Today I am sharing the story of one of IOWD’s former patients, Alexia. To jumpstart my fundraising effort this year, I am raffling off one of the shopping bags that Alexia makes. For each $25 you donate, you will get one entry into a drawing for the bag. I will announce the winner the day … More How fistula surgery changes lives
I am happy to announce that I am heading back to Rwanda on January 25, 2019. I have purchased my plane ticket and am beginning to gather my thoughts. This is my fourth year going, and sitting down to write this has helped me to remember the many reasons I keep going back. I realize … More Heading back in 2019
While I was in Rwanda in February 2018, there was a team there filming video and taking photos of our work. This is a short segment of what I hope will be a longer video. It features the founder of IOWD, Barbara Margolies, as well as several of the physicians I work with, including Star … More Video from IOWD
I am happy to announce that the Rwandan Ministry of Health, with the aid and encouragement of IOWD, is in the process of building a 3rd operating room at Kibagabaga Hospital in Kigali. This is the primary hospital where the team operates while in Rwanda. Having a third operating room will allow surgeons to perform … More August 2018: Updates!
I made it home safely and am finally back to waking and sleeping in the Eastern time zone. I always forget how hard it is to accommodate to the time change when flying east to west–I am ready for bed by 3PM! I have sorted through and edited most of my photos, and wanted to … More Home again
The last day always has a way of both seeming far away and coming way too soon. I feel like I have been here for much longer than 9 days, but I am ready to be home. I never sleep very well here (despite being exhausted) and working in the heat is hard on my … More Day 9: Headed home
Today we started our day very early–I woke at 4:15AM. We had to leave the hotel by 4:45AM so that we would reach the chimpanzees by 6AM. After the sun rises, the chimpanzees eat and then they are on the move and we would have to run to keep up. About 30 minutes of the … More Day 8: Nyungwe National Park
