Post 5: Probiotic Advocates Collective (PAC)

Reading Time: 15 minutes

Meeting with Student Organizations: 

The past week has been one filled with lots of meetings and student-based collaboration. We first had a meeting with the Public Health student organization leaders to discuss aspects of the probiotic yogurt project. This meeting ended up lasting an hour and thirty minutes with so many great questions posed and discussions taking place. Following this meeting, we also created a group chat through the WhatsApp platform to facilitate further discussion and for setting up future meetings with the group. The Public Health team was really excited about the collaboration for the probiotic yogurt project, with all members eager to be involved in community betterment efforts. We are equally as excited to be working as a team and to be able to learn from these students and to integrate all the local knowledge they possess into the project goals. 

In addition to the meeting with the Public Health team, we also met with the Nutrition and Dietetics student organization president and events co-ordinator.  This meeting was also very effective, with both members of the larger team interested in collaborating on the probiotic yogurt project. They assured us that many other students would be excited about this project as there is a large focus on community-based initiatives within the campus atmosphere, which is exactly where the probiotic yogurt project is aimed towards. We gave a presentation to some of the students within the Nutrition and Dietetics program and proposed a sector of the two student organizations which we have called the Probiotic Activists Collective (PAC).

The project was eagerly received by both student organizations which made both Naomi and I very excited about the state of the project. We were both initially worried about how to gauge student interest and about how the kitchen production would work at the University of Rwanda (UR). However, the UR students seemed excited to facilitate the creation of a probiotic yogurt student organization sub-sector focused on production, outreach, and distribution. This aspect of the project was something that Naomi and I were more worried about completing due to our Westernized experiences. In Western culture most members of society are more concerned with individualized achievements and not as interested in community betterment unless it has a self-serving purpose. However, the students at UR are genuinely interested in community betterment without as much concern for their own gain from being involved in the project. We have definitely been learning a lot here, especially in terms of how to better serve our communities upon return to Canada and hope to even become more involved in the community while we are in Kigali. 

Naomi and I with the Public Health Student Organization Executive team.

Naomi and I with the Nutrition Student Organization leaders.

Naomi and I meeting with the Public Health Executive Team to discuss the Probiotic Yogurt Project.

Naomi and I Presenting to Nutrition Students on the Probiotic Activists Collective (PAC).

Liberation Day Night Run 

On the first day of the independence day long weekend we participated in what is called a night run. This is a city-wide initiative to increase physical education and promote healthy living among people living in Kigali. This is a free event to attend and was loads of fun. When we first arrived, there was ping pong set up for people to play and music to pump everyone up for the run. Police were busy blocking off the road from traffic, giving the runners free range of the roads. The event was three hours in duration beginning around six and ending around nine with social time, warm-up, the run, and cool-down. The warmup event was a lot of fun as there were hundreds of people all participating in stretches and exercises ran by a co-ordinator of the event. There was booming music and a televised screen to watch the warm-up exercises on. The active movement in the warm-up had us panting before the run even began. The run itself was eight kilometers with varying levels of running experience among the participants. Near the end of the race when we start to get tired, we joined a group running in a bundle who were chanting in Kinyarwanda.

Pictures from the Liberation Day Night Run

Outreach in Huye

We were invited to an outreach event run by the Public Health student organization taking place in Huye—the second largest city in Rwanda, after Kigali. We took the bus to get to Huye, which is located in the Southern province of Rwanda. 

The volunteering event took place in a village on the outskirts of the city, in an area impacted by poverty conditions. The Public Health students chose this area to promote nutritious diets, the importance of environmental health such as hygienic practices, and to discuss preventative measures for undernutrition. There were around 250 young children who showed up to the event! Members of the Public Health student organization presented to the children and some of the mothers who attended in Kinyarwanda. Afterwards, we gave out porridge and hard-boiled eggs for the kids to eat. Unfortunately, there were only 200 eggs because the turnout was much greater than anticipated. However, the kids made the most of the situation and offered to share their eggs with others who didn’t get any. It was awe-inspiring to see kids who did not have a lot, choosing to share their eggs with other kids—genuine kindness without being told to do so. In the end, we ended up learning a lot from these kids who acted with community-oriented values and practiced true acts of selflessness among members of their community.

