water flows

loss, legacy, life

Last Thursday I lost a friend, and the women and girls of Afghanistan lost a most precious partner. 

Rosemary Stasek, one of the most inspiring, energetic and compassionate women I have ever met, died on Thursday, September 24th at the age of 46 of heart failure due to complications from the MS she was battling.  Rosemary lived in Kabul with her dear husband, Morne du Preez.  She is also survived by her parents Andrew and Patricia. I am deeply saddened at having lost her so suddenly and so early in both of our lives.

It is impossible to do justice to Rosemary when describing her personality and work. To understand this you would have to have known her.  From the day I met her in Kabul in 2004 I began to learn what a fireball she was.  Confident and fearless in her ideas, opinions and work, Rosemary set the bar high in terms of human rights, sustainable development and social justice.  

A glimpse of who she was and what she did is available on her website.

On this site you can follow the link to her charity, ...a little help. 

My own mourning of her death is manifesting itself in action.  Many of you will know me as quite a 'doer', someone who would rather make something happen than talk about it.  This is no exception.  Through her charity, ...a little help, Rosemary touched and changed the lives of Afghans around the country for the past few years.  She worked on improving the lives Afghan women and girls through supporting education, women's prisons, maternal and child health services, income generation and cultural initiatives around the country.  ...a little help also sponsors women undertaking training courses and post-secondary education in Afghanistan and abroad.

Rosemary's work must continue.  ...a little help must continue to bring positive change to women and girls in the long term. 

So what am I going to do about it?  To be honest, I don't have the answer right now.  And what happens with the charity is not really my decision.  However, I am quite sure that Rosemary would want her work to continue, not allowing all of her efforts, successes and sacrifices simply fade into history. 

I am hoping that over the next few months a group of interested individuals can discuss the charity's future.  While no single person can likely fill the large hole left by her passing, I am reasonably confident that a group of us, situated in our various cities with our various skills and networks, can commit to work together in keeping ...a little help active and effective for some time to come.   

What can you do now?  You can help ensure the survival of Rosemary's charity.  Rather than sending flowers you can make a donation to ...a little help.  Morne is asking that donations be sent in form of a cheque (kindly refrain from using Paypal right now, if possible, please) made out to 'A Little Help US' and posted to:

Andrew and Patricia Stasek, 241 W. Blaine Street, McAdoo, PA 18237, USA

If you are in Afghanistan you can make a transfer to the charity's bank account.  Contact me for relevant details. 

post-election wanderings

E-day has come and gone, yet despite the start of ramadan the election is still on most peoples' lips.  preliminary results are due to be released in two days' time and rumours abound as to whether karzai or abdullah abdullah have won and by how much.  observation missions are releasing post-election statements that vary between vague/toothless and overly praising. 

let's be clear:  these elections were neither free nor fair.  despite the reasonable exercise of democratic rights i witnessed in herat city, the electoral process was fraught with violence, fear, corruption and a severe lack of accountability. reports abound on the less-than-democratic events around the country on election day, and a few of us who have collected anecdotes from around the country are criticizing how international stakeholders can be so blind as to hail the elections as a success.

while many more polling stations were able to open than generally anticipated, it is naive to assume that what transpired outside and inside these polling stations resembled democracy. fear of violence and reprisal kept most of the electorate at home in the south of the country, with some estimates indicating an 8% voter turnout in that region. some of those who did risk their lives to come out to vote faced campaigning and intimidation.   even in the quiet city of herat i witnessed arguments among election officials and candidate agents over allegations of on-site campaigning and intimidation.  so, free?  it seems not.

what is fair about female candidates receiving threatening phone calls or feeling in danger while campaigning?  what is fair about men and women in the remote rural areas not having comparable access to voter education programmes so that when someone tries to buy their voter cards to tell them to whom to vote they have enough confidence and knowledge to resist and protect their democratic rights?

at least there is good news for those afraid of losing a digit to the taliban:  the ink, evidence of their participation, could be made to disappear from their finger with a bit of bleach, thus saving them from potential prosecution.

herat, i think

sorry, i have no photos to post as yet.  but i know you do not visit this blog purely for the visual stimulation, so, here you go.

