A big day. . .

Hospital rounds with the staff and clinic with Dziwe. The learning curve continues…

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world…Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has"- Margaret Mead

Village Health Works…this can be seen/used as a noun and a verb!!!!
Mead’s words are exemplified here in Kigutu.

Helen

Patients gathering for clinic

Morning rounds

Boy with TB getting Paracentesis treatment

Waiting patient

Helen modeling scrubs

Kigutu’s miracles. . .

I have read about Kigutu, spoken with others who have visited here, and seen photos, but nothing really prepared me for the extraordinary place which has been created by the community here. The natural beauty is astounding with a top notch view of Lake Tanganyika from the Kigutu plateau with a backdrop of partially forested high hills. As the sun set tonight it was a bit remindful of Big Sur, California. It is hard to imagine that in 2006 that it was just scrubby, war torn land and that in just three years the vision for social justice and health care for this community is steadily unfolding into a reality.

Upon our arrival, Dziwe Ntabe MD, who was last here in April, hooted and hollered with heartfelt emotion when he saw the construction-in-progress of the community training center, the cleared land for the soon-to-begin Women’s Health Pavilion, and the pristine ablutions block for the patients.

Walking around with Honore, Deo’s brother, this afternoon was very moving, knowing how much suffering these people have overcome to create a utopia and produce a new life for themselves. The care, love and pride which have gone into the construction of the buildings, the stone walkways, and the flower gardens are very apparent. The farm site with a huge area of growing crops, beehives, enclosures for goats and chickens and nursery seedlings was the absolute icing on the cake. The food grown here helps supply food for the staff, volunteers and the new pediatric nutrition center. Mindboggling!

It is wonderful to hear the cheers and activity surrounding a local soccer game on the new school’s field. Honore explained as we walked that the recently repatriated people from Tanzania have been asked to play with the locals as a way to integrate into the community. Children play at the sidelines, girls giggle and mothers chat with babies swaddled on their backs; an “ordinary” Sunday afternoon for many “ordinary” communities, but this is not true here. It is an extraordinary place, with extraordinary people working together in extraordinary ways.

I am privileged to be here amongst them and to help as much as possible. On the VHW website, there is a quote from a patient who sums it up perfectly, “This used to be Hell, but now it is Heaven.”

Helen Weld, RN, MPH

Staff and volunteer residence in Kigutu

Honore with solar panels

Gardens at Kigutu

Garden nursery

Helen with goat kid

“Buj” Life. . .

I have been in Burundi for only three days and already feel quite at home here in the capital city of Bujumbura, or “Buj”. It feels like a relatively sophisticated city with some good restaurants and hotels, internet cafes, banks etc., though most of the sidewalks are dirt. There are no traffic lights, but the generally flow of traffic is reasonable and doesn’t shine a candle to the chaos of Freetown’s streets.

The Village Health Works (VHW) office/accommodation in the Kinanera III neighbourhood is located about 10 minutes from town and is very comfortable. As I sit on the verandah (with lights and Wi-Fi!) on this balmy Saturday night, I hear lots of children playing and some action in the local community pool, very pleasant.

I arrived with Dziwe Ntabe MD who is the medical director of VHW. We have attended meetings together these past three days and it has been a good way for me to feel immediately integrated into the team. Meeting Deo’s Uncle Nestor who is the in-country director of VHW and his brother Peter has been wonderful. Both are lovely individuals and immediately welcoming and gracious.

Power cuts occur often in Kinanera III and Dziwe and I have been frequenting cafes with power and WiFi to do computer work. Dziwe knows all the spots to plug into outlets and where the coffee is excellent!

This afternoon we managed to have a bit of a break and I waded in Lake Tanganyika. The distant shores of the Congo were shrouded in fog and it seemed more like a huge ocean (second largest lake in the world). Fun to see the locals congregating for some weekend R&R.

Tomorrow we head up to Kigutu, two hours south of Bujumbura, in the mountains where the VHW Community Clinic is located. I am eager to be there.

Helen

Dziwe at Botanika office


Peter & Nestor

Dziwe & Helen on shore of Lake Tanganikya

Brussels and then Burundi. . .

A big day tomorrow. Heading off. The lists are almost crossed off and the goodbyes too. Hard to believe I will be returning to Maine with the lilacs. It's always hard to leave the beauty of here especially when the days have been so glorious. Receiving this warm and welcoming letter from Deo's brother last week helps with the transition and gets me excited and eager to meet new friends and get involved with their Kigutu community.

Greetings Helen.
This is to say hullo to you as well as introducing myself to you even though you might have already heard about me. well my name is Honore and my Nick name is Tolstoy. I am tall and slender, most of the time I am quite but like listening to jokes some times. I am a social consciousness driven person, i like all people of different races and religions. the rest you will get to know me when we are together. I usually do not like putting on my own T-shirt rather i prefer others to put my own T-shirt (i mean that i may tell you that i am so good when it is not the case.)

Well, Frannie told me about you in the beginning that you were to come to Burundi as a volunteer.

Sarah gave me a new role of teaching Kirundi language to the volunteers starting with you. I will be happy to teach you kirundi and I request you in advance to teach me computer when you will have time. I know that you have very many tips in computer skills that you may give me. so you should understand that iam booking you in advance for the computer tips. Helen, Not only i will teach you kirundi language but also will teach you the culture of burundians.

I will make sure that you really enjoy your stay in Burundi. As we interact more often, i hope that i will be getting chances to learn from you new english expressions. I will take you to my mum's home and show you cows with long horns. you will probably get the chance to see very many other beautiful things in Burundi as time goes on.

I will make sure that i avail myself to you at any time that you will need me.

If you are coming to stay for more than two months , rember to bring warm clothes with you also if you have a rain jacket, please do not hasitate to bring it because we are soon embracing the rain season.

My regards to Frannie ,Tracy, Jennie Block and others.

Goodbye and God bless.
Yours in solidarity.
Honore Tolstoy

BURUNDI BOUND. . .

It’s our 24th wedding anniversary and it’s hard to imagine that all those years have passed! After a wonderful Maine summer our family has scattered to the winds…we will be spread over 4 continents and 1 ocean soon (Robert in Australia, Will in China, Annie in Oregon, Ian working on a ship off the Pacific coast and me in Burundi). Many people do not know where Burundi is located…see maps above. (Thanks to Robert my blogmeister soulmate)

It is a bittersweet situation for me to not be reuniting with my community of friends in Sierra Leone, yet I feel reassured that I will return someday to offer my services again. The opportunity to work in Kigutu, Burundi www.villagehealthworks.org will be challenging and provide a terrific opportunity for professional and personal growth.

The plan is that I will depart here on September 22 and will be in Burundi for six weeks. During this time I will get oriented to the clinic, culture and community of Kigutu. My focus will be working as a nurse doing primary care alongside Dr. Dziwe Ntabe and Dr. Merlino, assisting with implementing a nutritional program, training community health workers and coordinating volunteers. I will immerse myself more in all the work which needs to be done when I return for almost 4 months in January 2010.

This is an exciting time for the community run clinic as it is being given an infusion of attention since the recent launch of Tracy Kidder’s new book Strength in What Remains. www.tracykidder.com

Meanwhile, I am doing my best to pack prudently and procure necessary items for the clinic. Once again I feel grateful for the support of family and friends as I embark on an exciting new chapter.

Village Health Works site in Kigutu.


Lake Tanganyika from clinic site

Photos by Fran Kidder