Pictures from Public Health and Nutritional-Based Outreach with Rwandan Children Teaching Us Active Selflessness

On our way back from the community outreach event, we stopped by the University of Rwanda Huye campus to drop off some students. While we were briefly stopped, we saw monkeys! Naomi and I ran out from the bus and crossed the road; with the biggest smiles you’ve ever seen on our faces. Bystanders were giving us some funny looks, but we were so excited to see the little creatures, we continued our journey over. The students on campus are not the biggest fans of the monkeys as they often cause quite the ruckus. Turns out the movies kind of got that one right. They will take anything they can get their little hands on apparently, all to have a little fun. Sometimes they even steal bedsheets that are in the process of drying so they can play games, leaving students re-washing all their sheets and hoping they don’t steal them again. However, we were very excited to finally see monkeys in person and even managed to get some pictures with them—boy were they cute for troublemakers. We are hopefully returning but bringing bananas so they can steal them from us and so we can watch them open the bananas to eat. 

The Monkeys that Hangout at the University of Rwanda Huye Campus

Mamba Club 

Mamba Club is a hostel in Kigali which also hosts a variety of fun activities. This includes bowling, ping pong, pool, swimming, and beach volleyball. We went both bowling and played beach volleyball with a group of our friends here. Ironically, I had the most bowling experience of the four group members, yet I still lost by a substantial number of points. The worst part is everyone knew I had the most bowling experience as nobody else had played before! I must say, it was quite the humbling experience. We also played beach volleyball which was really fun, a family who was watching from the sidelines even joined in our game. It was a really fun activity, and hopefully we can play more beach volleyball while we’re in Kigali

Pictures from Mamba Club – Bowling & Playing Beach Volleyball.

Post 4: A Sad, Surreal Understanding

Reading Time: 5 minutes

I wanted to dedicate a separate post to my experience visiting the Genocide Memorial in the Kirehe district. This was a whole day event in the Eastern province of Rwanda to commemorate twenty-nine years since the genocide within the country. This experience was one which had a meaningful impact on not only my perspective going forth with the internship but with the way I view the world. Before boarding a flight to Rwanda for this internship, I was aware of the genocide which had taken place within the recent history of the country. I had learned about it in one of my classes but also investigated some of the resources available for interns through the Western Heads East sites about the genocide of Rwanda. Yet, experiencing the memorial was much different than I could have expected. I learned a lot of information about what had happened, not taught to me previously, which was honestly so shocking to have occurred within the recent history of the beautiful country I had thus-far experienced.  

I think one of the most shocking experiences was how surreal the evidence made the genocide in term of how recent it really was. I knew it was a recent event and that it was real but when I saw the evidence, it became real in a different nature. I heard the testimony of a survivor in Kinyarwanda with brief English translations by one of our friends, but aside from the words, the emotion in the way the truth of her story was told was immensely impactful on its own. There were piles of blankets used to cover bodies, clothes worn by victims, toys from children, items found with the bodies of those killed, the weapons which further perpetrated violence and the skeletonized bodies of those killed.

The clothes were one of the most frightening aspects for me to see. Pictures were understandably not allowed to be taken but what we witnessed was tables piled with clothes from people of all ages who had been killed: babies, children, mothers, fathers, and grandparents. It added to the disgust I felt being told about the people who still deny the genocide—a massacre resulting in the loss of so many lives—had ever happened. The rooms I saw were filled with evidence, and yet it is still only a portion of what exists, in only one sector of the country. Somehow, even with all I experienced, the genocide is still denied by those who do not want to admit the horrors which lie in their own families.

Always remember. Never Again. 

Most of our experience at the Genocide Memorial was in the mother tongue of the country—Kinyarwanda—thus, Naomi and I still hope to be able to visit the memorial in Kigali. This way we hope to read through the plaques in English to be able to further understand the events and lasting impact of the recent history on the country of Rwanda. This will allow us to have more context to what we witnessed in the Southern Province. However, even without understanding Kinyarwanda, this experience has had a substantial impact on my perspective of understanding the world and the people within in it.

Left Picture: A group photo of the students who attended the Kirehe district genocide memorial. We are all wearing the commemoration shirts from the University of Rwanda (UR), organized by student leaders.

