Investigating

This sounds interesting but I'd better do some homework.

What is the Kigali Health Institute? Rwanda, , , , Isn't that the place where "Hotel Rwanda" happened?? Is this place stable?? Who is Terry Konn?? and what's a Fulbright Scholar?? Isn't that what Bill Clinton was doing when he didn't inhale in England?? And even if all of these seem okay is there a snowball's chance in Savannah that I could get out of all of my obligations (Work, Civic, Professional, Church)??

I was pretty sure that the biggest issues would be work.

"Leif,
I realize you will have only one class in the Spring as the seniors will complete you program at the end of the Winter quarter. If you will put together a tentative schedule for Spring I will review it with you and we can then go talk to Dr. Gregg. It sounds like an excellent opportunity for a goodwill mission and a way to put CVTC in front of an international audience. But we first need to be sure that our students are receiving what they need, and I know you feel the same way. Let’s look long and hard at this and see if we can come up with a workable plan."

Frank Pharr
Dean of Instruction
Health Technologies
Coosa Valley Technical College

"I have read Frank’s reply to you. I support his reply. If you can work out something that is, first of all, positive for your students and, second, can meet leave requirements for a state employee (see Terry or Liz), I am open to supporting you in making this experience possible."

Dottie Gregg
VP Instructional Services


So much for the biggest issues being work! I'd better check those other items!

Answering the Questions - Rwanda

RWANDA

A conversation concerning Rwanda doesn't occur without inclusion of the genocide. The 1994 loss of more than 800,000 people in 100 days has impacted the psyche of the nation to it's very core. An outsiders view certainly can not express the complexity of the events or the magnitude of the impact on the nation.

My vantage point and that of most of my acquaintances is through the movie Hotel Rwanda. I have no idea how close to reality the movie comes. But neither the story nor the country ended with that tragic time. It seems that the leadership and the people must be moving forward out of the ashes into a brighter future.

My other point of reference for Rwanda is Dian Fossey and the Mountain Gorillas.

Two things I'm sure of:

1. Whatever preconceived ideas I have based on my limited and Hollywood glamorized notions will likely be found to be false and narrow.


2. I must be careful to not allow those preconceptions to flavor my experience and work.

Wherever I go I find both good and bad people. Mostly good and a occasionally a few bad. Mainly folks are just trying to make the best of the situation in which they reside. I hope I can help in some way to help.

History:

Is best left to others. What I do know is there were/are two major tribal factions Hutu and Tutsis. Control has varied over time and the changes have resulted in upheaval. The country has been stable in recent years. A friend quoting Mark Twain once told me "It is better to keep silent and let others think you a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt!"

Population:

• Population size: 8128,553 people (3, 879,448 males and 4,249,105 females).
  Surface: 26,338 sq km
  Urban population: 16.9%
  Rural population: 83.1%

• The most populated provinces are:
  - Ruhengeri (540 inhabitants / km2);
  - Gisenyi (424 inhabitants / km2);
  - Byumba (421 inhabitants / km2); and
  - Gitarama (404 inhabitants / km2)
  
• Rwandan working population
  Agriculture (88.6%);
  Workers specialized in services (3.3%);
  Laborers, non-agriculture unskilled workers and vehicle drivers (3.1%);
  Business and traders (2.6%);
  Professionals and assimilated associates (1.6%); and
  Manufacturing industry (0.8%)
  
• Other demographic data
  Population growth rate: 2.8%
  Birth rate: 38.99 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
  Death rate: 19 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
  Infant mortality rate: 107 deaths/1,000 live births
  Life expectancy at birth: total population: 41.93 years
  male: 41.49 years
  Female: 42.4 years (1998 est.)
  Total fertility rate: 5.8 children born/woman
  - Maternal death per 100,000 newborn: 1,070
  - Births assisted by health professionals: 31%

Climate:

The sun shines nearly all year round, and, whatever the season, the mean daily temperature is close to 24 C (76F).
The minimum night temperatures is around 10C (50F) and maximum daytime temperatures ranges about 34C (94F).
The climate of Rwanda is made up of two wet seasons and two dry seasons.

• The short wet season lasts from October-November, and the main rainy season, lasting from mid-March to the end of May.


• During the dry seasons, which last from December to mid-March and from June to the end of August, frequent light cloud cover yields a pleasant, never stifling, temperature.


• Kigali , the capital city, is located on Rwanda ’s central plateau; its average temperature is 19ºC (66F) with 40 inches of rainfall annually.

