Healthy Living Workshop by Tara S.

Tara Sullivan

Muhanga District, Southern Province

“Health is very important to development because no development without health. When people are in good health, they create and innovate, they think about projects and realize them using appropriate materials and their arms.” –NZAGATUMA Aline, student at Groupe Scolaire Kibangu

Aline is a fourteen year old Rwanda girl who is actively involved in the GLOW Club at G.S. Kibangu, the school where I work.  I would describe her as small and springy with the most beautiful smile that she is not afraid to share with the world.   I read her response to the assignment and knew she would be a perfect fit to attend the Healthy Living Workshop in Kigali put on by Peace Corps GAD committee. 

I asked the BE Club what they believed they biggest health problem in Rwanda was for their assignment.  Hubert, the president, responded,

“The biggest health problem in Rwanda is HIV/AIDS.  I think all people of Rwanda can listen advice of Government and to avoid sexual intercourse without condom.”

I appreciated his response because of his candidness and thoughtfulness.  As a 16 year-old Rwandan boy he understood that he has a responsibility to help with health problems in his country.   Hubert was also invited to attend the Healthy Living Workshop. 

So early on Friday Morning May 22^nd we met at the mini-bus stand in my village and we began our adventure.  We met with another volunteer, Kim, and her students for lunch in Kigali and then we explored the city.  We walked past the president’s house, saw some fruit bats, walked past the most fancy hotels, and saw the big banks.  The highlight of the day was our ride up a glass elevator in Kigali City Tower.  Most of the students had never been in an elevator before, so the experience was both wonderful and a bit scary for them. 

The Healthy Living Workshop was held at a hotel near the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali.  There were 18 volunteers in attendance, 3 leading the workshop and 15 who brought students.  The students were from all over the country, with different backgrounds and opportunities.  At first they were a little shy but by the end of the weekend they found new friends.

On Saturday the students had classes on Nutrition, Exercise, Body Image/Self Esteem, Mental Health, and HIV/AIDS.  They discussed how these issues pertain to both men and women but in different ways.  Empowering both women and men to lead healthy lives contributes to gender equality in a variety of ways.  For example education on women’s health allows women to make well-informed decisions when it comes to their reproductive health, mental health, and nutrition.  This gives women the power over their own bodies, which traditionally were often under the control of their husbands.  Educating men on mental health and self esteem gives them healthy ways to cope with stress and other emotions which can in turn reduce violence and substance abuse.  Also by educating young men about sexual health they can hold equal responsibility in practicing safe sex.  Education about healthy living is critical to promoting gender equality for both sexes.

After the students finished their lessons, we made an action plan for our school.  Aline and Hubert plan to teach these same lessons in their GLOW and BE clubs at the school, thus spreading the knowledge even further.  They also agreed to talk to their basketball and football (soccer) teams about some of the information they learned and do some of the activities with them.  As they educate more and more of their peers the benefits of the workshop will be seen throughout the community. 

We finished the day with some wacky Olympics that included a dance competition, a dribbling race, and an egg on the spoon race.   Both Aline and Hubert did a fantastic job and really put their all into the races.

It was a blue-sky morning as we walked over to the stadium on Sunday. The Kigali Peace Marathon was the big event, but our thirty students along with four of us volunteers ran the 5K Fun run. I ran around the stadium with Olive, a young female student.  We kept a slow but consistent pace, and soon enough were back at the stadium.  I told her to finish strong and we sprinted across the finish line.  One of the students actually won the 5K race, which was very exciting.  After lots of photos and some snacks we headed home.  With more knowledge and lots of enthusiasm to share all that we learned with our friends at home. 

World Malaria Month by Grace M.

Grace Mullin
Muhanga District, Southern Province




April 25th started World Malaria Month. As many of you may know, Malaria is a huge problem in much of Africa, in fact 90% of malaria deaths occur in Africa, most of those in children under 5 years old, and the equivalent of $13 billion is spent each year in Africa on Malaria (that is 910,000,000,000Rwf). That is an enormous sum of money, and if used for other things, could really advance so much in Rwanda, and Africa as a whole. The reality: with the proper precautions, malaria really can be eliminated.

Sure, malaria is a huge issue, but this is a Gender and Development blog, so of course we have to tie it into that. So I will do so on two fronts.

