long overdue update

One day, Maria and I visited traditional birth attendants (TBAs) in the community. Several months ago, the Malawian government prohibited TBAs from conducting deliveries. If a TBA delivers a woman instead of sending her a hospital, she must pay six goats - and the delivered woman pays three goats - to the village chief. This seems to be adequate deterrence; all but one of the six TBAs we visited had closed up shop. It's true that TBAs were not adequately prepared to deal with prevention of mother to child HIV transmission. Now, once labor commences, the women must walk dozens of kilometers an overcrowded, understaffed hospital whose capacity has not been expanded since this problematic policy went into effect. Everyone was incredibly welcoming, especially one little boy who crawled into my lap.

sunset in Senga Bay, about an hour from Lilongwe

hiking in Dedza, about an hour in the other direction