New Beginnings

Rwanda- the land of a thousand hills

Moraho Neza!
It's been a while since I've blogged, life has been a whirlwind adventure. Since I last wrote I have backpacked through 4 of the 5 countries of the East African Community, climbed an active volcano in Congo, swam across lake Kivu in Rwanda, stayed with my friend's family in a Maasai village in Kenya, did the Waka Waka dance next to Sipi Falls in Uganda, and said farewell to my family in Burundi. I have since planted myself in a small village in Rwanda with an organization with a huge mission. Gardens for Health International. (GHI)

Bush Shower in Isara, Kenya

GHI: It was started in 2008 in an effort to close the gap between food aid for the treatment of malnutrition and relapsing cases of malnutrition. Through sustainable, organic agriculture and education we EMPOWER PEOPLE to become healthier. We work in the community identifying malnourished individuals and families, educate them, and create home gardens while providing ongoing support & follow ups. In addition we work with 13 cooperatives with over 4,000 People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). We help them get land, create cooperative gardens, set up markets to sell extra crops, and provide lending of tools and seeds. It is a truly unique project.

I came here to start a new program which has since be entitled "KUVURA" (to heal) and our mission is gufasha abantu kwivura ubwabo "helping people heal themselves."
There are 5 elements to the program- nutrition, malnutrition, HIV/AIDS, natural/traditional medicine, and health promotion/disease prevention. The Kuvura Program educates everyone that is a part of GHI to help prevent and fight disease and eradicate stigma. Just yesterday we finished a 4 day long training for 100 community health workers about nutrition and malnutrition. They raved that it was the best training they've ever had and it was the first time they did not feel inferior to the trainers- they felt equal and it made them feel empowered. My heart was glowing when I heard this. By living the belief that we are all just people, we are able to create strong bonds and human connections in a way that power and superiority inhibit. We now have 100 abajyanama b'ubuzima (community health workers) armed with education and empowerment- they are ready to end malnutrition! The Kuvura Program focuses on healing the body, mind, spirit, and environment of the individuals and communities we serve- an innovative approach to health and wellness that people truly appreciate!

My Traditional Medicine teacher, Enock. His family has been healers for generations!

Community Health Worker Training: Puzzles of malnourished kids

Community Health Workers: Protein builds muscle!

We are a small team with big hearts: 3 Americans and 12 core Rwandans (plus the new baby, Blessing). Julie is our fearless leader, Mama as she has been titled and Johan is starting the Food Security Program with the name Buttercup as he is the butter-making guru. We have Sunday, the star translator, who's coming out of his shell while wearing incredible clothes like red pleather jackets and a black, mesh blouse with sparkles...it's his thing and we support it! More stories of other staff members to come later.


Rasta Baby Blessing.

At night our home is one of the few houses with lights so kids from the village come to do homework, it started with one boy and just a few minutes ago 6 eager and enthusiastic students left to go to bed. Our murugo (home) becomes a place of learning and sharing of ideas. Julie takes the english, Johan has the math dept, and I do the science- we are quite a team.

We also make food so if you ever want to do donate some $ to the snack fund, feel free- these are kids who only eat one time a day so we are doing our best to keep them nourished.

Life is rich and fulfilling. I frequently find myself stopping and just taking in the moments. We are at the front line of these problems and in a pivotal position to make REAL change happen. None of this, bureaucratic bullshit- we build gardens for families and educate community health workers. We identify malnourished kids and take them to the clinic for life-saving treatments. We go to orphanages and teach nutrition and start up organic gardens. Change is happening.


AIDP Orphanage- Ruhengeri, Rwanda

but...we need help
Trainings cost money and supplies do too.

- Help a home garden grow
- Support the after school snack fund
- Cash for community health workers to get tool kits so they can be a stronger
front-line force in the community
- Sprout Seeds for the people

If you are feeling a little tingle in your heart and want to make a contribution please email me bradleytsnyder@gmail.com

Donate to GHI in honor of someone you love or give a gift in their name
(Holidays are coming up...supporting this mission will touch a lot more lives that that H&M shirt or those Gap jeans)

Show the people here "Turikumwe" (we are together)

(oh, and I booked my roundtrip ticket home:
DECEMBER 21st-January 20(somethingith).

To sprouting love, digging for solutions, and cultivating hope!
*Brad