Saturday, November 17, 2012

3rd Annual GHI Thanksgiving



3rd Annual GHI Thanksgiving
"We Are Each Other's Harvest". . .

Despite some rain and ensuing mud, GHI's 3rd annual Thanksgiving celebrations were very successful. My ongoing innate propensity for lists and timelines paid off in terms of helping coordinate this massive event. Most of all, with the incredible GHI team providing hard work and an amazing community spirit with hefty doses of fun and love, we managed to feed about 1500 people!

Thanks to Brett Howley, GHI's Communications Fellow, for writing the following press release which captures the essence and feeling of the event so well.

Rwandans and Americans Gather on Gardens for Health Farm
to Celebrate Thanksgiving in Rural Rwandan Village
Bounty Gleaned from Locally Produced and Sourced Fields and Gardens

KIGALI, RWANDA, Nov. 9, 2012
More than 1400 people gathered on Gardens for Health International (GHI)’s community farm in the Gasabo district of KigaliRwanda to celebrate and give thanks for the seasonal harvest. Amplifying the celebration’s theme, “we are each other’s harvest,” the feast brought together local families enrolled in GHI’s agriculture and health program, neighbors of the farm, local community leaders, and members of the Rwandan government with whom GHI partners.

In a speech to the assembled crowd, Gardens for Health’s Country Director, Julie Carney, focused on the importance of celebrating the community’s greatest resource – each other.  “Thanksgiving is an American holiday. But the spirit of Thanksgiving crosses borders, cultures and histories. The themes of reconciliation, celebration, sharing, eating, and loving are universal. I come from the United States, which some say is the land of a lot of food, while here in Rwanda we fight malnutrition. But there are many commonalities between us. We are collectively faced with the challenges of food and health. In this, we are together.”

“We share our challenges, but we also share the conviction that, together, we can build a healthier, brighter future,” Carney told the crowd. “When GHI conceptualized the idea of a Rwandan-American Thanksgiving in 2009, we felt our community had so much to be thankful for, so much to celebrate together. Three years later, our community has grown bigger and stronger, giving us even more of a reason to join together for this day of thanksgiving.”

The annual celebration is an opportunity for GHI to put its values of community, health, and sustainability into practice and onto a plate.  It is a chance for people from all walks of life to come together to celebrate each other as one community. Mothers enrolled in the program, who number among Rwanda’s most vulnerable population, sit alongside well-to-do district officials, while GHI staff members circulated heaping plates of fresh food.

Sustainable agriculture is at the heart of the event—from vegetables grown on site, to goats and turkeys raised here in Rwanda, to contributions from the guests themselves.  The Thanksgiving menu exemplified the farm-to-table ethos that GHI embodies: organic, whole foods that come straight from GHI’s backyard. Friends, neighbors, mothers, and even children pitched in to prepare a mix of traditional Rwandan dishes and Thanksgiving favorites, blending cultures and uniting around the power of food. Rounding out the feast with entertainment, resident health educators acted out skits on family planning and mental health and local mothers performed traditional dances, making the day a true community effort.

May everyone's Thanksgiving be full of goodness and celebration.
For more photos check this link:
Love from Rwanda,
Helen




 400 kg of potatoes to peel


6 goats for the cooking pot

Annonciata with the message

One of Helen's lists 

The GHI Team sporting new shirts

New hand washing stations for the big day

Gratitude

 GHI Team
 

 Helen with Cedric and Daphne (new board member)

 
 Helen doles out condoms and albendazole for deworming

The lines were long with patient people

Mamas harvest offerings

Mamas heading home

 Julie and Solange with the mamas

 Festive Mamas

Debriefing and almost ready for sleep 



Thursday, November 8, 2012

Obama’s Heaven-ly Victory. . .


Obama’s Heaven-ly Victory. . .

Election Day 2012 has certainly been on the forefront of my mind for months. My underlying anxiety and tension mounted as the day approached, leaving me waking each morning with an inexplicable unsettledness until I focused on the cause.

At 0200 Conner (our resident Canadian), Julie, Brett and I piled into the truck with our wonderful mamas Claire, Annonciata and Naomi. Driving into Kigali to a restaurant called Heaven to watch the returns felt festive despite our fatigue.

Our arrival coincided with the first returns of the night (Vermont and Kentucky) where the open-air restaurant was filled to capacity with a large screen showing CNN. People with faces lit from their laptop screens and wrapped in blankets were spread out on sofas and sitting at tables. It was a rather tense and serious group (it seemed as though all were Obama supporters), but as the night wore on and Pennsylvania was called for Obama, giddiness and guarded optimism permeated the atmosphere.

Many in the crowd were very knowledgeable, hard-core politicos, knowing the implications of all the configurations and results of the electoral count, which added to the excitement for me. Our lovely mamas cheered as the states turned to BLUE, quickly learning that the magic number was 270 for Obama’s victory. In Rwanda there is a tradition for women to hold their right breast in order to offer strength and resilience during stressful times and our mamas did just that to help Obama go over the top. As Kigali’s hills appeared with the rosy dawn, the election was called for Obama, and cheers erupted. The relief and elation was exhilarating with ongoing hugs, hoots and hollers.

Tonight should be a good night of much needed sleep, especially since tomorrow we go into high gear with preparations for Gardens for Health’s 3rd Annual Thanksgiving Feast on Friday. We are anticipating in the vicinity of 400 people. Now the mamas are holding their breasts for all of us to have a successful event and for the sun to shine.

Congratulations Barack Obama and the USA! It’s been a euphoric day to remember.

Helen



Helen & mamas arrive at Heaven 2-30 am



 Welcome to Election HQ

The Crowd at Heaven

 Maine goes for Obama

 A long wait

 Victory!

 Happiness and relief for people worldwide

 Yahoo!

 Grace & Julie

NY Times headlines

Pre-Thanksgiving checklist. . . 
Obama reelected - Check!