Tell me who you are

[ande]

I'm wondering if you are midwives, current, former or to-be Peace Corps workers, women, men, old, young, none of the above, all of the above. Are you any of these?

[ghikes]

Kris - I have just finished chapter 6 and loving your book. I love esp that it is both Monique's and your story, 2 women from such different backgrounds, both with extraordinary guts to go beyond what is the expected and comfortable to create something better. I am a nurse practioner and mother of grown children. I work esp with people with diabetes - such a common disease and easily (comparatively) treated here - but probably fatal there. I've always wanted to join a medical mission - and so am avidly soaking up your experience! Gayle from CT

[amymclark75]

I'm a returned Peace Corps Volunteer and now work for the agency. Not a midwife, but an educator.

[ande]

Where were you when you were in the Peace Corps? Was your experience as life-changing as Kris'?

[KrisH]

Hi Gayle,

So glad you're enjoying the read. If you've read thru chapter 6, then you just read about Korotun's birth. That was a formative experience for me.

As for diabetes (and other chronic diseases) in Mali, I think it will become a problem as the economy grows, the country becomes urbanized, and its people eat more fat and gain more weight. There is a projection, as you probably know, of great increases in diabetes over the next 25 years in the developing world. So, if it's a medical mission you're after, there will certainly be work to do. And Mali is a great place to do it in! have you thought about where you'd want to go?

Kris