Nkunda’s Rebels
Last night at dinner, we were joined by a young Italian woman who had been kidnapped and held hostage in Iraq, a story that received a good deal of world media attention. Less than 10 hours later in...
View ArticleThe Human Cost of War
VIDEO: Paging Dr. Wen I saw my first patient in the Congo today. Her name is Yohanita Nyiahabimana. She is a 41-year old woman who lives in the village of Malehe, about an hour from Goma. She was...
View ArticleDisplaced
Nzahi, 21 Nzahi’s wife From the high vantage point of our trucks, we could see the long lines of people stretching through the town’s center and masses more throbbing behind a barricade, pressing for...
View ArticleA Day in the Life of Win-a-Trip
What is life like on Win-a-Trip? Will and I had asked Nick on the plane ride here about free time. Nick responded, “What free time? We work all day and write all night.” He wasn’t kidding. The days are...
View ArticleL’Espoir
Today we visited Jomba, a town that was attacked by rebel soldiers about a month ago. A local priest was killed during the attacks, and the villagers left and recently returned. We talked to a teacher...
View ArticleTo Treat or Not to Treat
Not everyone approved when we took Yohanita, a severely malnourished woman, from her village to the hospital. Dr. Lisa Dillabaugh, a Pediatrics resident, posted an opposing view: “…It is so natural for...
View ArticleUpdate on Yohanita
We went back to HEAL Africa to visit Yohanita, the 41-year old woman we had found in the village of Malehe to be suffering from infection and severe malnutrition. I was relieved to see that she was...
View ArticleFear
I can hear the music pulsating in the thick Congo night, inviting me. “Come over, dance, drink, have a good time, enjoy life.” But I am scared to leave the hotel at night. The breaking news is just...
View ArticleKilling in the Name of God
The most bizarre experience on this trip so far has been the visit to General Laurent Nkunda. It’s hardly an everyday occurrence to go to the military camp of an actual “warlord” who is accused of...
View ArticleLeaving the Congo
I never thought I would be so happy to leave the Congo. Goma never felt right to me; in fact, the more days I spent walking along the dark gray lava-covered ground, being stared at by suspicious and...
View ArticleThe Good and the Bad
A little while ago, Nick’s blog included a comment by a student, Loren, who explained eloquently why she did not apply for the “win-a-trip” contest. She did not want to participate because she believed...
View ArticleWhere Are the Doctors?
“Can you take me back to the U.S. with you?” My friend Dr. Dan Rudasingwa is a general practitioner (GP) at King Faisal Hospital in Kigali, Rwanda. His family returned to Rwanda after 30 years of exile...
View ArticleWhat We Can Do to Help
One of the most common comments we get goes: “What can I do to help? You guys talk so much about the problems, and now I want to do something.” I don’t like to bring up problems without proposing...
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