Right Picture: Naomi and I following the commemoration. We are both wearing shirts with the UR logo on the left and on the right is a candle flame above the word ‘kwibuka’ meaning to remember in Kinyarwanda.

Post 3: A Memorable Week of Food & Fun

Reading Time: 7 minutes

The Week at a Glance: 

These last few weeks have been filled with many new learning experiences and adventure. Before I get into the extracurriculars that we have been involved in the past few weeks, let me first catch you up on the status of the probiotic yogurt implementation. We have been working on sourcing material prices so that they can be purchased, and the production can begin. This has been a more difficult task than expected due to the wide variety of prices out there for similar materials. Additionally, it has been slightly more challenging than expected because we do not necessarily know which product vendors are best suited to ship such materials not only in a timely manner but in one that is still cost-efficient. To combat this issue, we have been seeking out multiple vendors for the same or similar products so that there are options in terms of how to receive the products either locally or through means of shipping. This is especially the case for larger bulk items which require more cost-effective methods in order to have a sustainable amount of income left-over after purchasing material. This left-over funding is necessary for items such as purchasing probiotic fiti yogurt packets and to have a start-up amount to jumpstart exterior fundraising options. 

New Food On Friday: 

Food. This is definitely a good place to start in terms of new experiences that have occurred this week. I have been introduced to jollof rice, which before meeting a new friend I had not heard of before. Our new friend is a chef and offered to cook jollof rice for us which is a traditional dish for her and her family from Nigeria. She cooked the rice separate from the meat so that I could have it, and additionally served it with the most delicious fried plantains. Being vegetarian has made it more challenging for me to try new foods while I’ve been here as often-times the vegetarian options are foods which I have experienced before. This made trying the jollof rice a really exciting experience and is it certainly something I will be searching for in Canada upon my return! 

Jollof Rice & Plantain Chips.

Run For Peace Marathon: 

We received a text message earlier in the week which told us about a marathon that would be happening on the Saturday. When we clinked the link to explore the site, we discovered that it was happening only a thirty-minute walk away and decided to sign-up. However, when we signed up, we were not aware of the marathon significance. Upon arrival to the marathon, with over 10,000 people in attendance we knew this had to be an event bigger than our original understanding of the event. It turned out to be an international marathon that was occurring in Kigali, called the International Run for Peace. There were participants from 48 different countries all participating in the range of running events from a full marathon, half marathon, to the peace run which was ten kilometres. It was a very inspiring event as there were such a wide range of skilled participants including children and families. Everyone involved helped to promote physical fitness among locals and the participants from abroad. Without training we opted to run the International Run for Peace, with our pictures even featured on the BK arena venue Instagram page! 

Pictures from the Kigali International Peace Marathon.

A View to Remember: 

Another spectacular experience was hiking Mount Kigali. While Mount Kigali is not what is expected when one says they are hiking a mountain, the views were absolutely breathtaking. Mount Kigali can be more accurately described as a very large hill which overlooks the bustling city on one side and rolling hills on the other. Although we have experienced varying levels of viewing the city, this outlook offered a perspective like no other. When hiking up the hill, there are so many places to begin the journey with all routes providing a slightly difference experience of the hike. Before we had left, we were reading about other visitors who hiked Mount Kigali and even read about a few that had gotten themselves lost, ending up on a military base situated on Mount Kigali. While hiking up the hill, there were houses scattered all along the way and even a horse ranch at the top. We were even told the horse ranch is the only place where horses can be seen in Rwanda with option of riding them at this establishment! Only Naomi and I were completing the hike together, which made it our first real activity without our friends help—we were quite proud of ourselves for our navigation of the city and for completing the hike without any hiccups. And luckily, we did not find ourselves lost on a military base being yelled at by soldiers.  

Pictures on Mount Kigali overlooking the rolling hills of the country.

Post 2: A Slight Delay & Hopeful Solutions

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Week 3. The time feels as though it is flying by, with us already spending three weeks experiencing Kigali. 

Bamboo Forest in the Nyandungu Urban Wetland Eco-Tourism Park.

