After a wild 18-hour layover in Nairobi, Kenya, Mwansa and I finally landed in Kigali, Rwanda where we stayed for a week. We were immediately surprised and excited by the differences between Rwanda and Zambia. The roads are mostly paved, there are sidewalks, streetlights, 24/7 security. It was already a different world than our normal […]
Enough is Enough
Reflections during a visit to Rwanda… Days after the attack in Orlando, I happened to be in Rwanda and visited the Kigali Genocide Memorial. Twenty-two years ago a terrible genocide occurred and left Rwanda devastated; those who survived were left to rebuild the nation. The Genocide Memorial is a moving tribute to Rwanda’s fresh history […]
Professional Development Workshop
This is a belated post on an event Mwansa and I take a lot of pride in… Every Global Health Corps fellow is required to take part in the selection process for the next class. While we were tasked with reading potential fellow applications and interviewing them, ZamFam noticed an unfortunate lack of professionalism […]
This Time for Malawi
These past two weeks I was in Lilongwe, Malawi for a training on Stepping Stones with Children hosted by Salamander Trust and the Coalition of Women Living with HIV and AIDS in Malawi (COWLHA). Stepping Stones with Children is a transformative behavior change curriculum for children, ages 5-8 and 9-14, affected by or infected with […]
This Time for Cape Town
I never used to understand why people would gush over Cape Town, lighting up when they heard I would spend my holidays there or raving about it endlessly. Now I have jumped on the bandwagon. It has been over a month since my 17-day gallivant all over Cape Town, and I am still reeling from […]
World AIDS Day
The first ever global health day, World AIDS Day was first held in 1988 to remind people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show support for those living with HIV, and to commemorate the lives that have been lost to HIV. During our Global Health Corps training Phill Wilson, founder of the Black AIDS […]
Happy Thanksgiving!
Tis’ the season for hand turkeys and celebrating gratitude! Thanksgiving, though a typical American holiday, is a holiday I cherish because of its gentle reminder to celebrate all that we have in our lives. The only other time I have spent Thanksgiving away from home was in 2013 when my mom flew into Montevideo for […]
Building Resilience
Two weekends ago, #ZamFam travelled to Siavonga for our GHC Quarter 1 Workshop. The purpose of this weekend was to reflect on the successes and challenges of our first 3 months, and the central theme was building resilience. If I may create an elaborate metaphor, building resilience is akin to learning choreography. Unless you happen […]
A First Time for Everything
Ever since arriving in Zambia, I have experienced a lot of firsts – first time in Zam, first time in Africa, first professional job – but this past weekend Mwansa and I welcomed our first visitor, and it was amazing! Alexis, another ZamFam fellow in Lusaka, dared the 7-hour bus ride to spend the weekend […]
The Road MOST Travelled
On the second weekend of September, I bused 7 hours from Kitwe to Lusaka and 7 hours back from Lusaka to Kitwe for a ZamFam bonding at Lilayi Lodge. On the third weekend of September, I bused 15 hours from Kitwe to Livingstone and 13 hours back from Livingstone to Kitwe to take a dip […]