Project Rwanda—Hearts and Bikes

One of many challenges encountered by the HHNW team in addition to the medical staff at King Faisal Hospital is tracking the proper prescriptions for Rwandan patients, pre- and post-op. Several of the 16 HHNW patients live in rural areas, anywhere from three to four hours from the capitol city of Kigali and King Faisal Hospital in addition to their local clinics and drug dispensaries. And since 90 percent of Rwandans work on farms and live in the countryside, modes of transportation consist of foot or bike.


In response to the 1994 genocide and growing need for utility farming bikes, renowned mountain bike rider and manufacturer Tom Ritchie founded Project Rwanda in 2005 to help Rwandans rebuild their country and economy via a bicycle.

CICU pulmonalogist Dr. Sam Joseph read about Ritchie's efforts and project in Bicycling magazine prior to leaving Spokane on the HHNW trip. An avid road biker himself, Dr. Joesph reached out to Project Rwanda and even linked up with a few of the team riders last week for a ride about two hours north of Kigali.

So when Dr. Joseph and Physician Assistant Larry Keyser listened to two male patients speak of needing a bike or some mode of transport to get their vital prescriptions post-op, they immediately contacted Project Rwanda and purchased two utilitarian, seven-speed coffee bikes.


The bikes showed up at the hospital yesterday to the delight of the two patients and Dr. Joseph and Keyser. Actually, we all celebrated in the generous gifts. Although happiness by all was a given, it became difficult to decipher who was happier--the patients or Sam and Larry. Regardless, it was another display of compassion by the hard-working and selfless HHNW crew. Thanks for letting us all enjoy the moment of seeing those two patients smile wide while staring at their shiny, new bikes.—Johnny Stifter