i am in herat now.  at least, i think this is herat.  actually, i'm not even sure this is afghanistan.  i may have been re-directed without my knowledge and transplanted into another country where paranoia supersedes reason and where all the foreigners i interact with are flanked with private security details hovering but a few feet away. 

this is not my experience of afghanistan.  this is not the afghanistan i have come to know and love over the past years.  i have ejected myself from what is to me a meaningful and passionate engagement with this country and dived into a detached and frighteningly surreal reality where the people with whom i respect, admire and work alongside have become threats, or so i am lead to believe. 

mine is an alternate reality that will require reluctant adjustment.  maybe my role here can be meaningful in some way, but at this point i need some serious convincing to believe so. 

i realized last evening that i do not want to be important. i am much happier, much more myself, when i can be an average person without anything particularly important or controversial to do, when i can live a relatively normal, free life in this country. 

shifting perspectives

salaam from Kabul.

this is the first time in a while that i post a blog entry not connected to the dollar-a-day campaign.  i am back in Afghanistan, having arrived today, to take on an entirely different role as an election observer. 

despite the doubts and heavy skepticism i carry with me about my role in the grand elections machine, i am excited to see part of Afghanistan through this lens.  rather than being an independent researcher with my own agenda and the ability to self-authorize pretty much any movements, i am now being tracked, watched, monitored, guided and restricted by a dedicated team of security experts and experienced observation personnel.  let the fun begin...

i am deploying to Herat, which is particularly special for me as i have long wanted to visit and learn more about this unique town and its history.

and so i will do my best to update, inform and entertain you during the coming weeks with some blog postings from Kabul and Herat.

Akrotiri, roles

Here I am, sitting in Cyprus on British sovereign land.  A strange position to be in, no doubt.  The base and sovereign land here at Akrotiri represents the last vestiges of the British Empire, and it is historically fascinating to be using the facilities of a base from one of the last posts of the empire.

I cannot share with you any details about my work here, but I can share with you some of my reflections on my fleeting return to military 'life', as it progresses over the next 7 days.  I also cannot take photos at any point here, so I'm afraid you'll have to be happy with my rich textual description, in so far as I am able/permitted to provide this description. In sum, the next couple of blog entries may be a it dry.

moving along

This is a brief post to let you all know that i am heading to Cyrpus tomorrow for approximately 2 weeks.  That's right--just as I am getting re-settled in London, I am hitting the road once again.  This trip is part of my consultancy contract with the UK's Stabilisation Unit.  We are working on a civilian-military exercise to draw out lessons to be learned and to advise the UK government on cross-government post-conflict stabilisation planning. 

Though I cannot provide much detail on exactly what we are doing, I will aim to bring you some tidbits about my life in Akrotiri over the next 12 days.  At the very least, I hope to enjoy some of the warm and sunny weather, if not a beach or two on occasion.

DRC

My thoughts are with the countless thousands of families currently suffering the effects of conflict in the DRC.  As I work away here in Faryab, having discussions with people who are themselves poor and conflict-affected, I cannot help but think how much better off they are than those who are being displaced yet again due to violence in the DRC.  The news reports coming through on the BBC and the CBC are heartbreaking.  A diplomatic resolution and humanitarian intervention are both so urgently required.  The UN must move quickly to avert the very worst of a catastropic humanitarian crisis.

open minds, hope

I was reminded of the realities of poverty and drought this week. 

Engineer Ammanullah, the head of office for the Faryab Department of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (RRD), took me out to Qata Qala to visit a village that is not currently part of the National Solidarity Programme (NSP).  I am using the NSP as a case study of participatory development, and already have 3 NSP communities in Pashtun Kot district who have agreed to work with me.  But it is important that I have a 'control' village of sorts in order to see more clearly the impacts of the NSP.  Thus the purpose of the visit to Qata Qala was to see if Ahmadabad, this village without NSP, would be interested in working with me.

Remember that I live in a pretty poor area already--Faryab province is a severely deprived area, with malnutrition and communicable diseases running rampant.  Maymana city itself is undergoing infrastructural development to an extent, and it seems there is a middle-class emerging who are able to renovate their homes.  However, the drought has hit the city inhabitants, in addition to those rural dwellers, quite hard.  The working middle-class who have incomes are able to enjoy the benefits of living in a city with greater market trade and improved infrastructure.  However, for pastoralists, agriculturalists and the jobless, increasing market prices render even everyday items such as bread, rice and oil completely out of reach.  With no money for fresh food, people in Maymana are buying leftover bread that is normally fed to animals.  With winter approaching, many people are having to choose between fortifying their homes against winter elements or buying food.

