A Better World volunteers ready to go out for the day in Tanzania (Supplied)

By Alessia Proietti

Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania

A Better World says month-long humanitarian trip went even better than hoped

Nov 25, 2022 | 10:00 AM

Visiting three countries in nearly 30 days, the local non-profit A Better World (ABW) says their first team humanitarian trip in almost three years went even better than expected.

From October 20 – November 15, a group of 15 professionals, mainly from central Alberta, including doctors, engineers, dentists and physical rehabilitation therapists, visited Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania to assess completed projects, monitor progress, look for new opportunities, renew partner relationships and train locals in various domains.

READ: Local non-profit A Better World heads to Africa this week for first team humanitarian trip in three years

While normally the organization visits their completed projects roughly every six months, co-founder Eric Rajah said they didn’t know what to expect after a two-and-a-half year break from the pandemic.

“We think that without us, things won’t happen because we go so often we don’t see it. We don’t see how it would be if we weren’t there,” he said.

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“Everything was functioning. They needed some guidance but none of it was at a standstill. That was really rewarding to me after so many years of working there to see this whole concept of empowerment of the local people. That’s truly what development is, when local people can take a hold and move on their own power.”

“We sensed on our trip the gratitude that people had for our returning to celebrate with them and what they have been able to accomplish. There was a sense that we didn’t abandon them.”

Local Physiotherapist Yonne working with children with physical disabilities in Rwanda (Supplied)

Opening several facilities built during the pandemic, the most memorable part of the trip for Rajah, he says, was the grand opening of the “Professor Hill Rehabilitation Centre” for children and adults, built two years ago within the Kendu Adventist Hospital in Kendu Bay, Kenya, in honor of Dr. Ken Hill, who began the organization’s physiotherapy program.

Hill’s daughter Kara Leung, currently the director of ABW’s physiotherapy program, and son Dr. Kelvin Hill, leader of the ABW dental team, were both present alongside some of Dr. Ken Hill’s grandchildren.

He said it was also amazing to see the progress of many children who underwent their clubbed feet clinical procedures and therapy.

“To see the children walking that once couldn’t walk because of the sensors and the surgeries that were happening in that area, that was the most rewarding part. The community went all out to have a great celebration of this,” he said.

Although facing some travel difficulties with changing flight times, he says the team always arrived on schedule and expressed great gratitude for the volunteers on the trip.

A detailed blog describing what happened each day of the trip can be found on the ABW website.

ABW volunteers working at Fara clinic in Tanzania (Supplied)

Potentially his last trip as Executive Officer, Rajah says he will continue to be an ambassador for the vision he built with retiring co-founder and Project Director Brian Leavitt.

“I think I will miss the travel; I will miss seeing the friendships that I created from an official point of view,” he said.

“The feeling would be that I would have to let go and let the new CEO get rooted in the projects and in their building the peoples’ relationships and I’m looking forward to that; to see and introduce the new person.”

Having interviewed five people for the position this week, Rajah says he would like to have someone chosen for the role by the end of the year, preferably beginning in January 2023. However, if the new CEO needs to move from out of town, he says their goal is to have them start by March 2023, in time for their next trip.

A voyage of a much smaller scale, Rajah says he will be taking a group of Parkview Adventist Academy students to Kenya. Over the years, he says he has taken more than 250 students on various trips from different local high schools.

The next official trip similar to their most recent will take place sometime in October or November 2023.

Based out of Lacombe, the international development organization has completed various humanitarian projects in more than 15 countries over the past 32 years, in education, healthcare, and clean water systems, with the goal of breaking the cycle of poverty.