Welcome song to Bwiza

Check out our first day back in Rwanda. We participated in a village counsel meeting. Listen...

Basket weaving in Bwiza starts up

Thirty-two people in Bwiza are learning to weave traditional Rwandan baskets, as part of paid training provided by UN Women. COPHAD’s representatives on the ground are helping coordinate the project, which will provide the villagers with training five days a week for six months on how to weave a high quality product.




The goal is to generate income. Morale is high!

Bwiza’s musicians perform – get your copy today!

Bwiza's performance group has just released a new CD of traditional songs about peace, unity and hope. This is unique music that you can't hear anywhere else!

With a donation of $35 or more, you can have your very own copy of the CD.

(Please write “Kwizera CD” in the “Special instructions” section when you make your donation.)

Thank you very much for your support!

One brick at a time…

Here at the Seattle office of Pygmy Survival Alliance, we were excited to learn about an effective brick making invention, called the Makiga Stabilized Soil Block Press (SSB) Machine.

It’s produced in Kenya and can make hundreds of bricks a day with just a few people. Working without electricity, two people load the center container with a mixture of soil and cement, and then another person tightly compresses the dirt by pulling a leaver down. When the leaver is pulled up, out pops a beautiful, strong brick. The strong force used to compress the bricks means cement can go much farther: about one bag of cement per 250 bricks. The finished product is even grooved so each brick will interlock with the next and less cement is needed as mortar. That's important because cement is about four times as expensive in Rwanda as it is in the USA.

So far, Bwiza community members have made over 500 bricks for use in the new houses.

Bwiza to get new houses

The people of Bwiza have been living in small houses under grass- thatched roofs, which did not protect them against heavy rainfall and cold nights. But recently, the Rwandan government implemented a new policy abolishing thatched houses in favor of more “modern” houses made of bricks.

Pygmy Survival Alliance, the Bwiza community and our partner, Health Development Initiative, have been assisting in the construction of new brick houses so the people of Bwiza can have better living conditions. Villagers are excited to relocate to the new houses, so they’ve been actively participating in construction. HDI and PSA supported the work with donations of 20 dump trucks of stone for foundations, 50 bags of cement and a brick machine that can make over 250 bricks per day.

This truck is carrying 50 bags of cement, given by HDI and PSA

The construction was the focus of a recent community work event, called umuganda, which takes place once a month. The district mayor (pictured right with HDI's Dr. Nkurunziza), secondary school students and Bwiza community members all pitched-in to build the houses. The mayor thanked the community for their participation and expressed his appreciation for the partnership of HDI and PSA.

It was a great success!

Students from a near-by school helping in the construction of houses on umuganda day.

A Smooth Road

Anyone who has volunteered with us in Bwiza knows how hard it was to get to the community. Even though it is located only about 10 miles away from the capital, the deeply pot-holed road made the journey seem endless. Well, potholes no more!

Our field manager Claude sent us this photo of what the road looks like now. As part of the government’s initiative to rid the country of stick houses, new brick houses in Bwiza are being built. This road will allow construction work to proceed and improve the efficiency of transportation to the new neighborhood.

Better access to Bwiza will facilitate the work of community members and development workers alike.

Photographic Evidence: Peanut Butter as Medicine!

This picture shows the blond hair of one of the boys in Bwiza village when we visited in January 2009. The color change of the hair is the result of chronic protein-calorie malnutririon, also known as "kwashiorkor". As one of 3 boys in this family, this little guy was not getting the nutrition he needed to grow and develop normally. He was quiet, reserved to the point of lethargy and not playful. The mother reported having eaten no sources of protein in the last week.

This next picture shows the same boy on the left, riding on the back of his older brother 6 months later. Notice his hair is back to a nearly-normal shade of black. His activity is improved, he is more playful, and he is often asking for food. By all accounts he is acting a lot more like a "normal" kid. What made the difference? Just one teaspoonful of peanut butter a day. We have been providing the family a minimal nutritional suplement prepared in our field managers' own kitchen using peanut butter rolled in powdered infant formula. Like magic, a small boost in calories and protein each day has changed this boy's health, improved his development and provided a foundation for an improved ability to fight infection and resist disease. Peanut butter as medicine? See the evidence for yourself!

Welcome back Ka-day!

Over in Rwanda, the "r" sound and the "l" sound in English often get mixed-up. So my name becomes "Ka-day" instead of "Karl". That's what they said when we came back to the village of Bwiza this time. When I walk past the little kids, the say "Ka-day". When the women dance and then bow and give me a hug, they say "Ka-day". I'm getting used to it. But the vitality of the people is always amazing. This time we returned to the village, the men danced, the women danced, and everyone sang and clapped their hands. The series of hugs and greetings were wonderful and great fun. Our team knew it had to rise to the occasion, and it did: we responded with a rousing round of "Row, row, row your boat.", which resulted in an enthusiastic wave of applause and a tumult of satisfaction. When I asked the villagers why these American volunteers had come to help, they knew right away, "Love", came the group reply. "Wow", I thought, they really get it. And the volunteers here on our team do too. It is a great team and we are here for a month to work on the COPHAD project with the Community of Potters of Rwanda, (formerly known as the Batwa pygmies). Stay tuned for more over the next few weeks as we relate the news from Kigali, and Bwiza, Rwanda...