We Act - Rwanda: May 2009

Sunday, May 31, 2009

Support tomorrow's activists!

Fundraiser - TONIGHT!

In 2008, WE-ACTx Girls Exchange ambassadors met with the Chicago Freedom School, inspiring the creation of the Kigali Freedom School, now up and running! Two young women from Kigali will come to Chicago to train and build skills at the Chicago Freedom School this summer.

This will help supporting their efforts!

Photos to come...

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Lindblom's making a difference

Jan. 14, 2009 - AIDS awareness day and chicken wing eating contest to raise money for WE-ACTx.

Our own Jamillah and Nathan Diamond, sponsor of the group

A lot of fun for a great cause.

Student AIDS awareness Art work

Monday, May 11, 2009

CHICAGO FREEDOM SCHOOL--WE-ACTx ALLIANCE

The Chicago Freedom School (CFS), the Kigali Freedom School (KFS) and Women’s Equity in Access to Care and Treatment (WE-ACTx) have formed an alliance to further the goals of all three organizations by establishing connections and cooperation between the three organizations. Initially, the two schools would establish Internet connections to learn more about each other as individuals and the goals of each program. Next, there would be exchanges for students to attend the two schools. We envision two students from Kigali participating in the CFS Summer Leadership Institute as Freedom Fellows during the summer of 2009. The following summer, students from the CFS would travel to Kigali to continue this collaboration and focus on global youth activism

About: WE-ACTx Girls Exchange

During the summer of 2008, WE-ACTx sponsored the WE-ACTx Girls Exchange in order to provide an opportunity for young women aged 17-20 from Chicago and Rwanda to meet each other, share their cities, and learn more about young people with HIV worldwide. Some of the 6 Chicago Exchange participants were infected with HIV, and others had been affected personally by HIV, or who had worked on HIV/AIDS issues in their communities. The Rwandan participants had similar backgrounds complicated as well by the Genocide in Rwanda. The Chicago girls traveled to Kigali for a week and then returned to Chicago with the Rwandan girls to spend a week together in Chicago. The girls lived together in several houses in both cities, experiencing many aspects of each city. The WE-ACTx Girls Exchange also produced two beautiful murals as a gift to each city, one at the Core Center in Chicago and the other at a rural health clinic in Kigali. Of course, the girls also had time for fun, time to explore and to learn about the culture of both countries. They were able to relate to one another as new found friends, as well a as global citizens working together to make the world safer and more just for youth world wide. They formed lasting relationships and had life-changing experiences.