.

I think tensions are running very high at the political level.  People I know who work for international NGOs also reflect this tension.   They get the daily reports of who has done what and who is supposedly supporting what youth gangs and who is supposedly aligning or conniving with who.

However, in Kamenge where I work and which is also considered one of the potential hot-beds of violence, people tell me that they are tired of violence.  They are tired of lootings and feeling insecure at night.  They are tired of the political game.   They are also very quick to say that this is  different from 1993 when the tensions bubbled from the ground up and there was mass popular violence and massacres after the death of President Ndadaye.

Most people seem to believe that there will be some violence, but they do not seem to believe that it will reach the popular level as before.  However, they  also say they are with “désespérance,” or without hope that the election will be clean, fair, and transparent.

So, right now, I would say the potential for violence lies in how much political parties work to create confusion and chaos amongst the people…which is why the work of our partners, like HROC, is so important right now.  They are working to create a network of people across the country who know how to recognize growing tensions and mediate them in a peaceful way.   They are also working to create an early warning system which will enable early, peaceful intervention before larger violence could break out.

But it is also why it is so important that our little clinic is located at the heart of Kamenge.  Providing people with healthcare, with nutrition, teaching them how to live positively with HIV/AIDS, how to live peacefully with their neighbors, and heal from the psychological trauma of war gives people hope for the future.  They have something to live on and for. And when there is that hope for the future, there are much greater possibilities for peace.

Anyway, those are my current reflections and I will try to keep you filled in as we move forward towards the elections.

Genda n’amahoro,

alex

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February 1, 2010

Climate Change in Burundi

The last couple of days have been brutally hot here in Bujumbura.  While my parents are shoveling snow in Tennessee, I’m taking cold showers to cool down and feeling hot and sticky again within moments of stepping out of the bathroom.

What’s strange is that this hot spell is, well, out of place.  Usually the rainy season is from September- November, with a “short-dry” season in December and January, and then rain again from February- May before the “long-dry” season between June and August.  But it only quit raining last week…and now it’s brutally hot.  Every Burundian I know is commenting on it and, to my surprise, almost everyone (at all levels of society) is contributing it to climate change…the neighborhood women who sell us vegetables, taxi drivers, people on the bus, the FWA staff, and the participants who were in last week’s gardening workshop.

For instance, in the gardening workshop we had last week the facilitator asked participants to comment on what had changed in Burundi over the last 30 years.  Obviously, many of the comments had to do with the war—it’s beginnings, it’s impact, and the new phase of reconciliation—but the other two main points that people made were that the land was deteriorating (people are getting less yield for their crops, there are fewer trees, there are more frequent and longer droughts, the hot is getting hotter, and the rains more frequently come as floods) and over-population (there is less land to farm, more people are going hungry). 

People seemed to share the conclusion that quality of life has diminished in Burundi over the last 30 years, but not just because of more than a decade of violence and civil war.  Their last two points were spoken about as on-going and growing crises for the Burundian people. 

So while the participants in the workshop didn’t use all the jargon of environmental experts, they clearly say and believe that the “climate is changing” and it has a direct impact on people’s everyday lives.  The changes in the climate are felt viscerally, because rather than being an abstract concept of knowing that water levels and the earth’s temperature are rising, people see the difference in their ability to feed their families. 

Climate change is a real issue for people living in Burundi and is definitely the main talk on the streets these very hot days.  I just wish the world’s leaders could see it as clearly as anyone walking around here can.

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January 29, 2010

The $1 Organic Menu

Well, it’s not at McDonald’s.  And it’s not just one meal.  It’s right outside your kitchen and feeds you throughout the entire dry season.

For the past two days, we’ve been hosting a seminar at the clinic on “Sack Gardening.”  We invited 15 of our HIV+ patients who are on ARV treatment, live in urban Kamenge,  and who struggle to meet their daily nutritional needs.

And, wow, did we learn a lot.  Even I, who never thought I’d work a garden in my life, am planning to build a garden this weekend.

The concept is simple…and cheap.