The first is that pregnant women are at a much higher risk of having severe complications from contracting malaria. To begin with, pregnant women release chemicals that attract mosquitoes, putting them at higher risk of contracting malaria to begin with. Furthermore, once they contract it, it affects their bodies more, as their immune system is weakened, and the parasite can occupy the placenta without detection, which can cause harm to the unborn baby, including early delivery, low birthweight, and potentially the passing of malaria to the unborn child (congenital malaria). For this reason, Ministry of Health standards in Rwanda mandate that every woman receives a mosquito net during her first pregnancy. The problem though, is many women in Rwanda refuse to sleep under their nets. Many find them hot, or have fears, mostly based on old methods of chemically treating the nets, that the nets can negatively impact their health. It is important as Community Health Volunteers, Education Volunteers and Educated Rwandans to help these mothers to understand the risks they put themselves and their babies at, by not sleeping under the mosquito net every night. Sure the nets can make you slightly hotter, and the net has been known on a very rare occasion to make someone itchy, but the consequences of not sleeping under the nets can be deadly. For the sake of camaraderie and for cross-sector education and support, I will debunk a few of the malaria myths (and then move on to my second focus of this blog).

• Certain groups are more susceptible to severe complications from malaria, these are children under 5 years old, pregnant women, people from areas that are not endemic to malaria (and therefore have no immunity to them) and people living with HIV/AIDS (or another immunodeficient condition).
• In 2013, WHO estimates that 198 million clinical cases of malaria occurred and 500,000 people died of malaria, most of those were children in Africa (CDC Website, "Malaria FAQs," accessed May 5, 2015).
• The Anopheles mosquito generally feeds at night, and then rests inside on the upper portions of walls to digest its meal. There are other mosquitoes that bite during the day, or have different resting patterns, but these are not mosquitoes that cause malaria. This is why being under a mosquito net during peak hours is so key to prevention.
• Mosquitoes need stagnant water to lay their eggs, which is why one of the important prevention techniques is to eliminate stagnant water from around the house (even a piece of trash can hold enough water for a mosquito to lay eggs).
• Many believe that chopping down bushes by one's house is the key to preventing mosquitoes. While this may be a good practice for other things, it is not known to impact mosquitoes or the rates of malaria.
• Mosquito nets should be tucked under the mattress, holes should be repaired (they can be sewn with just a needle and thread), they should be washed gently with non-abrasive soap 3 times per year, and left in the shade to dry.
• Anyone who has symptoms of malaria should seek treatment immediately, and if prescribed, should take all of their medicine to completion.
• When awareness campaigns, prevention techniques, diagnostic tests, transportation to health centers/posts, medicine costs and loss of wages due to illness, are all taken into account, one can see how much Malaria really does cost.
• Malaria IS spread from person to person, just not in the traditional sense. No, one person cannot directly give malaria to another person, but if a person sick with malaria is bitten by a female Anopheles mosquito, the mosquito can transfer that malaria to another person. An Anopheles mosquito cannot be born with malaria; it must contract it from a human. If no one has malaria, the mosquito cannot spread it.
• Many people are under the assumption that because malaria has never made them sick, it is not important for them to try to prevent it. The reality is: it may not make them sick, but they can pass it on to someone who may become very sick.
• Malaria, if left untreated, can kill.

So, that is my pitch on how malaria works, and my plea to remember how it is a GAD issue because it affects pregnant women (and other vulnerable groups) at a more serious rate than some other members of society.



My second focus of this blog is the Southern Region of Rwanda's Malaria Tour that took place this week. During the tour, 8 volunteers were able to visit through 3 schools and 1 health center reaching approximately 1,000 children with malaria education. Through this tour, the volunteers were able to integrate GAD work, by being mindful of the participation in both genders and utilizing programs GAD has previously created.

• On multiple occasions, volunteers could be heard thanking boys for their answers, and then requesting for a girl to answer the next question, thus creating an environment of equality.
• A few of the lessons taught were attended by a significant number of female students, who were given voices to share their knowledge and opinions.
• Both boys and girls worked together in healthy and productive ways to complete activities, play games, answer questions and put on skits/songs.
• At one of the secondary schools, the female students took the lead on a rap they had written about malaria.
• The first malaria session of the tour was organized by GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) and BE (Boys Excelling) Clubs at the school. These clubs were extensions of the GLOW and BE camps that had taken place in the past. The students that had attended the camps were able to take what they learned and bring it back to other students, who participated in these clubs, who were, in turn, able to take all that they had learned to help give it back to the entire school.

 

Rwanda's Southern Region Malaria Tour

Under the Mosquito Net

Malaria Skit

Final Lesson of the Malaria Tour