GHI Thanksgiving 2014:

Gratitude, Goodness, Generosity

. . but no goats. . .

Last Friday the Gardens for Health team hosted the 5th annual Thanksgiving lunch extravaganza. Despite the threat of an afternoon deluge, the skies never opened and approximately 500 people were able to enjoy an amazing feast, sketches from field educators and dance performances from the mamas who are currently enrolled in GHI’s program.

One task of mine for this stint at GHI was planning and coordinating this year’s Thanksgiving.  From a logistics perspective, the combination of implementing ‘lessons learned’ from previous years and incredible team-work resulted in an almost stress-free production. Due to the huge expansion this past year from 8 to 18 health center partnerships, we realized early on in the planning stages that including all mamas in the program was not feasible. A lottery system was devised for each health center that made it fair and equitable. The mamas chosen were all given a wooden clothespin with their name and health center written on it, as their ‘entry ticket’. This would ensure they were given priority in the meal queue, as well as a friendly way to know their names. This system also kept the numbers of guests down from last year’s approximation of two thousand!

Besides featuring dendo (turkey) on the menu, one major change from years past was the decision to switch from inhene (goat) to inka (cow) as the primary meat dish. Despite some logistical challenges with the cow’s final hour, afterwards at the staff debrief meeting there was a landslide vote in favor of inka over inhene for future events.

When the rented matatus (small buses) arrived in convoy with the Musanze district mamas (for many their first time to Kigali), their excitement was palpable. Carrying colorful ceremonial baskets on their heads with offerings from their harvest as they were greeted is a wonderful image to remember. After the incredible lunch, prepared by the indefatigable GHI staff and community mamas over hot fires, an hour of fervent dancing and the gifting of harvested offerings began. It’s an extraordinary and moving spectacle to witness these women who, in some realms have so little, yet have the capacity to give immense doses of gratitude and goodness.

After a steadfast team tackled dishes, a crew stacked chairs and others helped with general cleanup, another dance party ensued, wrapping up a very full, wonderful and emotional day.

Helen

Clothes pins entry tickets

 Hanging flags

Ready to tackle a massive

shopping expedition 

 Clean dishes prepared

.Focused potato scrubbers 

 Part of the potato crew

 Beans!

 Ivy League butcher

 Steadfast kitchen mamas

 Mamas arriving

 Happy mama

 The lunch queue

GHI Team (partial)

Adorable observers 

 The first dancers offering their

harvest baskets to Julie

 Jessie & Julie

GHI's amazing leaders

Poetree

Eight arms, four eyes, three laps, one huge heart
and a special 'sixth sense' of motherhood. . .

Mamas who attend GHI’s weekly trainings at their local health centers often have to walk, with their small children in tow, for up to two hours. Upon arrival at the training it is encouraged that the children get left with two ECD (early childhood development) mamas in a separate area. This gives the mamas being trained an opportunity to have a bit of a break for two hours and to focus on the important learning without the distractions of their restless toddlers. It is also a chance for these children to be stimulated in new ways, enhancing learning skills and development through play, songs and fun activities. All children receive an ample portion of Sosoma, a fortified porridge, which is prepared and served by the ECD mamas. These women are loving, gentle individuals with great patience, despite being overwhelmed with the task of caring for a large group of toddlers and babies with few resources in a very limited space. Watching them in action is quite extraordinary, as they keep all these children happy and fed, exemplifying the attributes of the “sixth sense” of motherhood.

This past week Annonciata, GHI’s training supervisor extraordinaire, and I gathered the ECD mamas from Gasabo (8 mamas total) and Musanze (28 mamas total) Districts to give each group a three-hour training. We were also fortunate having Kelly Weese, a volunteer with Bright School/Teach Rwanda, collaborate and help teach. Despite the ECD mamas’ full days and some with long distances to travel, we had 100% attendance. Other than knowing their work partner, no mamas knew each other previously. All were definitely eager to learn and get to know their cohort (some arrived two hours early!). It was wonderful to witness their instant camaraderie as they settled into conversations and broke out into spontaneous heartfelt song and dance throughout the morning.

