Can you tell us about yourself?
I graduated this past May from Boston University with a Bachelors degree in International Relations and African Studies. I’m originally from eastern Pennsylvania, and I came to BU because I wanted to be in a big city at a school with a good study abroad program. I spent a semester in Geneva, Switzerland where I worked at an international migration organization. I also spent a summer in Kenya doing public health research at the Kilimanjaro Bush Camp. Before going to Kenya, I hadn’t considered research as a career option. The experience taught me that there is a lot more to research and that it often involves person-to-person interactions. I am hoping someday to return to that kind of work.
Can you tell us more about Gardens for Health International, where you currently work, and how you got involved there?
Gardens for Health was founded in 2007 by three female college students who were doing fellowships in Rwanda. During their fellowships, they realized there was a real need for people who were HIV positive to have access to land. As a result, they became a land advocacy organization. One of the things I admire about the organization is how our founders were willing to change and adapt – our mission now looks much different than it did in the very early days of Gardens for Health. Today the mission of our organization is to eat and grow healthy foods as a part of the clinical treatment of malnutrition. Chronic malnutrition is one of the most pervasive health issues in Rwanda. Our core program at Gardens for Health is the Health Center program where we partner with government health centers in Rwanda. The first step every harvest season is to identify the most urgent cases of childhood malnutrition in the communities at each health center. Then we invite the families of those children to participate in a 14-week health education program which covers topics like preparing and eating a healthy, balanced meal and family planning. We also provide agricultural support to families, which consists of giving them a starter pack to grow a natural garden (trees, seeds, and livestock). Then we coach them on how to set up these gardens and how to utilize the produce to make healthier meals. In Rwanda, we have a staff of 125 people, and in the U.S. we have a staff of six people. Many of the employees in Rwanda were previous participants in our health education program, so they are extremely invested in the success of the project.
I got involved at Gardens for Health through BNID; I saw a featured listing on the newsletter. The job seemed perfect; it was a crossroads of all the things I was passionate about global health, sustainable agriculture, and East Africa. I thought ‘this is the place I want to be.'
How do you ensure that you are aware of and in sync with the real needs of the communities you are working with through Gardens for Health?
The channels of communication are not only very open between our two offices in Rwanda and Boston, but also between our offices and the people in the community. Many of our staff members are from the community and have participated in our Health Center Program. They have a really unique perception of how to approach our work. While some of their ideas may seem counter-intuitive from a Western perspective, they work and get people in the community involved successfully. You just have to be open to trial and error. We also have a suggestion box for our staff in Rwanda that they open every week. Feedback on all aspects of our work from the community and others involved in GHI is important.
In the U.S. office, we have a Development and Communications Associate and a Finance Associate. In Rwanda, we have a Farm Fellow, a Communications Fellow, and a Program Coordinator fellow. I think we’re able to stay in touch with the community and tap into their needs because our staff represents a variety of backgrounds and fields of expertise; we bring in people from the agricultural field, the public health field, and the nutrition field. Altogether, we can capture wide spectrum needs.
What are the biggest challenges of your work? The most rewarding parts?
So far, one of the biggest challenges has been getting a grasp on what I do. I am the U.S. Operations Associate which means I am responsible for a variety of tasks including donor stewardship and communication, assisting in blog writing and grants and general support for our team. There is a large catalog of things I am involved in, so creating a priority list is extremely important. Another challenge is working with a team on two continents. It can be hard sometimes to communicate back and forth between the Rwandan Office and the American office, especially with the time difference. Before I started at Gardens for Health, I assumed this issue would be difficult to overcome, but I am fortunate to be working with so many dedicated, passionate people that finding time to work together is never a struggle.
One of the most rewarding parts of my work is getting to work alongside my colleagues. They are all great individuals and experts in their field. We all feel very connected with our team in Rwanda. Still, it is easy to get stuck in a sort of bubble where everything revolves around things that seem trivial in the long run, like writing perfect thank you notes or entering donations with correct formatting. Even when completing small tasks I try to keep in mind that this work is in support of a greater mission. It’s nice to remind myself of that. I have a really beautiful panoramic photo of our farm in Rwanda above my desk, so when I am stressed, I just look up. I remember ‘that’s why I am doing this work.'
How can students interested in global health get more involved in Gardens for Health International and deepen their experiences to be prepared for the Public Health sector?
We typically post internship and fellowship opportunities on our website. We accept yearly fellows through Global Health Corps and Princeton in Africa. Fellowships are definitely something to look into, especially for post-grad years. We also partner with GlobeMed at Middlebury College.
In general, I advise students to find any opportunity they can; even small, one-time volunteering opportunities or events. It can be difficult during the school year to keep up a full-time internship, but you can find part-time internships. I started an internship at the Consortium on Gender, Security, and Human Rights the summer before my senior year, and I was able to balance that with my schedule all the way through graduation. There are also opportunities to get involved in clubs and organizations or to start a student group as an undergraduate. I participated in Coffee and Conversation at the Howard Thurman Center at BU during my senior year. Each Friday, they held a themed discussion with coffee. I think those experiences are really valuable as an undergraduate student. You don’t necessarily have the field experience, so events like these are a great way to gain insight and to gauge how you feel about various careers.
Do you have any book recommendations for students interested in international development?
One great book I read recently is called We Wish To Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families by Phillip Gourevitch, based on interviews with survivors of the Rwandan genocide. The book details the events of the genocide using first-hand narratives. It also discusses genocide as a concept overall and how the media plays a role in the perception of the genocide.
Another book I am in the process of finishing is Damned Nations by Dr. Samantha Nutt. It’s a great book about the pros and cons of development and the complexities of humanitarian aid. After completing her studies, Dr. Nutt lived and worked in Baidoa, Somalia, which was known as the “City of Death” at the time. She uses personal observations from two decades working in humanitarian aid and development to explore the incentives and troubles of aid and conflict in war-torn countries.
Interview Conducted by Mary Cunningham
College of the Holy Cross, Class of 2017
Please feel free to contact Mary at [email protected] if your organization is interested in being featured in a blog post.