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Originally published on The New Security Beat: Driving from Kigali into rural Rwanda, the hills that flank either side of the paved road are covered with bananas, maize, coffee, and beans under cultivation. Most Rwandans are farmers, using any bit of available land to feed their families and generate income. In this country—the most densely […]
June 29, 2010
I’m writing from the balcony of One Acre Fund’s headquarters in Tyazo, Rwanda, a little village on the edge of Lake Kivu, not too far from the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. Lots of Rwandans have never been to this part of Rwanda–when I arrived a few weeks ago, I drove down with […]
June 27, 2010
Originally published in GlobalPost: KIGALI, Rwanda — Next to the Sopetrade highway heading toward Kigali’s city center, construction workers are digging up the side of the road in preparation for adding an additional lane. In and around Kigali’s city center, similar road projects are in process. The project financier? China Eximbank, to the tune of […]
June 24, 2010
Originally published in GlobalPost: BUNGOMA, Kenya — Spring is the height of piracy season off the coast of Somalia. Since 2008, when attacks accelerated in the Gulf of Aden, every few months brings news of a big hijacking — from the oil supertanker Sirius Star in 2008 to the U.S.-manned Maersk Alabama in 2009 to […]
May 10, 2010
Originally published in GlobalPost: BUNGOMA, Kenya — Not much has changed politically in Kenya since the violent clashes that erupted after the December 2007 presidential election and the power-sharing agreement that ended them in February 2008. Most of the reforms the power-sharing government agreed to implement have yet to materialize. The two factions appear more interested in fighting over who should run things than in getting things done. This failure to govern is the subject of daily headlines in the Kenyan newspapers, but the slow unfurling of a country is not something that tends to receive much international attention, either from the media or diplomats — there always seem to be more immediate crises to deal with. However, there is one country watching Kenya closely.
March 24, 2010
Originally published in GlobalPost: BUNGOMA, Kenya — Travelers crossing from Kenya to Uganda by road face a daunting line of trucks and cars at the border post at Malaba. Kenyan businessman who want to do business in Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda must contend with buying goods and services in four different currencies with fluctuating exchange […]
March 18, 2010
Originally published in GlobalPost: BUNGOMA, Kenya — “The war in Darfur is over,” Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir recently proclaimed, one day after signing a peace deal with one of the main rebel factions in Darfur. On the surface, the peace deal would seem to be a positive development for Sudan. In reality, it is just […]
February 9, 2010
Originally published in GlobalPost: NEW YORK — Angola, Africa’s biggest oil producer, had hoped that hosting January’s Africa Cup of Nations would bring positive publicity to the country. Those hopes of promoting a good picture of Angola were first dashed when Angolan separatists attacked the bus carrying the Togo team, killing three people. This made […]
January 30, 2010
Originally published in GlobalPost: KAMPALA, Uganda — In 2009, Uganda discovered oil reserves in its side of the Lake Albert Rift Basin that could place it in the ranks of major African producers such as Chad and Equatorial Guinea. The oil discovery — optimistic estimates place it at 2 billion barrels — is just a […]
January 6, 2010
Originally published in GlobalPost: TYAZO, Rwanda — On Dec. 23, the United Nations Security Council renewed the mandate of its peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It should have allowed the force’s mandate to lapse. The 20,000-strong force in DRC, known as MONUC (for the French of United Nations Mission in the Democratic […]
Stephanie Hanson 
July 26, 2010
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