You're going where?

That's definitely a question that I've gotten a few times recently. I was fortunate enough to be selected for a fellowship that was awarded through MGH to work internationally. Thomas Durant was a Mass General physician who dedicated his career to serving refugee populations and victims of complex humanitarian disasters. Dr. Durant passed away in 2001 and in his memory and legacy, the fellowship has now sent more than 10 doctors, nurses and other health care professionals to the field. Through mentorship and guidance from experienced MGH staff, I've selected to work with the American Refugee Committee in their camps which serve 50,000 Congolese refugees in Rwanda.

The reason there are refugees from the Congo in Rwanda is kind of a tricky story. You probably know of Rwanda's 1994 genocide in which an estimated 800,000 people were murdered in a period of 100 days. For reasons that go back in Rwanda's recent history dating back to colonization, many members of one ethnic group, the Hutus, attempted to ethnically cleanse Rwanda of men, women and children from the other ethnic group, the Tutsis. Moderate Hutus were also targeted. After the genocide, many Hutus fled to the eastern portion of the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. Most of these refugees have since been repatriated to Rwanda where Hutus and Tutsis again live alongside one another. Some Hutu extremists, however, remained and are part of a Hutu militia that fights a Tutsi rebel group in the eastern Congo. This situation has made it unsafe for Congolese Tutsis to remain in their country and they have sought refuge in Rwanda. So those are the refugees that make up the camps that I'll be working in.


The ARC has asked me to help with education of community health workers and capacity building. Although I have worked internationally on short term trips a few times before, this will be my first time in Africa and my first time doing this kind of work. I expect to learn a lot!