Land and Population:

Rwanda is a small and a landlocked country located between the eastern and central Africa . The country has 26, 338 sq. Km of total area, of which 24, 950 sq. Km (94.7%) is made up of land and 1, 388 sq. Km (5.3%) of water. Of the total made up of land, only 8, 600 sq. Km (32.7%) are suitable for cultivation.

Rwanda’s population amounts 8.2 million inhabitants and has a density of 311 inhabitants per sq. Km. When taking into account only the arable area, this density increases to 955 inhabitants per sq. Km making Rwanda one of the most populated countries in the world.

Answering the Questions - KHI

Kigali Health Institute - KHI - http://www.khi.ac.rw/

Vision: “To be a centre of excellence in training and development of health professionals”

Mission: “To train and improve the capacity of health workers”

Background:

"The challenges of providing health services globally are numerous and in Africa they are even intimidating. This arises from the fact that Africa is home to most of the least developed countries of the world with serious shortage of resources in all sectors of the economy. In the case of Rwanda, the war and genocide of 1994 created a critical shortage of health workers to deal with the ordinary and ensuing health problems. The Government of Rwanda, through the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, therefore responded to this challenge by establishing the Kigali Health Institute on 5th June, 1996. The status of the institute was later ratified through an Act of Parliament No 07/2002 of 22nd February, 2002. The institute thus became a semi-autonomous organisation with the two ministries as major stakeholders."

Types of Programs:

1. Allied Health Services comprising departments of:
   Physiotherapy;
   Anaesthesia;
   Dentistry;
   Laboratory;
   Radiology; and
   Ophthalmology.
   
2. Nursing Sciences comprising departments of:
   General Nursing;
   Midwifery; and
   Mental Health.
   
3. Community Health Development comprising departments of:
   Environment Health Sciences.

Medical Imaging Sciences offered through KHI:

• Radiologic Technology
• Nuclear Medicine
• Radiation Therapy
• Sonography (In planning)

"The department of Medical Imaging Sciences is part of the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences.It is important to note that since the existence of the country, there has never been a school for Radiology training and Medical Imaging Technology particularly. Moreover, alarming is the shortage of qualified personnel in that field. There were five qualified radiological technologists and four medical radiologists across the national territory after the 1994 tragic events."

"Hence, in a bid to respond to the above-mentioned challenge the Ministries of Education and Health combined efforts to establish, in 1997, Kigali Health Institute (K.H.I) in which there was a department of Radiology.Established in 1999 as the department of Radiology, three years after the commencement of the Institute, the department’s name changed to the Department of Medical Imaging Sciences (Radiography) in 2003 to better reflect the emphasis on scientific investigations and its future development of a wide range of medical radiation field."

Language:

"Both French and English languages are used as languages of instruction in schools, in particular in institutions of higher learning. Candidates from secondary schools who are admitted in KHI are expected to possess either English or French skills. It is rare, however, to find candidates who possess necessary skills in both languages to cope with university education requirements. In addition, KHI academic staff speak either French or English and therefore give lectures in either language. Again, very few can give lectures in both languages. It is from this background that KHI created the Department of Languages. "

Answering the Questions - Fulbright Scholar

The funniest part of this question was the answer. I had sent at least a dozen e-mails back and forth with Terry Konn PhD before I realized that Terry wasn't short for Terrance. Dr. Konn had said that there was a blog. On the blog there was a picture of a white woman with some Rwandan students. I wondered why Terry hadn't put at least one self image until I realized that the white woman was Dr. Konn.

I'll ask Dr. Konn to share her story and post it to this blog. Until then the link to her blog spots is http://www.blogger.com/profile/15580406035590318437

Dr. Konn said...

Hello Everyone -It is not the first time in my life someone has assumed I was a male. My name is Terry (spelled like a boy) That is a long story in itself. I think my father wanted another football player, but got a surprise instead! This is my second trip to Rwanda to teach at the Kigali Health Institute in Kigali. It is always a challenge and a wonderful experience at the same time being able to leave your safe and comfortable surroundings to embark on a journey to somewhere unfamiliar and different.My advice to any one out there is if you are ever given a chance to travel, teach, explore and meetpeople of foreign lands - do not hesitate! The experience is unforgettable! I hope tohear from some of you. I am happy to answer any of your questions. Many happy travels,Terry M. Konn, Ph.D. Mum


Terry Konn PHD RT is serving the Kigali Health Institute http://www.khi.ac.rw/ as a Senior Fulbright Scholar. She is teaching Radiological Imaging and is helping to develop the curriculum for other areas including sonography. http://khimedicalimaging.blogspot.com/

Dr. Konn Writes, “There are maybe 12 scanners throughout the country. They are not being utilized, because there is no one trained in most rural districts. In the hospitals that you will go to there are a total of 4 units, I believe. In addition to a radiologist, I only know of 2 technologists that perform limited US. I think the idea is to train them well, so they can then train others.” A sonography program is being developed and I have shared curriculum materials but at this time the approximately dozen ultrasound units are going largely unused because the staff are not confident, comfortable, trained to perform the examinations.


