July 30th, 2008 at 10:01 am | posted by Virginia Simmons
Another video and post from ONE’s Tom Gavin from last week’s trip to Rwanda.
Monday, July 21:
The U.S. launched PEPFAR – the American global AIDS strategy – at the Masaka Clinic in 2004, so it made for a good place for the ONE delegation to visit and assess how things are going. Our delegation met with doctors, nurses, local officials, and patients seeking treatment and counsel from the clinic’s staff. We heard, time and again, the difference that America’s partnership in health care was making in Rwanda and throughout Africa.
The DATA Report, which ONE released earlier this year, shows the progress being made. It points out that, across Africa, nearly 2.12 million people were on antiretroviral therapy by last December, a huge jump from the 50,000 people on treatment in 2002. That means 30 percent of Africans in need of treatment are receiving it. But there remains a major challenge ahead. An additional 1.7 million Africans became infected with the HIV virus in 2007.
After touring the Masaka Clinic, some of the ONE delegation discussed the site visit and the overall trip with reporters.
July 28th, 2008 at 10:47 am | posted by Virginia Simmons
Last week a crew of ONE staff and American leaders took a trip to Rwanda to see effective-U.S. aid at work. I just got in this clip of former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Center for the American Progress President John Podesta talking about their visit to a specialty-coffee-washing station just outside of Kigali.
Senator Bill Frist, MD:
“We’re at a specialty-coffee-washing station in Rwanda, Kigali,- just outside of Kigali, Rwanda. Why is it important? It is because of economic development. In a country that is mainly plagued by poverty, what you see behind me, the employment of over 200 women, women who double their income by working at this specialty-coffee-washing station will now have that opportunity to put their kids in school, to put a roof over their head, to empower their family to earn an income in the future that indeed can capture their dreams and translate their hopes and dreams into a reality.”
John Podesta:
“Rwanda has a “Rwanda 2020 Plan” to try to really make sure that growth is widespread and that it affects everyone. And you saw a real spirit of entrepreneurship here today. We saw women sorting coffee earning about 50% more than they were earning in their livelihood. Before that we saw a young Rwanda entrepreneur who had built that coffee-washing station. The focus in on specialty coffee. Rwanda has always produced a lot of coffee, but now they’re producing for the high-end, and that’s a team effort, but just there’s just a lot of spirit and optimism about the capacity to get this country really moving again. And get the kids in school. Get the people working. And get some income into people’s pockets.
July 25th, 2008 at 10:51 am | posted by Virginia Simmons
Our Comms Director Tom Gavin just sent back this final video from the ONE Rwanda trip.
“Our visit wrapped up with a long meeting with Rwandan President Paul Kagame. He talked about his development plan, called Vision 2020, that would result in strong steps forward in education, health, and business growth. At the end, many of our delegation members talked with Rwandan journalists about their meeting and the trip overall. - Tom Gavin”
In the clip:
Democratic strategist John Podesta calls Rwanda’s progress “very, very impressive,” citing the number of people now on ARVs (AIDS treatments), their success in bringing Rwandan citizens into the healthcare system, and the country’s remarkable reduction in child mortality rates.
And Republican strategist Jack Oliver tells the journalist: “We’ve been extraordinarily impressed by the people of Rwanda…[We’re] just encouraged, excited and ready to be advocates on behalf of Rwanda.
July 22nd, 2008 at 9:40 am | posted by Sen.Bill.Frist.M.D
July 19, 2 pm
Nyandugu Coffee Washing Station
How in the world can you take an economy in which over 50% of the population is under the poverty level, is landlocked, ranks somewhere around 160th out of 180 countries on the “Developmental Scale,” and even think about “making extreme poverty history?” as we in ONE like to say.
Answer: Establish viable, sustainable economic growth based on the resources that you have. And the resources that Rwanda naturally have are agriculture (even though it is the most densely populated country in Africa) and tourism (they showcase the upland or mountain gorilla, the magnificent cousins to the lowland gorillas—those whom I used to take care of in the National Zoo –– but more on that in a couple of days).
First, the ONE delegation went to see a fantastic partnership at a “Coffee Washing Station,” owned by the Alfred Nkubili. Our U.S. government, namely USAID, has partnered with the owner and manager to establish a coffee bean washing station. This station purchases coffee beans (”cherries” actually) from farmers (many peasant farmers) and then they process the bean through a washing cycle that separates the beans by quality. These beans become the specialty coffee beans that are sold to Starbucks and specialty coffee shops across America.
To accommodate the burgeoning specialty coffee market, these washing stations hire about 200 women to separate and process the beans. At these facilities, these women’s salaries are double to what they could make elsewhere. And a doubling of their salary means (more…)
July 20th, 2008 at 9:42 am | posted by John.Podesta
Today was an emotional moment for me and for the rest of our delegation. There is so much pain in Rwanda’s past, and out of that pain has come a society that is committed to reconciliation. They are trying to move forward together. This was one of the most powerful experiences I have had in any place. Out of the pain has come great hope. The people are trying to build a new country, where people live together in peace.
It’s wonderful to see this. And it is bringing new hope for the future.
Rwanda has a 2020 plan, to have growth be widespread and successful by the year 2020. We’ve seen a spirit of entrepreneurship today. We saw women sorting coffee and farmers with their specialty crops. In talking with them, there is a lot of spirit and optimism. Grow new opportunities. Put kids in school. Move forward as one country.
The people of America ought to be proud of what’s happened here and our support for the people who have come so far so fast. We’ve helped through USAID with the development of new industry and new entrepreneurs. PEPFAR is making a major difference in fighting AIDS and HIV. There’s still a lot to do, and we can help.
-John Podesta, President of the Center for American Progress
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