There have been several instances on this trip in which smaller groups have opted for side trips separate from our main itinerary. I’ve asked two participants to share their experiences with you - our first report comes from JRC member Rich Katz, who visited a Rwandan organic farm with fellow JRC’ers Ray Grossman and Jonathan [...]
Archive for the ‘Genocide’ Category
Guest Posts from Rwanda
Posted in Africa, Environmentalism, Food, Genocide, HIV/AIDS, International Health, JRC Africa Trip 2008, Rwanda, Women's Issues on July 14, 2008 | No Comments »
Kaddish at Nyamata
Posted in Africa, Genocide, HIV/AIDS, Health Care, Human Rights, International Health, JRC Africa Trip 2008, Poverty, Rwanda on July 12, 2008 | 1 Comment »
In my previous post I mentioned an emotional visit to Kigali’s public hospital - that actually doesn’t even begin to do justice to the intensity of our experience. Mardge Cohen arranged the visit for us, to give us a better sense of the Rwandan health care system. Until this visit, we had only seen privately [...]
A Legacy of Pain and Hope
Posted in Africa, Genocide, HIV/AIDS, Holocaust, Human Rights, International Health, JRC Africa Trip 2008, Poverty, Rwanda on July 11, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Day 2 in Rwanda:
Our first two destinations were two local community associations that are supported by WE-ACTx. Icyuzuzo is an association of Rwandan widows located in the Nyamirambo district. Icyuzuzo (Kinyarwanda for “compliment” or “complete”) serves 5000 clients in the surrounding districts, sponsoring clincs, vocational training, HIV prevention education, palliative care and capacity building [...]
Recovery and Commemoration
Posted in Africa, Genocide, HIV/AIDS, Human Rights, International Health, JRC Africa Trip 2008, Rwanda on July 9, 2008 | 2 Comments »
Our JRC delegation has just finished our first full day in Kigali and it has been a full one.
We spent the morning at the WE-ACTx clinic, one of three in the country. Among other things, we learned about the important work this NGO is doing in responding to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Rwanda. WE-ACTx is [...]
JRC in Africa
Posted in Africa, Fair Trade, Genocide, Global Activism, HIV/AIDS, Human Rights, International Health, JRC Africa Trip 2008, Poverty, Rwanda, Uganda, Women's Issues on July 6, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Tomorrow I’ll be traveling, along with 25 other JRC members, on our congregation’s second service trip to Africa. I am immensely proud of JRC for organizing this effort, which reflects our deep and growing commitment to global service work in general and to addressing the HIV/AIDS pandemic in particular.
From July 7- 15 we will be [...]
On Tutsis, Jews and Palestinians
Posted in Africa, Genocide, Judaism, Palestine, Rwanda, Uganda on June 18, 2008 | 3 Comments »
I’m currently reading “A Thousand Hills” by historian Stephen Kinzer - a recently published bio of Rwandan president Paul Kagame. It’s an incredibly absorbing read, offering a history of the country and region as well as a portrait of a remarkable African leader who is spearheading Rwanda’s post-genocide rebirth against all odds.
Early on, Kinzer offers [...]
Dream - and Act - for Darfur
Posted in Africa, Current Events, Darfur, Genocide, Global Activism, Human Rights on April 3, 2008 | No Comments »
I wrote about Mia Farrow and ”Dream for Darfur” almost a year ago - and since that time DFD has geared up big time to use the Beijing Summer Olympics to focus world attention on the ongoing genocide in Darfur, Sudan.
Here’s DFD’s own description of their mission:
The 2008 Olympics are fast approaching. Between [...]
Unholy War
Posted in Fear, Genocide, Interfaith, Judaism, Religion, Spirituality, Terrorism, Torah Commentary on July 13, 2007 | 4 Comments »
As the book of Numbers comes to a close this week, we read an account of an Israelite military campaign that can only be described as holy war:
Moses spoke to the militia saying, “Let troops be picked out from among you for a campaign, and let them fall upon Midian to wreak the Eternal’s vengeance [...]
Inherent Dignity
Posted in Children's Rights, Civil Rights, Current Events, Genocide, Human Rights, News, Poverty on June 19, 2007 | 1 Comment »
Another anniversary I can’t let slip by unnoticed: on this day fifty-nine years ago, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted its Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
I know, I know: it’s a controversial document, it’s non-binding, the UN has left unfulfilled its promise on human rights, blah, blah, blah…
I don’t want to hear it. [...]
You Shall Not Hate Your Kinfolk…
Posted in Africa, Genocide, Holocaust, Human Rights, Judaism, Religion, Rwanda, Torah Commentary, Yom Hashoah on May 2, 2008 | No Comments »
You shall not hate your kinsfolk in your heart. Reprove your kin but incur no guilt on their account. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against members of your people. Love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Eternal. — Leviticus 19:17-18
As I read these famous verses from this week’s Torah portion [...]
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