Physical Health Rwanda Project #6762

Enable 50 Rwandan Mothers to Farm for Profit

by Rwanda Village Community Promoters (RVCP)

Project Report | Feb 10, 2011
Partnership building with RVCP in Washington, DC!

By Alyssa Smaldino | Co-President, GlobeMed at GWU

RVCP & GlobeMed members in Washington, DC

GlobeMed at GWU has been making much progress since our last report! We ended the Open Challenge about $3,000 over our goal, so THANK YOU to all of our donors who helped us make that happen! However, we are still about $4,000 from our project goal and seeking to reach that before May 23 when our Grassroots On-site Work (GROW) Team takes off for Rwanda. Your continued support will help us start a new Women's Cooperative in the Huye District this summer!

Last weekend we had the honor of hosting three members of our partner organization, The Rwanda Village Concept Project (RVCP) right here in DC! They got to meet our GROW Team, our Executive Board, and many members of our Staff. They also got to attend our most recent event, from the Runway to Rwanda, which showcased clothing from a number of Washington, DC boutiques. In the attached picture you can see the RVCP members, Hippolyte, Vincent and Appolinaire (from left to right) with three GlobeMed members, Alyssa Smaldino, Jillian Mador and Carolin Perez at the Washington Monument.

This visit provided GlobeMed with a very unique opportunity to build a partnership that is one of the strongest in the entire GlobeMed Network. RVCP consists of 80 medical and pharmaceutical students at the National University of Rwanda, all of which are incredibly talented, smart and intuitive. Their ability to brainstorm with us about improvements to our programs at the Huye Health Clinic provides us with the opportunity to create locally-tailored, culturally sensitive programs that beneficiaries of the clinic will find useful and attractive. The entire GlobeMed team is so grateful that we can participate in such a strong, solidarity-based partnership that truly has the capacity to make a difference to the livelihoods of mothers and children in Huye, Rwanda. Thank you to all our donors who help us make that happen! We look forward to updating you about the next Women's Cooperative and our new Monitoring & Evaluation methods that we're in the process of creating. And if you want to see more pictures from the fashion show, don't forget to check out our blog at www.globemedgw.wordpress.com!

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Nov 30, 2010
An overview of the past three years

By Alyssa Smaldino | Co-President, GlobeMed at GWU

GlobeMed at GWU first started partnering with the Rwanda Village Concept Project in 2006. Through our combined efforts, we have been able to transform a health clinic that was nearly dysfunctional after the genocide. In just over three years we have implemented clean running water and electricity in the clinic. We have purchased supplies such as a refrigerator and other basic equipment that has enabled the clinic to offer vaccines, perform various lab tests, and help women receive prenatal care. Our current projects focus on empowering fifty mothers of the Huye community. Each of the women have received a goat, which they are currently using to cultivate land. With the land, they will grow vegetables for their family, as well as some that they can sell for a profit. They are also able to drink the milk of the goats for nourishment. When the goats have babies (they are all female), the offspring will be given back to the Huye Health Clinic so that they can then be sold to other women for a smaller price than they would be elsewhere. Thus, both the women participating in the program and the health clinic can begin to take in a sustainable income. Furthermore, women have the incentive to attend the health clinic more frequently, particularly for our Maternal Health Education Program.

In the coming years we will be constructing a waiting room that will provide the women with a private room for consultations and will also act as an educational arena for the entire community. This is something that everybody in the community feels is essential, and we have strong reason to believe that it will increase overall attendance and also attract more local doctors. Simultaneously, we will be expanding upon the Income Generation program and purchasing as much land and as many goats as well can in order to enroll more and more women.

Attachments:

Two Sides of the Same Story: GlobeMed GWU & RVCP (PDF)

1 Attachment

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