Giving these mamas an opportunity to share the positive aspects of their jobs, as well as their concerns and challenges, was a good way to begin the training. Empowering them with new knowledge, skills and ideas was also a primary goal of the morning. Rudimentary stages and realms of child development were taught and the importance and value of play as children’s work was emphasized. Child safety and prevention of accidents was another topic. Ideas for simple and economical activities, such as ‘painting’ with water, making rattles with plastic water bottles and pebbles (the lid taped), making cloth books out of fabric scraps, sock puppets and playing with scarves were all well received suggestions. During the training I asked, “Wouldn’t it be good if you all had eight arms, as well as eyes at the back of your heads for these few hours on the job?” Hoots of laughter and clapping was their response.

We hope that this is a great start to create a solid ECD program for GHI’s families. Purchasing and assembling a large array of appropriate sustainable toys (e.g. blocks, board books, balls, finger puppets) to be stored in a crate at all 18 health centers is a dream we hope to realize soon with a successful grant proposal. Giving these motivated ECD mamas tools and support to provide a nurturing, fun and safe environment for these children is a vital piece of GHI’s program waiting to be implemented.

Helen

  Kinigi Kids

 Muhoza 'big guys' 

Jacqueline at Muhoza, needing

eight arms and three laps! 

Dancing mamas

Angelique and Jacqueline

Dorothea and Kesia

Jacqueline and Vestine

Soline and Christine

 Musanze ECD Mamas 

Gasabo ECD Mamas with

Kelly, Helen and Annonciata

Morning Routines. . .

There’s a sweet red finch sitting on the window bars that taps conscientiously on my small window at dawn every morning. It’s a good way to start the day. After my morning ablutions, a hot water bucket bath, I set off for my walk to the office before the sun truly rises. This thirty-minute walk (with a long downhill and a long uphill) has become a favourite part of my daily routine. People in this community seem to remember my commute from the past three years calling out one of the four usual greetings; “maramutse”/”good morning”/”bonjour”, “amahoro”(peace) as they go about their own early morning routine.

They greet me as they sweep their front steps, open up their shops, head to work or school and wait for the bus. It’s good to have become enough a part of the local morning “scene” with the early morning risers that I actually feel a bit less obtrusive with my presence and “muzungu-ness”. Local moto drivers, knowing that I prefer the walk and will refuse their offer to ride with them, just wave and grin as they pass me by.

How I would love to capture a multitude of images on camera, but I fear being invasive and obnoxious. Some of the images include: men playing checkers using blue and red bottle cap pieces, enjoying the morning light on their backs; an elderly man dressed in his finest suit and leather hat walking slowly with Bible in hand; children primped and pressed ready for school; women carrying gargantuan loads on their heads, heading to the local market (Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays). A young woman with broad bare feet having an animated cell phone conversation striding along purposely carrying a lone jug on her head and with a hoe propped on her shoulder was an especially memorable image.

The other day I walked by a lovely scene of two women, with one intently doing the other’s hair in fine, taut braids close to the scalp. I was somehow struck by this vision of purity/vulnerability and sweet innocence of the moment that I stopped and turned around to chat with them, getting up my courage to record it beyond my mind’s eye. They were amused and rather bewildered, but definitely pleased by my request to take a photo. I just wanted to capture the sense of belonging, serenity and comfort they exuded at the beginning of their day.

Helen

Papa Savings Group. . .

Encouraging papas to get involved with their family’s health and well-being is an ongoing objective of Gardens for Health. Recently the field supervisors in the northern Musanze District devised an idea for a papa savings group pilot program at the Kabere Health Center. This is another innovations project along with the Mentor Mama program featured in the last blog. In conjunction with the objective of understanding and practicing financial savings, there will be six health trainings offered to this papa group over time, including; nutrition, HIV/AIDS, family planning, listening /communication, mental health and gender based violence. Samuel, the field coordinator in Musanze, who has spearheaded this effort, is enthusiastic about the outcome despite meeting some initial challenges.

