Archive for the ‘African Great Lakes’ Category
A pretty drastic-sounding AIDS treatment
The Rwandan government recently decided to recommend male circumcision as a method of dealing with a rising AIDS rate. There have been studies that show the procedure reduces transmission from heterosexual contact by 50 percent or more, so now Rwandans–of all ages–are being encouraged to undergo the procedure. A worry expressed in this news story [...]
From the Department of That’s-Not-What-I-Meant
Bush’s visit is all the buzz, in Africa and back in the States. I had a similar experience to The New York Times when doing some legwork for my own frequent employer: In Kigali, as in Tanzania, if you ask random folks about George W. Bush, they start talking about Barack Obama. Rwandans love Obama [...]
The contradictions of cleanliness
The first thing they tell you when you say something like, “I’m going to the middle of Africa,” is Don’t drink the water. This is obvious, mostly, and there’s a whole host of good reasons why—last time I was here, there was a cholera outbreak linked to drinking water. Then there’s a whole category of [...]
Short is the new tall
Coffee, that is. That’s right, people. There’s a Starbucks-like coffee shop in Kigali. Only here, a tall is a medium. Even for those of us schooled in the vocabulary of ventis, it’s less confusing than if it were in Kinyarwanda, I suppose. English is the language of money…
Things whiny white people in Africa think about
Getting your luggage back, when you haven’t changed your clothes in a week, is like indulging in a shopping spree without spending a dime. Is it true? I really have two more pairs of shoes? I have…scarves? Skirts in so many colors I’m not sure I remember the names of them all! Yoga pants! (And, [...]
Kigali by night
It’s 8:30 p.m. on my second day in Kigali, and I’m walking, alone (note to readers, particularly mothers of anyone: This is into as bad as it sounds, even in spite of this post. I strenuously resist the woman-traveling-alone-in-Africa stereotype of fear, and I will until the day something bad actually happens to me.), back [...]
I am a freelance journalist and multimedia producer who covers human rights, Africa and foreign affairs. [