Trips for International Donor Education

For those looking to travel further afield please do join our Advanced Alumni Rwanda Module 14th - 19th March 2010. It is set to be a fascinating journey into the heart of Africa to understand one of the most remarkable and complex development stories of the last 10 years. For alumni interested in peace and reconciliation efforts; public health in the developing world; enterprise development; and food security; this module is a must! A beautiful place, with a tragic history and a promising future, highlights include:

• ‘Moving Forward: 15 years after the genocide', assisted by three leading peace building projects, Avega, Reconciliation Village and International Alert, we will understand interventions that are fostering reconciliation. The three projects' work supporting recovery includes: psychosocial interventions that strive to heal the deep wounds suffered in 1994; use of the reconstruction process to bring disparate populations together to rebuild communities; and initiatives that join genocide survivors, perpetrators and ex-combatants in mixed population microfinance lending groups to encourage investment in a shared future.
• Over a day we will look at philanthropy's role in ‘Supporting Health Systems' through learning the innovative work of three international projects: The Clinton Health Access Initiative's fascinating work improving district health authorities data collection and performance management systems; the Access Project's capacity building programme for key health personnel within the Rwandan health service; and finally Paul Farmer's much lauded Partners in Health.
• With the constant threat of the international food crisis, Alumni will focus on a key intervention in promoting food security: ‘Increasing Yield, Driving Rural Development'. Working with the Millennium Development Village and Gardens for Health, Alumni will understand cutting edge innovations to support farmers increase their crop yield as well as better the nutritional value of the crop they grow.
• 2009 saw the debate around bilateral and multilateral aid once again inflame opinion on both sides. We will spend a session meeting with USAID and DFID representatives considering this debate, and subsequently differentiate the role of private philanthropy through meeting with two philanthropic initiatives that typify philanthropy's unique characteristics in making change: The African Governance Initiative looking at building the capacity of the Rwandan civil service, and Project Healthy Children that is working closely with government to create a food fortification strategy for key food staples in the country. After this morning looking at ‘Aid and Advocacy' we will lunch with young people who are the future of the country; current university students supported by scholarships from Orphans of Rwanda.
• We will close the module with an inspiring insight into ‘Social Enterprise Development' in Rwanda. With Paul Kagame's hopes to be free of development assistance by 2020 the country is abuzz with entrepreneurial spirit. Alumni will meet with Ivuka Arts Studio, the first fine arts studio in Rwanda that channels a percentage of its profits into a dance programme for local street children, and a start up social business Rwanda Ventures, a social venture fund looking to invest in agricultural start ups.