PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Before starting at Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School in 2024, aspiring physician Benjamin Katz spent three months in a mountainous region of Rwanda conducting research on tropical diseases as part of a fellowship with the non-governmental organization Move Up Global.
Katz was surprised to find that most community members relied on surface water from rivers, streams and ponds that were often contaminated with fecal matter and worm eggs. The nearest water faucet required a four-mile round-trip walk and, despite being frequently broken, was intended to serve over a thousand people. Katz was even more dismayed to find high rates of intestinal worm infections among people in the area — a direct result, he said, of the lack of access to clean water.
“I felt like it would be hard for people elsewhere to fathom what is happening in this small area of the world,” Katz said.
If people could view the conditions in this part of Rwanda, where Katz and other members of the medical team had to hike many miles into the wilderness to treat patients, maybe they would feel compelled to help, he thought.
Katz decided to show the world what he found during his fellowship, taking dozens of photos of families in the area. Seventeen of those photos are now on display in the atrium of the Warren Alpert Medical School at 222 Richmond St. in Providence. The exhibit, which is on display until Oct. 24, is titled, “Ipfundo,” which means “the knot” in Kinyarwanda.
“This collection encapsulates the dire need for change in this part of northwest Rwanda,” the introduction reads.
The black-and-white photos, shot on Ilford HP5 35mm film, show the community’s “struggle with water,” Katz said. Next to a photo of a typical home built from mud, straw and volcanic rock, a placard written by Katz explains that frequent earthquakes cause homes and other buildings to collapse, and the damaged infrastructure leaves communities even more vulnerable to waterborne diseases.
Another photo shows the home of a family where Katz was assigned to conduct health checks — the text beside it explains that an 8-month-old girl in the house became ill from waterborne disease and malnutrition and eventually died.
“That devastating experience really drove this project,” Katz said. “Before finding out about the child’s passing, I had taken a picture of the family’s bean garden, because I thought it was really pretty. I decided to share that photo as a way to talk about what the family had gone through.”