Day 5 – Burera, Rwanda (again)

Today was a little more of the same. Instead of going to the cooperatives, we went to the homes of the Community Health Workers (CHWs).  These CHWs are elected volunteers. They are elected by a vote through their communities and are responsible for looking after the health of those in their community. If someone is sick they will treat them with simple solutions or refer them to a Health Center where they can see a doctor.

While we were walking to the village we saw children running and playing.  I always love it when I see kids being kids, because I think this is a sign that a country is doing well.  If a child can act like a child with few worries the things under the surface are probably all right (ish?).

The small village, that could only be reached by foot, was so clean I did not see even one piece of garbage in the walkways. The homes had fences made of cactus or sticks and the homes included little pins for their animals.  All of the cows that I saw were well fed, fat and happy!

Both of the CHWs that we visited were beaming with pride.  The first was a gentleman who has been serving as a volunteer since 2003. He put on his best sport jacket and welcomed us to his home.  He stood there and spoke about how proud he was to help the children and families of his village and was very excited to tell us that they have not had any child deaths from disease in the recent past (he couldn’t remember the last time). The second CHW that we visited was a women who had been volunteering for a couple of years.  The people of this region depend on agriculture for their sustenance. As one of our friends said:

‘Here the soil is so fertile.  You put a seed right here and in 2 weeks you have a tree.’

We asked this CHW how many hours a week she spent on the volunteer work and she told us that she couldn’t give us an amount of time.  She said that the amount of time required is increasing and that when she gets to the field she often gets an SMS (text) and has to turn around to see a patient. So, she is not spending all of her time helping people, but the ask for help is so inconsistent she can rarely commit any time to her personal work.

We followed that information with the question of if she is still happy that she is a volunteer even though it takes up so much time.  Her answer was definitive. She values her position because she gets to help the children and families of the community and she is happy to keep learning.

These kinds of programs have begun to spring up in many countries, but few have been as successful as here in Rwanda. Much of this is probably because of the cohesive workings of the government.

On the way out of the village we passed a church.  The doors were closed, so I couldn't see what was going onn inside.  But I could just imagine.  The singing, clapping and stomping was a wonderful sound.  I wish I could have stopped and joined in the worship, but this isn't that kind of trip :)

After the field visits we went to the new district hospital.  It was a super amazing building, although possibly out of place and obnoxious. It lookes like something you might see in a US city and made the rest of the surrounding seem even more poor. The average person in Rwanda lives on less that $1.25 per day.