30 For Lupus!

Have you heard, I turned 30 and I'm throwing a big party to benefit the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation. Read all about it here: 30 For Lupus 

To see all of the updates leading up to the event, check out Excess Chatter!

12 Days of Giving!!

We've all heard about the 12 Days of Christmas and we've also probably sang the song ad nauseam. As a child, Christmas meant waking up early to open my presents, from toys to clothes, the sheer excitement of ripping open my packages kept me up all night. As I get older, things changed and suddenly it wasn't about the gifts I received anymore but about the gifts I could give to my family and friends. This year, my family has been extended to include those around the world who can't afford the simple things in life like clean water, food, or shelter. From Africa to the U.S., my friend, Kathleen Elie of Fashion with a Conscience, NY and I (Excess Chatter), have teamed up to promote "Gifts That Give Back" a 12 Days of Giving event online. Please support these causes and remember that it is "better to give than to receive!"

An ONLINE EVENT, exclusively on Fashion With a Conscience, NY and Excess Chatter!

A Gift That Gives Back!!

There are a lot of deals and steals going on for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but hopefully this poster steals your heart and makes you open your wallet for a GREAT cause. "RWANDA RISING" is an exhibit that will take place at Bourbon Coffee (43 West 14th Street) during the month of December to benefit the children of "Through The Eyes Of Hope" Project in Rwanda. I spent a lot of time with these kids when I was in Rwanda on my GHFassignment and not only are they beautiful, but also incredibly talented. These postcards will make great stocking stuffers or gift tags. So stop in for some hot chocolate, latte or whatever and help these kids to rise to their full potential.

Also check out my blog post about these children here: Through The Eyes of Hope Part 2

This Time for Africa!

I created this video about my trip to Rwanda and the work that I did with the Access Project. Check it out!

Dare You To Move!

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones that you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. 

Explore. Dream. Discover. 

- Mark Twain

Are you fearful about for next adventure? Whether it's a new job, a new relationship or a new trip, learn to face your fears. I have deemed 2011 as my year of living fearlessly and this has lead me to make some bold moves in my life. From living six months in Rwanda to white water rafting and bungee jumping in Uganda, with each new adventure, I have learned something new about myself. I have learned that I am stronger than I thought and that each new challenge prepares me for the next. Is there something that you are fearful of? In twenty years, will you be kicking yourself for not doing it? Challenge yourself to conquer your fears today! 

UNITED WE STAND

Ten years ago today, I was a junior in college. I had an early morning class that ended at 8:20a and I raced uptown to 51st and Madison to start my first day of work as a marketing intern for Berdon LLP. By this time, the first plane had already hit tower one and by the time I got to work, flames had engulfed it. We all watched in horror as the second plane hit and the towers came tumbling down. I will never forget that day. 


Walking home to Brooklyn with thousands of other New Yorkers who were fleeing the city, we didn’t know what to expect in the hours, days or weeks ahead. We were under attack but we knew that we were more powerful together than separate. This act of terrorism united our city in a way that nothing else ever did. So as we look back to that terrible day, ten years ago, let us always remember that “United We Stand.” 


Thank you to the hundreds of firefighters, police officers and emergency care workers who gave their lives that day to save others. You are forever in our thoughts and prayers. God Bless you and God Bless America! 

ONE THING...

I had the opportunity to celebrate Labor Day, two days ago, at the home of a good friend. One of the joys of any holiday is to get together with family and friends, laugh, play games and eat good food. Labor Day signals the end of the summer and the end of the barbeque season. So after spending most of the year in Africa, I was happy to eat corn on the cob, grilled chicken, turkey burgers, potato salad, cole slaw, pasta, and everything else that was available. By the end of the night, I was stuffed and happy. 


