Since last time I posted...

...I traveled to Gisenyi twice.

I'm currently in the process of helping plan a very exciting campaign - Gender Based Violence (GBV) Awareness Week!!! The purpose of the campaign is to increase awareness of GBV in Gisenyi and also let people know about the services that will be offered at the One Stop Center for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence at the Gisenyi District Hospital. The launch will be October 5th at the stadium in Gisenyi and will include speeches, testimonials, a skit, and traditional dancers. The launch will be followed by smaller awareness campaigns in each of the 12 sectors of the District so all the coordination has been keeping me very busy. I'll definitely post a full summary of the event afterward =)

Space that will become the One Stop Center for survivors

...volunteered at KigaliUp, Kigali's first music festival.

This would have actually been fun except for the stupid rainy season! The afternoon performances (mostly Rwandan musicians) were rained out so people couldn't go on until the evening. And it was freezing. Once my volunteering shift was over, I gave up on the music and went home for a hot shower.  On a positive note, I got free drinks and some shopping out of it =)

Georgina and I at KigaliUp - posing with our "VIP" wristband (it has pictures of Miley Cyrus on it)

...attended 2 workshops and 1 health screening for men who have sex with men (MSM).

I mentioned before that the MSM project isn't my primary research project but it has been one of the most interesting projects I've worked on. This project started with the help of my predecessor, another ICAP intern, and is finally starting to make progress. Stigma is still a major problem and most health care providers are not sensitized to the needs of gay men but I'm happy to say that men are finally coming to clinics with ICAP trained providers and getting tested. Utilizing peer educators from the community has made a huge difference. I'm thrilled to see the progress being made because I really believe that health is a human right regardless of who you're sleeping with.

At the MSM Workshop with Alex, ICAP's MSM Program Coordinator

...went to a Sean Kingston concert.

This is definitely a sentence I never thought I would say (or write). But it's true, I was at a Sean Kingston concert! Unfortunately the rainy season struck again and the concert didn't start until around 10pm when it was supposed to start at 4pm. He performed for maybe 45 minutes and even though I only know 2 of his songs and it started raining, the night ended up being pretty fun and memorable! 

Sean Kingston

That more or less sums up what I've been doing the past couple of weeks. I still can't believe that I'm officially over half way done with my practicum! Less than 3 months now before I'm back on US soil!

Promise to post more soon =)