Canadian rural physicians (Rwanda)
How does our Canadian rural healthcare system compare to the realities on the ground in Rwanda? This was the question that a delegation of Canadian rural physicians asked itself while having an educational trip to Rwanda this summer. Of course, they wanted to explore the Land of a Thousand Hills, visit its beautiful natural attractions, track the famous mountain gorillas and spend some relaxing time on the shores of the magical Lake Kivu. But almost every day, they also met with their Rwandan and local expatriate counterparts to learn more about the success stories and the challenges of healthcare in Rwanda, and even to share some of their own experiences. Among others, they met with the Director of Health Development Initiatives, learned about medical education at Kigali Health Institute, received an overview of urban and rural facilities like King Faisal Hospital, Gisenyi District Hospital and the health center of the Millennium Village in Mayange, and hosted a big networking cocktail evening with many invited guests. And the big highlight - at least in the view of the Rwandan hosts - was a presentation on the subject of drug abuse which the delegates gave to the social workers at a local street children project in Ndera.
 

Coffee sellers (Rwanda/Burundi/Kenya)
Selling coffee especially in the US is their job. But not all of them have actually been to the places where the beans come from. An East African coffee tour is likely to change this. Sellers are traveling through Rwanda, Burundi and Kenya in order to visit plantations and washing stations, compare the big estates with the smallholder communities, have a range of cupping sessions, participate in a coffee auction in Nairobi, and particularly meet with the people who are responsible for the earlier parts of the coffee production chain - farmers, washers, factory workers etc. Of course, the visitors will also be able to enjoy some of the key attractions in the three countries, with safaris in the Maasai Mara National Reserve and the Aberdare National Park in Kenya as the highlights.
 

Great Lakes expert (Burundi/DR Congo)
Siegfried Loose has a fascinating hobby. He has become one of the world's foremost experts on the biology of Africa's Great Lakes. After several earlier publications on the subject, he is now visiting regularly with groups of friends in order to continue his research through dive and film trips. His most recent adventure brought him to Burundi and rarely visited parts of eastern DR Congo where he set out to explore the life of Lake Tanganyika. Some of his dive sites included Bujumbura, Nyanza-Lac, Resha and Magara in Burundi, as well as Uvira, Bemba and Mboko in the DR Congo. And since he already made it there, he decided to round off his trip with an unforgettable encounter with eastern lowland gorillas in nearby Kahuzi Biega National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site at the triangle where the DR Congo meets Burundi and Rwanda. This experience is certainly becoming the hottest insider tip for the entire region!

American nurse trainers (Rwanda)
After her first trip to Rwanda in 2008, Sherri Brown, an American nurse, simply fell in love with the country. She took the decision of founding the charity One Good Deed that now supports a variety of Rwandan projects. But she has also made it a point to use her skills as a qualified nurse trainer and built strong relationships with King Faisal Hospital in Kigali and Gisenyi District Hospital. Like last year, she came again in July this year with a small group of friends in order to visit One Good Deed's projects and in order to teach Rwandan nurses. As usual, the experiences have a great impact on her and her friends, and she is already planning on further expanding her work.

Gender and human rights expert (Tanzania)
Dechen Albero, a gender and human rights expert, provided us with a great challenge: After a successful tour in Rwanda last year, he wanted to immerse himself in the culture, nature and history of Tanzania and, at the same time, learn more about his fields of study. The result in June demonstrated that it is not only easy but also very rewarding to spend as much as 4 long weeks in the country without getting bored. Together with his mother, he discovered several safari routes, went to the historical cities of Bagamoyo and Stonetown on Zanzibar, explored a range of museums, and historical and cultural sites, and learned a good deal about local arts and crafts. More importantly, however, he had discussions with professors and students at the Faculty of Political Science & History of the University of Dar es Salaam, visited the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, and shared experiences with representatives of the Community Peer Support Services and the Tanzania Lesbian Association. Last but not least, one of the highlights was a day spent with the director of the Tanzania Gender Networking Program.