While the traditional image of summer break involves ocean waves, barbecues, and jet skis, my summer travels took me a little further afield.
Over the course of two separate trips, I spent a total of three and a half weeks in Africa this summer getting to know some of our existing colleagues and making new connections, all with an eye toward future collaboration.
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
First I visited the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine first began working with partners there in 1978 when the country was still called Zaire. Those initial projects soon led to an effort, spearheaded by our own Dr. Bill Bertrand, to establish a school of public health at the University of Kinshasa, which opened in 1986.
If I had any questions about how involved Bill was in those early days of the Kinshasa School of Public Health, they quickly evaporated when I saw the monument lauding the school’s founders. There was Dr. Bill Bertrand’s nearly life-size face immortalized in bronze practically staring right at me right on campus.
I toured the school’s campus and visited the main administrative building, as well as a classroom named after Bill Bertrand. I was fortunate to be able to spend time with KSPH’s Dean Desiré Mashinda and discuss continued collaborations between our two institutions. Dean Mashinda will, in fact, be visiting us here at Tulane SPHTM at the end of September, with a seminar on Monday, October 2 from 12-1pm in Room 1201.
Keeping it all in the family, Dr. Jane Bertrand is also well known throughout the DRC. Jane and her colleagues including Dr. Julie Hernandez, Dr. Stacey Gage, and Dr. Arsene Binanga have been working on family planning initiatives in the DRC for more than a decade. In addition, Dr. David Hotchkiss and Dr. Janna Wisniewski have been leading projects over the past decade that evaluate the effectiveness of large and complex health systems strengthening initiatives in the DRC. With Jane and Julie, I visited the Tulane International (TILLC) office in Kinshasa, the largest of our TILLC offices worldwide, as well as several medical clinics throughout the city.
The best part, however, was seeing the family planning staff in action. As I visited one of the Tulane-supported family planning campaigns in a military camp, I witnessed nursing school students providing contraceptive methods to women in their homes. They take a real joy in their work and are contributing to better health outcomes for women and girls in a country that routinely finds itself at the bottom of the Human Development Index. I was also impressed by the dedication of our Congolese office staff who work tirelessly to support these programs.
I also visited the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital, which was built by NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo. We were scheduled to host Mr. Mutombo as our keynote graduation speaker in 2020, the year that in-person graduation exercises were canceled due to COVID. I told him I would visit his hospital when I visited DRC, and I was happy to be able to fulfill that promise. Hopefully, we’ll be able to invite him back again in the future, but in the meantime, Jane, Julie, and I received a warm welcome!
Kigali, Rwanda
My next stop was to Rwanda where another SPHTM faculty member, Dr. Nancy Mock, was essential to establishing a school of public health. Like the Bertrands in Kinshasa, Nancy is well known at the University of Rwanda in Kigali. I again had the privilege of meeting the dean, Dr. Theoneste Ntakirurimana, and touring the campus. I was also cordially received by University of Rwanda Vice Chancellor of Advancement and Research Muganga Didas Kayihura who underlined how important Tulane was as a partner and his desire to see a university-wide partnership with Tulane.
Much of my trip was coordinated and hosted by Dr. Jeanine Condo. She was a doctoral student of Nancy’s at Tulane and has risen to high level leadership in the health sector in Rwanda, including as principal of health sciences at the University of Rwanda, the director general of the Rwanda Biomedical Center, and on numerous international committees.
I was fortunate to spend time at the Aghahozo-Shalom Youth Village (better known as ASYV or the Village), an impressive program aimed at launching disadvantaged youth into successful life pathways. Tulane is partnering with the Village to evaluate the impact of its program and to develop the capacity of the Village to learn and adapt using data. I played music with the Village’s youth music group on the stage at their high-energy entrepreneurship competition and accompanied Jean-Claude Nkulikiyimfura, one of the visionaries leading ASYV, to visits featuring Village alumni art and music exhibits. Lily Conroy, a recent Tulane undergraduate alumni, is on the ground coordinating Tulane efforts with Nancy.
I also visited both the ministers of health and education (Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana and Dr. Valentine Uwamariya, respectively), and we discussed ways in which we can collaborate in the future.
In Rwanda I also had a unique opportunity for a meeting of another kind altogether – with gorillas. It was summer, after all, and even a dean needs to break out of his mold a little bit, so I ventured out on a gorilla trekking excursion with Nancy. It is easy to say that this was a singular experience in my lifetime!
We had a charming evening at a locally operated lodge. Then we started early in the morning meeting up with our guide and getting geared up – and I mean that literally. The first thing you learn about gorilla trekking is what to wear. Sturdy rubber booths, long pants (preferably waterproof), a rain jacket and garden gloves, and a hat. Rwanda is near the equator, so it's hot, but long sleeves and long pants protect you from branches and thorns as the guides slash a path through the foliage with machetes. You also need to wear a mask -- not for your protection, but for the protection of the gorillas, who are highly susceptible to human illnesses.
Gorillas live in the Virunga Massif, a volcanic, forested mountain range connecting Rwanda, Uganda, and the DRC. It’s a strenuous hike, but well worth the effort. After about an hour trek, we encountered a family of gorillas. They seemed to be happy that we came to visit with them, as they interacted with us, up close and personal. They were friendly and playful. One of the young adult males snuck up behind Nancy and playfully shoved her out of his path. Thankfully, they have not learned to fear humans. In fact, the money raised from gorilla trekking is used to help to protect these beautiful creatures, and the excursions are highly regulated.
Still I couldn’t believe how close we were able to get. It sounds cliché, but they are so human-like, especially the mothers with their children.
The best, however, was seeing the king of that particular jungle, a large silverback gorilla. He was coming toward me at a pretty fast pace. As directed, I assumed a non-threatening stance and made the sounds I had been taught to signal that I was not a threat. He must have understood me because he slowed down, looked at me, but then passed by within just a few feet like a tourist walking along Canal Street in front of Tidewater. Truly an experience I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
I want to strengthen our existing relationships in both the DRC and Rwanda and find more ways to bring their students here to New Orleans and send our students over there to study, work, and conduct research. We developed strategies aimed to strengthen and elevate our sister schools on the international stage. We also discussed some novel approaches for doctoral training, educational workshops in Africa, and faculty and student exchange.