Work it (Literally!) with SHE

April 31, 2010
Kigali, Rwanda

SHE would like to wish all our readers and fellows a happy Labor Day. In Rwanda the day has been celebrated in style, and by Style I do not mean anything else but that ‘Employers and employees had an afternoon of bonding’. Normally Labor day is characterized by different organizations and offices holding parties and merry making, meaning employees have a day off etc, this time I call it unique because it was ‘bonding time’.

It has been noted that labor day is about merry making and nothing is done as far as ‘labor’ is concerned and true that!, this time, employees have been instructed to sit down with their employees, share ideas and views, and try to create a relationship with their employees, something that is never the case in most working conditions, an employer is considered the BOSS and therefore not one to just bump into and speak out whatever you have on your mind.

So today afternoon (31/04/2010), all employees and their employers did sit down to a round table, this was done right before actual labour day, because this years’ falls on a Saturday. We caught the day unawares though Elizabeth and I hung out a lot last month (see picture).

In the SHE corridors, Community Health Workers have a chance to speak to masses about the health and hygiene education, to us, it's time to give out to the community what is theirs but have no access to, as we already have an employee and employer relationship that people around us envy.

On behalf of the SHE team, every employer and employee is wished health days of service.

Julian
SHE Chief of Operations

SHE Stands With Remembrance

Hygiene training post 16th Genocide Memorial-Rwanda


As you are all aware, the month of April in Rwanda is characterized by ‘Genocide Memories and Remembrance of our loved ones who lost their lives during this time’.
This year was the 16th year of Remembrance.

During this time, life goes on normally, but with Memories fresh in our minds, and for this particular reason, SHE stood with Rwandans in remembering the genocide victims, especially with our Community Health Workers. The period, which officially lasts for 1 week has come to an end and as usual SHE is back to Health and Hygiene training by the Community Health Workers.

The training this time round is kind of unique with two main characteristics: supervising the Training of each CHW as an individual and data collection and will last for at least 3 months.

The SHE Volunteer Interns are at it again, with very clear instructions on the importance of the data collection, which will pave way for our next actions. This data is centered on: Pilot sales of existing sanitary pads and how training of Health and Hygiene is carried out. The Data which is being collected is analyzed by our ‘M&E wizard’ on a weekly basis and we shall be communicating the outcomes. In the meantime, you will be hearing from our Volunteer interns on the individual training visits.

Watch this space.

Julian, Chief Operations Officer

Brick by Brick

28. March 2010
Kigali, Rwanda
The Big House






This is the first time I have not wanted to board the plane. For the last 1.5 years I’ve had one foot in Kigali, one foot in NYC, and one foot cruising on the BoltBus to my next destination. (OK, that would make me some sort of kangaroo species perhaps, but you get it. ) I usually come to Rwanda for a specific reason like finalizing business skill training, or bringing a new staff member on board. My arrival date is usually planned in advance and my departure date is set and not moved. I don’t really think about being 100% in Rwanda because we have fantastic local leadership and a significant amount of R&D still takes place in the U.S. This transience makes it difficult to be a part of a community in Rwanda--even in NYC too. It’s tough. And maybe part of me keeps it that way because it would then be difficult to leave….which is exactly how I’m feeling today.

On Friday, we, along with 10 leading grassroots groups in Rwanda, kicked off a national campaign. Hundreds of Rwandans gathered and marched across the capital and ended up in the small stadium to discuss obstacles to girls’ schooling, namely those related to menstruation. Can you imagine that? In a country where there was a genocide just 16 years ago that demolished lives. In a country where Human Rights Watch alludes to an “authoritarian govt” and lack of free press.




This was moving, kind of ridiculous (a Period Parade, waaa?), and productive. Is that even possible all at once? Most importantly, it demonstrated the strength of community, a community marching and acting to improve peoples' lives. And as the day went by, I saw so many faces of people I had met over the past 2 years from Angelina to Dinah to Shirley. These are people who make up such a rich community that I am privileged to be a part of....even with my three legs!

1, 2, 3...Kick-offffff!

Kigali, Rwanda
March 25, 2010














Hey folks, put on your walking/marching shoes and beat your drums to the tunes of ‘Breaking Silence on Menstruation’ campaign, which kicks off with a march in Kigali.

The Campaign is aimed at advocating for:
-Open dialogue on menstrual issues;
-Increased access to health and hygiene education;
-Increased access to affordable sanitary pads.

One thing I just realized for sure is, just as we all need management and bookkeeping skill, every one needs advocacy and awareness skills. Right now as I write this, my B.day is 15 minutes away, and I can’t think of anything to do, other than work on the campaign, one of my campaign partners mentioned she cannot concentrate on a thing, until launch of campaign is done, no wonder this is full time job for some, for those of you who have the skills, am glad to hear from you.

So we are holding the biggest campaign on ‘Menstrual problems’ ever and we hope to get the ‘Big SHOTS’ committing to action.

As soon as I am done with the launch of the campaign, I get to meet Fatima's favourite people: the Community Health Workers (CHWs) again to get stronger commitments from them on ‘Health and Hygiene Education’. Oh by the way, remember the interns aboard SHE? Today they distributed over 50 campaign invitations around town, what better support could I ask for? I promised to take them out when the whole exercise is done, on ME.

Hey I gotta go pick a piece of cake (its my Bday remember?),


In case you are unable to attend the march, watch this space, but if you are able, ENTRANCE FEE is :PACKET OF SANITARY PADS.(Includes a bottle of water and Tshirt).

Julian
SHE Chief Operations Wizard