My other area of ignorance was about Fulbright Scholars. After a search of the web I found that the fulbright Scholarship is operated by the U.S. State Department. http://www.cies.org/

"International education exchange is the most significant current project designed to continue the process of humanizing mankind to the point, we would hope, that nations can learn to live in peace" --J. William Fulbright

There seems to be four major categories of Fulbright Scholars with many subcategories of opportunities:

1. Fulbright Programs for U.S. Scholars. Programs that offer U.S. faculty, administrators and professionals grants to lecture or do research in a wide variety of academic and professional fields, or to participate in seminars.



2. Fulbright Global Programs for U.S. and non-U.S. ScholarsPrograms that offer joint collaborative opportunities for U.S. and non-U.S. scholars, alumni and institutions.



3. Fulbright Programs for Visiting ScholarsPrograms that support the research and teaching of visiting (Non-U.S.) scholars at U.S. colleges and universities.



4. Fulbright Scholar Grants for Institutions Opportunities for U.S. institutions to host Fulbright Visiting Scholars and professionals from abroad to lecture at U.S. colleges and universities.

Grants are specilaized in duration, location and application.

Answering the Questions - The other faculty and students

The next step was to see if the other faculty members would be willing to flex so that I could go.

Mr. Nee Barnor MS. RDMS is the Clinical Coordinator and the primary instructor for Diagnostic Medical Sonography students. Mr. Barnor is one of a rare group of Sonographers in the United States who holds a Masters in Sonography.

Mr. Barnor has been working with Coosa Valley Technical College for over 5 years and is an integral part of any successes that we've had. He is well respected by the students and other faculty members as a knowledgeable and capable instructor.

He and Dawn Irwin worked together to find a way to re-arrange the schedule so that students could get all of their Physics II classes prior to my departure in May. He has been quite supportive of the endeavor.

Mrs. Dawn Irwin RDCS (Adult and Pediatric) is our primary instructor for Echocardiography. Although Dawn is new to Education she has a huge wealth of knowledge in both Adult and Pediatric Echocardiography. Her students love and admire her.

Dawn and Mr. Barnor have both been very helpful and supportive as I've been working through the details of going.

Our Junior DMS & Echo students have agreed to have all of their Physics classes occur in April during the Spring term. While I'm absent during May and June they'll be attending clinicals and or classes with Mr. Barnor & Mrs. Irwin. The RVT students will have all of their didactic classes in April and will have their clinical progress monitored and supervised by Keith Walter BS, RDMS, RVT, RDCS and Mr. Barnor.

That seems to just leave acceptance by Kigali Health Institute.

The official Invitation

Getting There

There are no flight connections between Chattanooga (my nearest airport) and Kigali.

At least that's what every online travel service stated.

I had concerns about flying through Kenya which is where most flights connected. Flights direct to Kigali from Europe where out of my price range (Cheap). Luckily, I found Ethiopian Airlines and after some investigation felt comfortable that connecting through Addis Ababa would work.

Earlier searches had shown I could leave Atlanta Sunday AM and arrive in Kigali Monday morning flying Ethiopian Air. but when I finally received the message that I had an official invitation, those flights were full. In fact there were no flights in my price category (Cheap) that could get me there Monday AM without leaving Friday.

My Guide book suggested that sometimes it's cheaper to fly to Europe and get totally different flight package from Europe to Africa.

So I looked to find which airports in Europe are serviced by Ethiopian Airlines and then checked prices from those airports to Kigali. The best prices where out of London's Heathrow Airport and there were seats available for Monday AM delivery if I could get to London by Sunday evening. Next, I started searching for flights from Atlanta or Chattanooga to London's Heathrow. There was a flight that could get me from my local airport - Chattanooga to Heathrow leaving early Saturday evening and arriving in London Sunday noon (4,500 miles according to Google). I've got a bit of a layover in London then Sunday evening catch a flight to Adis Abeba through Rome. just enough time to switch planes for the 2.5 hour hop to Kigali (4,600 miles according to Google).