If you can't already tell, I love food! Growing up in New York, there is no shortage of diversity of people and variety of food. West Indian, Italian, Chinese, Greek, Ethiopian, Indian, Mexican, and so many other delicious choices are available in this melting pot I call home. One thing that I missed during my time in Rwanda was the lack of variety in food. My choices were limited to burgers and fries, pizzas, traditional Rwandan food and Indian food. But I never went hungry, not even for one day. Somehow I even managed to gain a few pounds, despite my eventual boredom with the food. 


These are the problems of the first world. "I am tired of eating that." or "Yuck, this again." Even the homeless people in New York have been known to refuse certain foods because it doesn't whet their appetite. So one day, when I was sitting in a cafe in Kigali, no less, eating a chicken sandwich, I saw an alarming ticker flash across the screen. It read, "Famine in the Horn of Africa." Famine??? I was shocked to see that the famine affected Somalia and parts of Kenya. In this day and age, with all of the aid and resources, to hear that the crisis had been going on for months was astounding. 


Famine is defined as a widespread scarcity of food, accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic and increased mortality. Millions of men, women and children across the Horn of Africa are starving and dying from lack of food. I can't even imagine going a day without eating, much less weeks on end. 


So after putting hunger into perspective, I have decided that food would be the one thing that I give up for the month of September. No, I am not going to starve myself, but I am going to limit my choices. Normally during the week, when I'm at work, I spend about $10 a day on lunch. That equals $50 a week or $200 a month on lunches alone! From today, September 7th to October 7th, I will give up my weekday lunches, so that hopefully a family in Somalia can eat theirs. 


What are you willing to give up? It just takes one thing....


Hunger is stalking 12.4 million people across the Horn of Africa. Starvation is a real threat for children in famine-declared areas of Somalia. As we work together & blog to tolerate #faminenomore, would you LINK UP to our post and blog about the ONE THING you typically spend $10 on that you could give up this week? Instead of spending money on that one thing, text in your $10 donation to "FAMINE" to "20222" and join World Vision in fighting hunger in the Horn of Africa.

After the Storm...

Hurricane Irene hit most of the Northeast this past weekend, the same weekend that I was scheduled to go upstate on a retreat to Lake Champion. Although it rained for most of the weekend and I was stranded at Lake Champion until Tuesday, this picture captures the scene on Monday after the storm ended. Peaceful and serene.

Lake Champion

"Young Life’s Lake Champion is a premier 370-acre year round retreat center located in the foothills of the southern New York Catskill Mountains. Our facilities are nestled amongst towering pines, peaceful streams, and overlook our spectacular 50 acre lake which is brimming with a variety of fish. 

Lake Champion is available for booking during the school season from Labor Day to Memorial Day. During the summer, Lake Champion is filled to capacity with Young Life groups from across the country enjoying a week guaranteed to be the "best of their lives."

Lake Champion is devoted to providing a distinctive camping experience through unrivaled service, superior food and incredible facilities amidst God’s breathtaking creation.”

Re-Entry

After spending the last six months in Rwanda, the journey home was bittersweet. I spent my final week in South Africa, exploring Johannesburg and Cape Town and retracing the steps of Nelson Mandela, from Robben Island to Mandela House. It was a great finale to an unforgettable trip.

At first, I was apprehensive about returning home because I didn't want to forget all that I had seen or experienced. Nor did I want to forget the people that I had met along the way. In some way, each person, whether it was a work colleague, a travel companion, or a taxi driver, had left an indelible mark on my life. Their stories suddenly became my stories and their causes were mine as well. I wanted to fight every battle with them, large and small. From healthcare access to apartheid to child trafficking, I wanted to champion each cause until everyone was healthy, whole and free.

These emotions were compounded when I picked up a book called "Say You're One of Them" by Uwem Akpan, at the airport in Nairobi. This book told the stories of ordinary children in extraordinary circumstances throughout Africa. The stories include those of a young girl in Rwanda during the genocide, a brother and sister being fattened for slavery in Benin, two best friends in Ethiopia, and a family in Nigeria. It made me more committed to doing something more meaningful upon my re-entry to the States.

