Thank You, Malawi
As I wrap up my last week here in Malawi, I am overwhelmed by how lightning fast and yet excruciatingly slow this year has been. I came to Malawi as a 22 year old (granted, I was two days shy of my birthday), and am leaving 24. I feel as though I had a lifetime […]
A Chinese Sonnet
Walk down a street. “Ni hao! Ni hao!” they scream First it bothered me but it’s now a game Before, I would sulk, just filling with steam Now, I get “chinois!” just it’s all the same I am not the only one, often my Italian friend is call Chinese too he tells them otherwise, they […]
Warmth, solidarity and hospitality far from home
My mom visited me in rural Burundi last month, and we took a rough bus ride to Kigoma, Tanzania to visit the NGO founded by our dear friend, Yared. We had talked about making this trip from the US for over ten years, and it was a lucky coincidence to find a Global Health Corps […]
Glimpses of Malawi – Me No Minibus
There is nothing as wonderful as finding adventure and amusement in the mundane, in this case, my daily commute to work. Every morning I walk down to the main road and stand in a shady spot next to the Sunbird Hotel. The morning traffic whizzes by, interspersed with the occasional cyclist often accompanied by a […]
No words, just punches
I don’t speak a lick of Swahili or Kirundi. And the other Burundian boxers hardly speak French or English, but we still communicate; not through talking, but through sport. Regardless of whether or not I can verbally speak to them, sweating and sharing punches with one another forms a bond between us. It is an […]
Discovering Kigutu and the Village Health Works
Kanyosha, 29th June. It’s 11:00. Along with Francis, we are taking a bus, heading to Kigutu to join other fellows in the community engagement activities. It may appear as a joke but this was my first time to go upcountry in a public transportation. I used to go there in private or functional cars. In […]
“I would visit you in Africa, but it requires too many shots.”
Someone from home recently said this to me during a Skype conversation. Putting aside the fact that Africa is a continent and not a country, the statement really struck me. I have first-hand knowledge of exactly how many vaccinations are required to safely travel abroad and realize that it’s an expensive and time-consuming process. It […]
ARE WE REALLY DOING ENOUGH TO END GENDER BASED VIOLENCE??
Sunday, 14 July 2013 seemed a normal day to me. I woke up with all the hope that Sunday, being a day that most people go to church and prepare for the beginning of the week, would pass without my eyes seeing or my ears hearing any sad news. Unfortunately, this was not the case. I […]
From the other side of the single story
The most important thing I’ve done this year was follow world news from a place that is not the US. When I moved to Burundi last July, I told myself I’d make an effort to follow the news of the continent, but it didn’t take long for me to become overwhelmed by the inundation of […]
Are we certified just because we are the first person?
I was reading a blog on designtrend.com and newsdzimbabwe.co.uk regarding a recent domestic abuse case. The statistics on designtrend.com were just alarming. It says 35% of women worldwide have been victims of domestic violence. About 80% of violence towards women results from domestic violence. An estimated 40% of women killed worldwide were slain by an […]