There was a misunderstanding at the first meeting when 23 papas expected Gardens for Health to give them a payment of 1500 RWF (about $2.20 USD) for attendance. The source of this information is unknown, but perhaps can be attributed to the semantics of ‘meeting’ vs. ‘training’ in Rwanda. ‘Trainings’ are often subsidized by NGOs in Rwanda, but are not part of GHI’s strategy, especially since mamas commit to attend trainings without being paid. Instead GHI invested 1000 RWF for the first two shares in the savings scheme, provided food and refreshment at the first meeting, as well as facilitating the savings group process. Some papas accept that GHI already has helped their families tremendously by providing their wives with the health and agriculture trainings, a home visit, the home garden seed packages, tree seedlings, the choice of 6 live rabbits or 4 live chickens, as well as 1000RWF upon graduation. Other papas were upset and angry, resulting in much fervent discussion.

At the second meeting, held at a house, the attendance was lower, partially because of illness and also a lack of committed participants. Samuel and Katembo, GHI’s Monitoring and Evaluations Manager, did baseline savings surveys to help assess the overall impact of the program (separate health surveys will be done later). Led by an elected president, members of the group discussed in detail specific guidelines and requirements for membership.

Despite the meeting being in Kinyarwanda this was an interesting process to observe. It seems that the participating papas are eager to make a difference for their wives and children. As an extra bonus for me, it was gratifying to see the GHI health and agricultural color training handouts displayed on the back wall in the house’s main room, exemplifying the family’s pride and accountability as members of the Gardens for Health community-at-large.

Helen

 Papas discuss controversial training payment

situation with Samuel, Musanze Field Coordinator

Residence where Papa

Savings group convened 

Samuel and Katembo, Monitoring and Evaluation

Manager, assist with accounting and paperwork

 GHI training materials are proudly displayed

Samuel doing savings survey

 First deposits for shares being made

and recorded. Samuel includes two

shares from GHI to each member.

Mentor Mamas. . .

Annonciata, one of Gardens for Health’s (GHI) original staff mamas (including Claire and Naomi) helped design the beginnings of the health trainings in 2011. She is now an instrumental member of the GHI team in her role as training supervisor. She has recently spearheaded and launched an innovative pilot program to incorporate past graduates of GHI to be “mentor mamas” at the Nyacyonga Health Center. Two weeks ago the forty women who had been selected based on their motivation and involvement in GHI gathered for an introduction to their new role with GHI. Many had not seen their trainers, Claire (now field supervisor for Gasabo District), Naomi (now lead trainer) and Annonciata for two years, which precipitated tearful and happy reunions.

There were moving testimonies by many as to how much of a difference GHI had been in their lives, especially in the realms of mental health. “It has made such a difference for me and I hope it will for you too”, were the words of one mama. Another said, “It has helped me respect others, including my husband.” They wanted to ensure that mamas currently enrolled in the program could reap the same sustainable benefits for their families. Singing and dancing which always seems to raise spirits and create a sense of celebration was an integral part of the morning. Their responsibility as mentor mamas is to make five home visits during the 13 week training cycle to the mama they have been assigned. Hopefully this extra presence, above and beyond the home visit they get from the GHI field educator, will provide these mamas with a bonus opportunity to connect and form the beginnings of new friendships. We hope, too, that this will also promote perfect attendance at trainings, resulting in better overall health for their families, as well as giving the mentor mamas a sense of purpose and achievement while it extends their connection with GHI.