Now, two weeks later,  as I sit and reflect on everything that transpired in Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and South Africa over the last six months, I know that everything happened for a reason. It has forced me to re-examine my life, my career and my ambitions. I have had the opportunity to share my experiences with so many people already, who are curious about Rwanda or how they can lend their skills to developing countries. So I have compiled a list of organizations that I have worked with or come across that have similar projects around the world. These organizations work in Africa, Asia, North and South America, to improve the lives of men, women and children. They are looking for lawyers, accountants, entrepreneurs, artists, doctors, cooks, role models, and teachers. They need you.

ORGANIZATIONS MAKING A DIFFERENCE: 

1. Pfizer Global Health Fellows: www.pfizer.com/ghf 

2. Global Health Corps: www.ghcorps.org 

3. Peace Corps: www.peacecorps.gov

4. Teach for America: www.teachforamerica.org

5. Venture for America: www.ventureforamerica.org

6. Go Overseas: www.gooverseas.com

7. AmeriCorps: www.americorps.gov 

8. New Yorkers Volunteer: www.newyorkersvolunteer.org 

9. Serve: www.serve.gov 

10. Volunteers for Prosperity: www.volunteersforprosperity.gov

With co-workers in Rwanda

With TEOH Project kids in Rwanda

Continue to Make Communications a Success!

In order to reach my objectives, I have decided to stop the comparisons between Rwanda and the U.S., and focus instead on the lessons that I can learn. I have decided to start motivating my colleagues to develop more stories from the field and finally, I have decided to continue to develop communication skills among the staff of the Access Project.


Continue reading

Stop and Take a Different Approach

If there is one image that comes to mind when I think of the continent of Africa, it is the image of starving children. After years of seeing commercials on television that depict malnourished children, it has left an indelible mark on me. Yet, I was largely ignorant about the causes and solutions being implemented throughout the developing world to eradicate poverty and hunger. My fellowship with the Access Project has given me the opportunity to learn more about global health care access and the goals and strategies being implemented around the world. This has allowed me to take a different approach to my own work here in Rwanda.


Continue reading

Write for Success

I have decided to start doing some things that haven’t been done before in communications.  I want to start an incentive based communications strategy to allow the Access Project District Health Advisors (DHAs) to take an active role in finding stories that will help showcase the project’s work. This strategy will hopefully motivate the DHAs to send in more content and help me to meet my goal of four articles per month from the field.


Continue reading

Going the Distance

How far would you travel for medical attention or even clean water? Would you go three miles or even ten miles? How about 7045 miles? That’s the distance between New York City and Kigali, Rwanda. After leaving New York in late February, I arrived 16 hours and 5143 miles later in the “Milles Collines” or the “Land of a Thousand Hills” as Rwanda is commonly called. Before arriving in Rwanda, I had never considered the distance from my home to the nearest medical center or closest drink of water. Doctor’s offices are numerous in Brooklyn, as a health care representative with Pfizer, I once worked in an area where there were six offices on one block! However, most Rwandese people, especially those who live in the rural villages that comprise 80% of Rwanda, think about these questions daily. As I began to develop story ideas and articles for the Access Project, distance was a common theme that stood out to me as I began visiting Access supported health facilities and conducting interviews.


Continue reading 

Healthy Entertainment

As a sales representative with Pfizer, I have spent countless hours in the waiting rooms of numerous medical facilities. As I’m waiting, I try to make good use of the time by placing patient education materials on the tables and shelves that adorn the office. Most often these patient education materials get lost in the piles of books and magazines scattered throughout the office. One thing that I have enjoyed in the time that I have been in Rwanda is learning about different approaches to patient education. Instead of brochures, imagine if a drama, dance and singing troupe came into the office while the patients were waiting to be seen. The troupe’s sole purpose was to educate the patients about cancer, HIV/AIDS and the different medical options available. An attention grabbing performance would undoubtedly do the trick of entertaining while educating the patients.