First, you buy a large sack (such as the 50 or 100 kg sacks used to transport potatoes or rice).  In Burundi, these cost 500 FBU, or $0.41; however, many people will already have one lying around their house.   Then you collect some good dirt, small stones, and an old bottle or can which you cut off the ends to make a cylinder.  The only thing left is to buy the seed, which in Burundi cost about 200 FBU ($0.16) per pack, and one pack contains enough seed to split between 20 people to plant their sack gardens.

Then, to actually construct your sack garden, you place your sack just outside your kitchen and place the cylinder in the center of the sack and fill it with stones.  You then add dirt evenly around all sides, keeping the dirt from entering the stone cylinder.

This process is repeated (shimmying the cylinder up the stone column) until the entire sack is full and you have a stone column running down the center.

The stone column makes sure    when you water your sack, the  water goes all the way down to the  bottom, meaning that you can  plant even on the sides of your  sack, giving you more garden  space.

After you’ve filled your sack, you need to find 3 stakes to support your stack to make sure it doesn’t topple over.  You then pour 5 liters of water (which can be recycled water from rinsing your dishes or taking a shower) into your sack to leave over night.  This makes sure your soil is nice and moist for planting the next day.

The first step on day two is to cut staggered holes into the sides of your stack, where you can plant light weight or leafy vegetables.

You then get to the fun part…the actual planting!

What’s important to remember here is what type of vegetables you are planting.  Heavy vegetables like zucchini, eggplant, cabbage, etc need to be planted in your bottom wholes so that as they grow they will be supported by the ground beneath them.  Meanwhile, pretty light weight veggies need to planted on the sides (and veggies which don’t have big heads like onions).  This could include leaks, spring onions, spinach, lengalenga (an indigenous,  very nutrient rich leafy green), or other “cut and come again” type green leafy vegetables.   Finally, any root or vine like vegetable will be planted on the top…so carrots, onions, tomatoes, peppers, or a green leafy vegetable with a “heart.”

All that’s left is to water the seeds!  And keep watering your sack as your garden comes to life.  

What’s great about this method of gardening is:

1) It can be done in an urban setting where you don’t have a large plot of land to grow vegetables on.

2) In a small space, you can plant a large variety of vegetables which helps ensure that you and your family are getting a balanced vitamin and mineral rich diet.

3) Because you can recycle water from your kitchen and house (we even learned how to make compost and fertilizers with human waste), you can keep your garden growing throughout the dry season.  With just five sacks, you could provide the vegetable intake of a family of 6-8 people year round!

4) You can do it all for under $1.

And people say the $1 menu at McDonald’s is a good deal!  They obviously haven’t tried sack gardening yet.

Anyway, it was a very fun couple of days for all of us who participated.  Not only did we learn to make the gardens, we spent a lot of time talking about how you create a healthy, balanced diet (which is EXTREMELY important when you are HIV+), as well as learning how to make compost piles, organic fertilizers, and organic pesticides.

All in all…very cool.   And it’s inspiring us at the clinic to think about how we can further support patients from the moment they learn they are HIV+ to start leading a healthy positive life…maybe it’s just brining over a sack and seeds on our first home visit.

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January 26, 2010

We Were Accepted as a Global Health Corps Partner!

As I’ve mentioned in prior posts, FWA applied late last year to be a partner with an organization called Global Health Corps.  As they put it, “Global Health Corps connects outstanding young leaders with organizations working on the frontlines in order to promote global health equity.”

We found out this morning that they accepted us as a partner!! ***Alex does her happy dance***

This means that, in August, two fellows–one from Burundi and one international–will come to the clinic to work with us for one year.   The job descriptions and application process will open next week (Feb. 1), but in essence we will be seeking a dynamic monitoring and evaluation team.  One person who can focus more on the IT side of things to develop an electronic medical records system and data analysis tools and another person who can analyze this information, write reports, and liaison with the government and other NGOs.

This is huge in terms of developing our capacity, especially as we move closer to providing ARV treatment to our patients.  It is so essential to have solid individual patient, patient population, and community data to provide quality health care.  So this is a very happy day for us!

We’ll be the smallest clinic that GHC works with– their other partners are Partners in Health, the Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative, Face Aids, Village Health Works, and Covenant House–but they are invested in working with and building the capacity of community-based clinics like ours.

So, be thinking of some outstanding young professionals who may want to come to Burundi!

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