Greetings!
Fall has arrived! We are happy to report that the last several months have been jam packed with great news and hard work by our Ihangane team. This newsletter will provide a glimpse of the exciting developments.
To keep up to date on our activities, please visit our new website! The Updates section is designed to provide more frequent updates of our projects. Many thanks to our web developer extraordinaire, Mark Readie!We are also proud of the new section of our website that highlights Ihangane Project team members. Please take a moment to learn more about our Rwandan and US-based Teams!Happy Holidays,The Ihangane Project Team
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Preventing Malnutrition
This summer in Rwanda was a whirlwind of home visits, focus groups, meetings with staff members, and research into current Malnutrition program interventions. Michella Otmar worked closely with the HIV team at Ruli District Hospital to learn from their experiences with our pilot project. Blakeley Lowry worked with the team to develop a simple monitoring and evaluation system. She is now writing a guide that outlines our Empowerment Model approach. We hope our approach can act as a model for other grassroots organizations who want to integrate monitoring and evaluation into program development.
Based on all of this hard work, we are happy to announce that the Nutrition for HIV-Exposed Infants program has been expanded from a pilot group to include all qualified children at Ruli Health Center! Once funding becomes available, The Ihangane Project will expand this program to all 7 health centers in the area.
In addition to the clinical aspects, TIP will address long term food security through the establishment of a farming cooperative, a local sosoma production enterprise, and model gardens. Ruli Sector has agreed to provide land to the People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) Association, and we are consulting with cooperative development specialists. TIP will also investigate the option of installing a solar drip irrigation system for the cooperative.
We are also looking for an intern to shadow the rural Community Nutrition Workers. The Ihangane Project hopes to gain a more thorough understanding of the hands-on work being performed and identify barriers to success. We hope to find simple interventions that can have a big impact on malnutrition in the area. If you know anyone who may be interested, please let us know!
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 Bringing Light to Rural Health Facilities Nyange Health Center has light! We are so excited to announce that Nyange's solar electricity system was completely installed in September. We are very grateful for the help of SELF and Catapult Design for making this happen. Of course, it would not have been possible without the support of Dr. Emery Chang at UCLA Care Clinic. This video shows what electricity means to the providers and receivers of health care at Nyange Health Center: Welcome to Nyange
The true heros of this project are Jacqueline Umubyehi, the tireless maintenance director from Ruli District Hospital, and Jerome Uwimana of SELF. Their team work has been been inspiring. Luckily, they work well together, since there are 4 more sites to go! Our goal is to have solar systems in place at Rukura, Minazi, Musagara, and Huro sites by the end of 2010. This video shows our team in action while performing electricity assessments: Solar Sites 2010
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 HIV Prevention through Financial Autonomy
This summer, TIP worked closely with Covaru and Ihangane Associations to review our business models together and plan for the upcoming year. All of the women were engaged, and excited to find innovative ways to strengthen their businesses. Each group has its own personality, and this is evident in the Mission Statements that each group developed. What is clear for both groups is their pride in their community.
Here are each of the Mission Statements:
Covaru: Our mission is to inspire curiosity about Rwandan culture by producing high quality traditional baskets, as well as to use traditional techniques to create innovative basket designs with modern function. Our goal is to lift ourselves out of poverty and to inspire others to do the same.
Ihangane: Our mission is to provide beautiful and functional handmade crafts that depict traditional rural life in Rwanda. We pride ourselves in our vast experience, as well as our willingness to continually expand our skills. Our goal is to provide other women with similar opportunities for independence by sharing our skills and knowledge.
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 Collaboration with University of Michigan Ross School of Business
The Ihangane Project is particularly excited about our partnership with Dr. Paul Clyde at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. This summer, we partnered to offer a William Davidson Global Impact Internship. Greg Thorne spent three months working with Ruli District Hospital to thoroughly assess the financial and clinical structure of the hospital. In addition, he developed business plan recommendations for a potential sosoma production enterprise.
This partnership will continue into 2011. During the Winter semester, a team of 5-6 MBA students will work together to build upon the work Greg performed this summer. He noted that the hospital lacked a communication system for health centers to refer patients for physician consultations. This team will work with the hospital and health centers to develop comprehensive recommendations for an efficient system that will improve patient care, increase the predictability of patient volume on a given day, and decrease wait times to see a physician.
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 Internship Opportunities
Interested in strengthening innovative social enterprises that empower women and bring health care to the rural poor? Or, maybe you are interested in public health outreach to those who live in extremely rural communities. If you are interested in an internship in clinical care, public health, agriculture, small business development, or integrated health systems, please let us know!
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7960B Soquel Drive #394 Aptos, CA 95003
(877)628-8288
http://www.theihanganeproject.com
contact@theihanganeproject.com
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 | First Impressions
| Project Development Consultant, Michella Otmar, reflects on her first experience in Ruli, Rwanda.
Rwandan Greetings
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 | | Year End Donations | As 2010 nears an end, please consider making a tax-deductible donation to The Ihangane Project. You can designate a program you would like to support, and we will ensure that your wishes are respected. Thank you for your support!
Murakoze Cyane!
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