To start this blog, post off however, I am going to backtrack to week two and catch you up on the events of the internship so far in Kigali. In week two we got to see the kitchen set-up at the University of Rwanda and started our detailed list of the materials that need to still be acquired for the stage of production. This involved us going to the local market to get some flours to produce the dairy-free probiotic alternative for when we have kitchen materials. This dairy-free probiotic alternative seemed to be received positively by the nutrition and dietetic department professors as it would benefit people who cannot digest dairy efficiently and it would not need to be refrigerated to the same extent as a dairy-based probiotic yogurt. We also needed to outline what the rest of the internship would look like and created an outline to keep us on track and hopefully able to complete all the goals we set out for the internship. 

That being said, we have encountered a delay which we have been working to resolve during week 3. On-site in Kigali, we have found that some materials are harder to acquire than anticipated. To be specific, one of the nutritional supplements, inulin, we planned to add to the yogurt is not readily available in the city. This had Naomi and I engaged in some research to ‘replace’ the inulin with an alternative which is readily available but that would provide similar nutritional benefits to the probiotic yogurt. The issue with some nutritional supplements, is that it could change the taste of the probiotic yogurt. Since the probiotic yogurt has been readily improved by past interns, we want to ensure a similar deliciousness. For now, we hope to experiment with a few different supplements which are more common in the city, in hopes of getting the taste and nutritional benefits of the probiotic yogurt just right. 

We are hopeful about the choices we found to provide these similar nutritional benefits so watch for results in the next blog post. 

Aside from the internship updates, the past few weeks have been filled with great new experiences. We also got to experience our first rainfall in Kigali which was different than the average rainfall we experience in Ontario. The rain in Kigali was much more powerful but only lasted about ten minutes before the sun was right back out shinning away. Even leaving a rainbow in its wake. 

Rainbow after experiencing our first rainfall in Kigali.

Benitha also introduced us to the Nyandungu Urban Wetland Eco-Tourism Park. This Park is located within the city yet filled with endless plants, colorful flowers, and even bamboo. Pictured below are just a few of the flowers we saw on our journey throughout the park, where we spent the day. 

Gallery of different flowers at Nyandungu Urban Wetland Eco-Tourism Park.

 

Post 1: Getting Started & Arriving in Kigali

Reading Time: 10-15 minutes 

Muraho, Hello, Bonjour! I greet you in Kinyarwanda, English, and French. The main language used throughout the city of Kigali in Rwanda is Kinyarwanda. However, during our first week we were invited as guests to the School Saint Vincent Palloti hosting a Tree Planting event—and the kids there were learning all three languages simultaneously! This was amazing to see in action as I was only able to really learn one language throughout primary school and have only ever seen this in Ontario. As Kinyarwanda is still the primary language used throughout the city, I would certainly advise future students visiting Rwanda to learn some Kinyarwanda. I was a little scared at first to mispronounce words or be disrespectful, but the locals are certainly more appreciative when an effort is made to learn aspects of Rwandan culture and always shoot you a smile for trying! 

I would first like to introduce myself as a third-year student from Western University. I am completing an honors specialization in Anthropology and very excited about the amazing internship opportunity I received in Kigali, Rwanda. Before I discuss my arrival in Kigali, however, I wanted to discuss the preparation steps for the internship before leaving Canada. As such, while preparing to depart from Pearson Airport—arriving a few hours too early in hopes of smooth sailing—I wrote about the important steps in place before I could reach the beautiful and very green city of Kigali! 

The beautiful landscape filled with trees, greenery, and rolling hills in Kigali, Rwanda. 

We first went through the Western University travel steps such as the atlas travel registry and international pre-departure training, after receiving acceptance to the program. The atlas travel registry was important as it was where you compiled important information Western University needed such as travel details, emergency contacts, travel insurance information, proof of pre-departure training, and additionally provided links to help sites gone over in more detail during pre-departure training. The international pre-departure training included many modules which combatted both ethical global engagement and understanding safety while abroad. We also had online and in-person sessions to adequately prepare for our internships abroad. It was important hearing multiple perspectives meeting in a larger group, providing different insights and concerns as part of our training. The group sessions were also very helpful as we discussed case studies, making us aware of communicative differences which could offend people in differing countries or even put safety at risk. I found this especially useful in the gender norms and sexual violence module where we learned worldwide differences in the meaning of consent and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community. As well as some of the risks associated with not understanding cultural differences in such contexts, further stressing the importance of this training. 