The week after the first gathering of the mentor mamas, there were two ‘matching days’ for 20 mamas at each session. As the mentor mamas and the current mamas arrived there was a palpable sense of excitement as they all anticipated meeting their counterpart. As the matching pairs were called they came to the front and greeted each other enthusiastically to the delight of all in attendance. The traditional 3 time (right side, left side, right side) Rwandan kiss and embrace was ubiquitous, accompanied by hoots and hollers.

We’ll be eagerly monitoring and evaluating the impact of this program as time progresses, work out any kinks and hopefully introduce it at all the other seventeen health centers that Gardens for Health is partnering with in the Gasabo and Musanze Districts of Rwanda.

Helen

  Naomi, Helen, Annonciata and Claire

Mentor Mamas and a healthy baby
listening to Annonciata’s welcome

One mentor mama gives a tearful testimonial 

Naomi reunites with a mentor mama

who was her trainee two years ago

Mentor Mamas 2014 “Innovations Pilot Group”

'Matching' glee and excitement

 The beginning of a strong friendship

 More 'matching' excitement

 An inquisitive and adorable

daughter of a mentor mama

 Another beguiling face

Mentor mamas waiting

for matching to begin

Manzi Cedric. . .

This is an updated blog on Cedric’s progress that was originally posted in March 2012. It will be used on the GHI website to help roll out a challenge matching fundraising campaign in October 2014.

Many GHI supporters recognize Cedric as a ubiquitous and adorable face on GHI’s printed material, but is everyone familiar with his story?

Despite only being 3 years and 8 months old, Manzi Cedric has an extraordinary life story to date. Over the three years that I have been a volunteer at GHI, I have had the privilege to witness his extraordinary growth and development. He was first introduced at Gikomero Health Center, one of the GHI partners here, in March 2011 when he was 2 months old with severe malnutrition, weighing in at 2.1 kg (4.3lbs.). His history revealed that his mentally challenged mother had given birth to him in a latrine and later abandoned him. The details of the first two months of his life are vague, but apparently a neighbor took care of him and then brought him to the health center. This is when GHI became aware of Cedric’s plight. Since then Cedric has become an integral member of the Gardens for Health family.

Without GHI’s intervention and commitment to take care of him at this crucial time, Cedric would have died. The progression of Cedric’s revitalization is a testament to the diligence of the GHI staff providing good nutrition and overall care. Overwhelming compassion and love have also been key factors in bringing Cedric back from the brink of death. Naomi

Musabyimana, a lead trainer for GHI, committed to being his primary caregiver despite having two young daughters. She has incorporated him into her household since he was just several months old. He comes to work each day with her and everyone at the office helps keep an eye on him. He has received continuous verbal and physical stimulation with a steady flow of loving hugs and kisses too. Cedric’s first steps were within a large circle of enthusiastic GHI team members cheering him on.

At 14 months old Cedric was evaluated at King Faisal Hospital in Kigali to address concerns about physical and cognitive delays as a result of his neonatal malnutrition. The physician was reassuring that Cedric was ‘on his own curve’ and should make giant strides in his development by 2 years old. This has been an accurate prediction, as Cedric is now strong, running around on the farm with other children as “part of the gang”.

Every time I return to GHI, I am thrilled to see his progress. He’s animated, engaged, understands and speaks both Kinyarwanda as well as some English. It’s such a pleasure to be one of his mamas while I am here, his consistent beguiling nature and cheerful soul are perhaps his way of expressing the gratitude for the life which has been given back to him thanks to GHI. I feel honored to be a small part of Cedric’s story.    Helen       

Cedric at 2 months when he first

came to GHI, March 2011

Cedric at 4 months June 2011

Cedric and Aline, 14 months March 2012

Naomi and her family. Ange, Aline

and Cedric May 2013

Cedric and Helen 3 years 7 months
September 2014

Helen Weld RN, MPH has been a volunteer at GHI since October 2011. She is currently with GHI for her 7^th stint. For other stories about her time at GHI see her personal blog: www.hwph.blogspot.com