Part two of our four part series featuring award-winning producer Jessica Stuart’s stories from the field:

Monday, June 20- Mwaro Province

Keith Walker films community members in Mwaro Province

On our first full day of travel in Burundi, we drive 2 hours into the mountains to the Mwaro Province.  Today is a very exciting day for the Global Network and partners; the culmination of over 4 years of work.  The Health Minister,Madame Minister Sabine is in Mwaro Province to Launch National Mother and Child Week. This initiative is an integrated approach at a National Level for an MDA- a mass drug administration. Partners include the Burundian Government, The Global Network, Geneva Global, CBM, WHO, and Schistomiasis Control Initiative (SCI). Here, every pregnant woman and child between 1-5 years old can receive free Albendezole to treat whipworm and roundworm, along with Tetanus vaccinations and Vitamin A distribution provided by UNICEF and partners.

Health Minister Sabine distributes Albendizole to a mother and baby at the Futa Clinic in Mwaro Province

This program is one of the few they are running at a National level after the Genocide and the Civil War.

Because it has devastated the country, infrastructure is practically non-existent. There is evidence of rebuilding, but it will take quite some time. Being among the top poorest countries in the world, Burundi can’t do it alone.

The Minister delivered medicines herself. In a speech, she told the community gathered that no one should suffer from any form of NTDs when the medicine and vaccines are free to the people.   She said there are 9 provinces where worms are ravaging the population. Mwaro is one of them.

If anything is happening in a rural village, the ENTIRE village shows up. It is an inevitable factor.

Health Minister Sabine distributes a tetanus shot at Futa Clinic

Hundreds, maybe even thousands come. Events of any kind are taken very seriously.  And today, Madame Minister’s visit to the “Stadium” (a large field used to play soccer), the village came to listen. Dances were performed and speeches were given. Our interpreter, Gerard, explained to me that each song and dance represented an illness or health initiative. They sang about using malaria nets, how to wash your hands for hygiene, how women should breast feed for the first 6 months. Now, I highly doubt NeYo or Akon or JayZ would create a song about public health, but the moment reminded me of those cartoons we used to watch as children that taught us about Bills on Capitol Hill or how not to over salt your meat. Or at the end of GI Joe when the lesson would come and GI Joe would say “now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

Same concept, different execution.  We aren’t so different.

Minister Sabine at a protocol meeting over an Amstel

We ended our day with Madame Minister and formal government protocol. Protocol was to sit and enjoy a beer and talk about the news, families, etc. One thing I must say about Burundi- the beers are NOT 12 ounces. They are liters.  So, about 50 of us sat around, each sipping our liter of beer.  I don’t even like beer that much, but protocol is protocol!

Our hotel in Mwaro had hot water and electricity. No Internet.  Our dinner took 2 hours to cook and we could only eat what they had left from the day–rice, 2 chicken legs, a chicken wing and some fish for 7 of us. This is the first night, however, we learned about brochette. Brochette in Burundi is a meat kabob. There are brochette shacks all over Burundi.  Brochette and beer is happy hour. Brochette and beer is happy hour with no choice of anything else but brochette and beer, or goat or cow brochette.

At the hotel, Kenny’s room had disco lights in the bathroom. I’m not sure why only his room had flashing green, blue, and red lights –we figured he had the honeymoon suite.

Tuesday, June 21st- Rutuna Province

» Read more: Personal Perspectives Part 2: Inside look at Burundi’s national NTD program