In addition to pre-departure training aspects, we also had a first online zoom call with two of the coordinators in Kigali at the University of Rwanda. We virtually met Didier, a professor at the university who was already providing us with so much help from before arriving at the airport to our first week onsite. We also got to meet Jeannine virtually, who is the head of the Human Nutrition and Dietetics Department, who also ensured our wellbeing and that our exciting transition to a new culture went as smooth as possible. Each of them playing crucial roles in implementing the project, providing us the privilege to join project goals, and giving us very friendly welcomes into Rwanda. It was also very helpful to meet both Didier and Jeannine virtually before arriving onsite, as we had familiar faces to look forward to seeing. On Saturday the 13^th of May, Naomi and I commenced our long three days of flights with two layovers, one in England and Brussels, before arriving at the Kigali airport. 

Naomi and I on a plane playground toy at the school we were guests at, fitting for our earlier long flight together. 

When we arrived at the airport, Didier and Benitha were there to meet us and to help us get back to the house we were staying in. Upon arrival Benitha, a student at the University of Rwanda, hugged us—a greeting signifying excitement in Rwanda making us feel very welcome and excited for what was to come. 

Me, Benitha, and Naomi (in order) taking a picture together. 

On the Thursday of our first week, Didier invited us—Benitha, Naomi, and I—to be guests at a tree planting event that he had a large role in organizing at a local school. The event was partnered up with a non-profit organization Green Africa Foundation with representatives from Kenya on-site and the Rwanda Australian Alumni Association—all attendees with similar environmental goals of enhancing tree cover and promoting sustainability. During the tree planting event we were greeted with dancing and music local to Kigali from the children at the school. 

A loop of girls from the school dancing to greet us as we entered the school lot. 

Left Picture: Girls from the school greeting us with waves and high-fives. 

Right Picture: Boys from the school playing music and marching. 

We then got to view a room in the school with historic elements of the Rwandan culture—everyday items that would have been used in the past to go about daily life. Including what would have been a house in the past, pictured below. 

A depiction of a house from historical Rwandan culture.

We took lots of pictures with both organizers of the event and the children, as well as taking part in a vlog where we were asked how we felt about the event taking place. We even learned afterwards that we were on television at the event! The event also included planting some trees at the school and further vowing to plant our age. Pictured below are co-ordinators of the event and partners planting the first of the trees at the school. 

The first of the trees being planted at the school. 

We also got to spend some time with the kids who attended the school and played some soccer. Well… the kids, Naomi, and Benitha played soccer. I was much too slow to keep up with the quick-paced game occurring, but I did manage to get the ball once or twice. As for the plant your age initiative, we all choose to partake with Naomi and I, eager to plant our combined forty-two trees when we return to Ontario. The goal of the program is to set sustainable goals to plant as many trees as your age and continue planting trees as you age. As well as to go further than merely planting the trees but to also water them and nurture them so they grow. Thus, as you age, so do the trees. With the trees growing alongside you physically, emotionally and in general as a person. 

Benitha and I planting one of the trees at the school and watering it.

The event was very important stressing intergenerational knowledge and caring of the environment. It was really inspiring to see the kids were so passionate about the environment and volunteered to tell poems which gave me goosebumps and take-part in the event to further learn about sustainability methods. 

Some of the kids who attended the tree planting at the school pictured with Benitha, Naomi, and I.  

As foreigners to the city, we faced the new challenge of catching a lot of attention which is not something that we were used to experiencing and was overwhelming at first. However, people were curious but eager to welcome us to their city, often asking questions and curious about what we would be doing in Kigali! We were able to become more comfortable as we partook in everyday tasks—walking throughout the city, going to restaurants, buying groceries, and taking the bus. Additionally, when we were at the school for the tree planting event, the kids were also very curious and would often come up to high-five us—a method of greeting in Kigali. This was also the case as we walk to and from the city passing by many schools with curious children greeting us with hello’s and high-fives. I am certainly looking forward to the months to come in Kigali and commencing the internship at the University of Rwanda in the next week.