For the return flight I left myself three days in London for a bit of tourism.

Soooo , , , , I'm set! 14 hours to get from Chattanooga to London and another 11 hours to get from London to Kigali and only about 12 total hours of layover and 6 hours of time zone difference and I'm there Monday about noon!

Tickets are in hand (or at least electronically in hand) and I'm leaving in less than a month. :-)

Donors - AIUM - THANK YOU!!

The American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine has donated:

Six sets of Manuscripts (at least 3 copies of each)

• Recommended Ultrasound Terminology
• How to Interpret Ultrasound Output Display
• Transducer Manipulation for Echocardiography
• Performance of Basic Fetal Cardiac U/S Exam
• Color Duplex for Graft Surveillance
• Transducer Manipulation

Six Sets of CDs

• Vascular Ultrasound: Where does it fit in Diagnosis (6 CD set)
• New Technologies and Applications in Ultrasound (6 CD set)
• Newest Trends in Gynecolological Ultrasound (3 CD set)
• Breast Ultrasound from Fundamentals to the Future
• Sonography a Broad Sweep (5 CD set)
• Fetal Echo Update (12 CD set)

Donors - SVU - THANK YOU!!

The Society for Vascular Sonography has Donated:

General Items:

2 Satchels

3 mouse pads

3 shirts

Promotional items

Copies of the Journal for Vascular Sonography from 2005 to present

Text Books

• A Practical Guide to Transcranial Doppler Examinations
• Physiological Testing Techniques and Interpretation
• Techniques in Noninvasive Vascular Diagnosis

Study Materials

• 2007 Vascular Ultrasound Introductory Interpretation
• 2007 Vascular Ultrasound Advanced Interpretation
• 2007 Annual Conference Tutorials (8 courses)

4 Case Study Cds

Donors - SDMS - THANK YOU!!

The Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography has donated:

12 CME items 7 videos and 5 CDs


10 National Certification Exam Review books (1 of each title)


10 OB calculation wheels














3 Textbooks

Donors - Gulf Coast Ultrasound - THANK YOU!!

Gulf Coast Ultrasound in St. Pete Beach Florida has graciously donated:

4 DVDs Imaging the Abdominal Aorta, Renal Imaging, Imaging the Pancreas, Imaging the Liver, GB, & Spleen

4 Ultra PASS OB-GYN U/S Workbook and

Ultrasound Physics Review Quiz Book

Thank you for your generous donation.

Donors - Pegasus Lectures - THANK YOU!!

Pegasus Lectures has enthusiastically donated:

• Breast Sonographers Text book
• Essentials of OB-GYN text book
• 2 - Essentials of Ultrasound Physics
• 4 - 2 volume sets of Ultrasound Physics & Instrumentation


• 2 DVDs Unifying Ultrasound Physics


• CD Breast Ultrasound Exam Similation


• CD Ultrasound Physics exam Simulation

Donations - Sound Ergonomics - THANKS!!

Joan Baker and the folks @ Sound Ergonomics have donated the following items.

• Lecture Book and CD
• 11 cable braces
• Wrist brace
• Scanning cushion
• Exercise tubing
• Ergonomic flip cards

Donations - Terry & Ann Needham THANKS!

Terry & Ann Needham have graciously donated a couple of boxes of books from their private collection. They have both been long term advocates of education for vascular sonography and the development of the next generation of sonographers.

Ann will be inducted as a Fellow at this years SVU meeting. Terry is already an SVU Fellow and a well respected educator and vascular sonographer.

CVTC Foundation Fund Donations THANKS!!

A number of individuals have donated to the CVTC Foundation for Kigali Health Institute. These monies and some additional resources have been used to acquire 3 densitomters and 1 sensitometer for the imaging work in Rwanda.

Thanks Dr.s Dottie Greg & Jo Edwards for contributing toward the cause.

Also a big shout out to the Kevins @ Technical Support @ X-Rite and CVTC's Ronnie Turner for helping me get these in working order.

CVTC Library Resources

The Coosa Valley Technical College Library has a number of books and videos about Rwanda. If you are a CVTC student or faculty you have easy access to these which may be of interest. I've included a link to a review for each of these so you might read a review.



Videos

• Sometimes in April


• Ghosts of Rwanda


• The Diary of Immaculee

Books

• This Voice in My Heart


• We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families

Thanks to Linda Floyd & Steven for finding these for us.