Continue reading

Designing the Cause

I met Liz during my first week in Rwanda. Liz, a student with the School of International Training (SIT), was spending six weeks in Rwanda with this unique study abroad program that paired students with global policy and health experts in developing countries.  Access Project’s founder, Josh Ruxin, a world-renowned public health expert and Assistant Clinical Professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, was leading a discussion with the group of SIT students on critical global issues.

Continue reading

From the Beginning....

I know that I haven't posted anything in a while, but I have a good reason.  The last few weeks have been extremely hectic as I prepare to wrap up my fellowship. However, I wrote a couple of blogs for the Pfizer GHF website, reflecting on my fellowship experience in Rwanda. You can read a portion of my blog entry below: 

“RWANDA?” I blinked a couple of times as I looked at the email. The Pfizer Global Health Fellows Program had recommended me to the Access Project, based in Kigali, Rwanda, and they wanted me to interview at their New York office at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I was in utter shock at the location of the assignment since I knew very little about Rwanda except the genocide that took place in 1994, which led to the death of close to one million people. So I was less than thrilled at the prospect of working there for close to six months. Continue reading here

Somalia - The Horn of Africa

Picture courtesy of ABC News

“If we don’t act now, famine will spread to all eight regions of southern Somalia,” said Mark Bowden, the United Nations’ humanitarian coordinator for Somalia. “Every day of delay in assistance is literally a matter of life or death.”

The United Nations has declared the ongoing food-crisis in Somalia as a famine. What began as a drought in 2009 has escalated into a severe humanitarian crisis in recent months. From the beginning of the year, UN Under-Secretary General Valery Amos reported that Somalia "is again teetering on the brink of a much larger scale disaster due to the threat of a countrywide drought. Two million people, about 27% of the population, are in crisis." Now approximately eight months later, the world is taking notice and international relief organizations like CARE, have issued an Emergency Alert. Please donate what you can, to help the millions of people in Somalia address their food shortage and gain access to healthcare and other necessities. 




Organizations: 


International Rescue Committee (IRC)


World Vision


World Vision ACT:S


UNICEF


Save the Children

Additional Resources: Poverty Matters 

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Independence Day and Liberation Day

Today, Friday July 1st is Independence Day in Rwanda. It marks the end of Belgian rule on July 1, 1962, after 50 years in power.  Liberation Day, is celebrated three days later on July 4th, and marks the end of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Ironically, Independence Day did not free Rwanda from conflict, it opened the door for further bigotry and hate. It wasn't until 32 years later when the genocide ended, that freedom was granted to all Rwandans.  Here's to many more years of peace and progress in Rwanda. Happy Liberation Day Rwanda! 

Pics of the week: June Wedding

June marks my fourth month in Rwanda and it was filled with a lot of great moments with friends and colleagues. Here are some of my favorite pictures: 

At a wedding with friends

Under the big top

Beautiful wedding dancers 




Happy Birthday Niyah!!

"I have found out that there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them." - Mark Twain

For anyone that has ever traveled with friends, you can identify with the quote above. The best way to test the depth of your friendships is to travel with your friends. Over the years, I have traveled with a lot of my friends and while there have been some bumps along the way, most of my friendships have endured. One person that has been a constant travel companion is my friend Niyah.

I first met Niyah in 2005 on a missions trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil and since then, she has become one of my favorite travel partners. We have traveled to Cancun, Fiji, the Philippines, Haiti, Hawaii, Rio, and Egypt. The last time I saw Niyah was at the airport in NY on June 30, 2010. She was moving to Sydney, Australia to study Film and Television Production. It was a bittersweet occasion because I didn't know when I would see her again, but I was proud that she was finally pursuing her passion for making documentary films. Films that will shed light on injustice all over the world. June 30th also happens to be Niyah's birthday, and in her honor, I am showcasing some of the vacation and missions trip videos that she has produced over the years. Hopefully these videos inspire you to pursue your passions.

Happy Birthday Niyah!!