Glocal Internship: Health Development Initiative (HDI)
Location: Rwanda
Theme: Health and development
Year: 2020-2021
Yael Grinspan lives in Tel Aviv, Israel. She has a BA in International Relations and Sociology and Anthropology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Yael interned with Health Development Initiative (HDI) in Rwanda as part of the internship component of her studies in Glocal. In this position, Yael documented HDI’s contribution towards enabling access to abortion in Rwanda over the last 10 years.
In addition, Yael supported staff members, and took part in executing different programs. Yael found that community members themselves know best what they need, and that it is the role of organisations such as HDI to help enable individuals access the needs that they have identified. Yael wishes to pursue a career in development, to work internationally and to lead projects that she is passionate about—continuing to be a part of creating meaningful change in different communities. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rwandan government and people have done the best they could to prevent the spread of the virus. Yael saw that the Rwandan government and people adjusted quickly to new rules and measures. Yet, she saw that those adjustments had their own price; most notably, those who rely on their communities the most, and those with the lowest incomes, were affected to a great extent. What Yael found most fascinating was how people and organizations did whatever they could in order to address the new challenges that presented themselves with the pandemic, whilst also continuing to address other challenges which existed prior to the pandemic and which continue to exist.
Women from rural communities are learning about their sexual and reproductive rights
Even during the midst of a global crisis (the COVID-19 pandemic), with restrictive regulations in place and global attention shifting to the fight against COVID-19, communities and organizations show their resilience by the fact that they do not abandon their targets, and they continue to fight for their most basic human rights. In this picture, vulnerable women from rural communities are learning about their sexual and reproductive rights as part of the local NGO Health Development Initiative's (HDI) training program.