Rwanda - Gardens For Health

  • You To We
    Avraham Kenny | August 11th, 2010
    Just a few weeks into my stay in Rwanda, and I noticed that something had changed. When I first arrived and started working for Gardens For Health, I would say things like, “I think the new field officer model will make taking surveys a lot easier...
  • Last Eight
    Avraham Kenny | August 4th, 2010
    Today marks my eighth-to-last day in Rwanda, and so I've decided (because top ten lists are too cliche) to compile a list of my eight favorite moments in the country, along with my eight worst: Top 8 8. The first time I bought grilled maize on the...
  • What's holding me back?
    Avraham Kenny | July 30th, 2010
    The main reason I decided to spend my summer in Rwanda was because I wanted to see if this type of work was something I might do for a long amount of time. Two years? Five years? Ten years? Who knows. It's been amazing so far, but in reality, I'm...
  • ...And Back (The Detour)
    Avraham Kenny | July 23rd, 2010
    Seven days, three overnight bus rides, four border crossings, and one and a half showers later, I am back in Kigali. Two day later, and I still haven't decided whether my experience in Kenya was a strange vacation, an educational study visit, an...
  • To Kenya...
    Avraham Kenny | July 13th, 2010
    Tonight, I'll begin a week-long excursion to Rwanda's Eastern cousin, Kenya. The ultimate goal of the trip is to visit the headquarters of KIOF, the Kenyan Institute of Organic Farming. KIOF is an innovative organization that promotes rural...
  • Being a Muzungu
    Avraham Kenny | July 12th, 2010
    Here in Kigali, I am affectionately known by the locals as a muzungu (rough translation: white guy). Being a muzungu has definitely colored my experience here and given me a lot to think about. In New York City, you walk down the street and people...
  • Halfway There
    Avraham Kenny | July 9th, 2010
    Today marks the thirty-fifth day of my sixty-nine day journey. As it always does, the halfway point completely snuck up on me, despite my clear recollection of the one-quarter mark (day 17; night of the failed cassava bread). What really puzzles me...
  • Jacques' Juice
    Avraham Kenny | July 3rd, 2010
    Jacques is the guard at the office building where GHI is based. He's a nice guy who's always joking around and laughing, and tries to teach me new Kinyarwanda words every morning. I can always expect an “Avi! Bitesse!” when I arrive at the office,...
  • Kinyarwanda
    Avraham Kenny | June 26th, 2010
    One of my greatest struggles here has been communication - very few people speak English, and my limited French has not gotten me far. The closest thing I've had to a conversation was when a three-year-old kid followed me around at the market,...
  • Gako
    Avraham Kenny | June 20th, 2010
    So I have a theory that there is something of an inverse relationship between how often I post on this blog and how much people will actually read. So for this reason (combined with a healthy dose of laziness), I think I'll limit my posts to about...
  • I am not for sale!
    Avraham Kenny | June 14th, 2010
    Singurisha! This word (Kinyarwanda for "I am not for sale"), which is stamped across the back of my new t-shirt and billboards across the country, is the slogan of Rwanda's new HIV/AIDS public awareness campaign. The ads encourage young Rwandans to...
  • Hotel Exotica
    Avraham Kenny | June 7th, 2010
    Saturday night, I arrived at Kigali International, where Julie picked me up and drove me to the place where I will be staying for the next ten weeks - Hotel Exotica. What is Hotel Exotica? Well it's not a hotel...it's a house inhabited by five...
  • New York to Kigali
    Avraham Kenny | June 4th, 2010
    It's very strange to think about the fact that in just 24 hours, I'll be on another continent. This afternoon, I'll take the 4 express to Grand Central, head over to Penn Station, take the Transit line across the Hudson River to Newark Airport, and...
  • ...And Back (The Detour)
    Avraham Kenny | January 26th, 2010
    Seven days, three overnight bus rides, four border crossings, and one and a half showers later, I am back in Kigali. Two day later, and I still haven’t decided whether my experience in Kenya was a strange vacation, an educational study visit, an...