And so, it is from this already harsh context that I travelled up into the mountains to visit Ahmadabad village.  Ahmadabad has seen no development projects or foreign funds at all.  Ten years ago most families moved from high up in the mountains to this current location where they bought land from a private landowner.  They explain that the previous location was too harsh to sustain life as there was no water and the weather was very difficult to survive.  Looking southeast from the current village, we could see the old village location, with house structures and compounds slightly visible.  Apparently there are still some families living there.  They were not able to purchase land at the new location, and so remained up in the mountains.  So, those families who moved to Ahmadabad's current location where those who had stronger economic situations. 

But the current drought seems to have wiped out most forms of capital they may have had.  Hajji Ahmad, the village arbab (village leader) explains that despite there being plenty of arable land around and a river running in the middle of the village, people cannot afford to cultivate.  Bulls for ploughing, seeds and fertilizers are beyond the reach of most.  A downward spiral has been created by the failure of crops, such that there has not been enough production to take to the market, thus there are no funds to reinvest in the land.  The land you see below will sit dry and fallow for this year. 

We saw one man with two bulls ploughing his land.  We asked Hajji Ahmad if these bulls can be shared around the village so that other people can perhaps have an opportunity to prepare their land.  His answer was no, as feeding the bulls is too expensive for most, nevermind buying the inputs required once the land is prepared.

Hajji Ahmad explained that when he eats lunch he does not have enough food to eat dinner. Please remember that an arbab is usually someone with title and status in a village, someone who owns more land, a leader.  If Hajji Ahmad, as an arbab, is lacking sufficient nutrition, how are the other village members holding up?

I am pleased that Hajji Ahmad is allowing me to conduct research in Ahmadabad, but I can't help but feel ill at ease about studying these people's hardship without bringing relief myself.  I take solace in knowing that the NSP will come to Ahmadabad, but I fear for their suffering throughout the long winter to come.

tablas, strong women, sunsets

I thought I'd share a couple of images with you from the past few days.  Thursday saw a farewell party for an old ACTED colleague, Mustafa, who has been the Head of Admin here in Maymana since 2004.  We had a splendid evening of live music, dancing and delicious food.  I had the very good fortune to be accompanied by Shopikar's beautiful 8-year old daughter Arazo.

My day Friday included shopping for Burqas with Audrey and Genevieve.  More than a few laughs were had--photos to follow later.  We then attended a workshop closing ceremony for the new female ACTED staff members.  Twenty or so women from Qaisar, Almar and Kohistan districts attended and received certificates.   I had a chance to catch up with Aziza Joya who used to run our Women's Center here in Maymana back in 2005.  I also met her daughter and enjoyed the company of lovely Arazo once again.  Aziza is now the head of the Women's and Social Affairs Department for Faryab.  It was truly a pleasure to see her again.  She is a fireball.

The last photo is of the sunset we enjoyed here this evening on the roof.  Yes, it was that dusty today.

ruminations, deliberations

A quick election update:  As most of you now by now, the Greens lost their only seat in Parliament, and the Conservatives charged ahead with 143 seats, leaving the Liberals, BQ, and NDP with 76, 50 and 37 respectively.  Thankfully Harper was held to a minority government, but not by much (155 seats is needed to form a majority government).  In New Brunswick, the Conservatives won 6 seats, the Liberals 3 seats and the NDP 1 seat. 
Interestingly, the Greens are the only party to show a net gain in number of votes--all other parties had fewer votes than in the 2006 election.  This means that despite a far lower voter turnout, the Green Party of Canada has had the best showing at the polls relative to that of 2006. 

Now to Maymana: Work is progression as it should -- slowly.  I have hired an interpreter who is from Maymana and whose grandparents are from the district in which I will be working: Pashtun Kot.  Now that I have seen him at work as he has translated for me in meetings with the Provincial and District Governors and has helped me to arrange logistics with ACTED, I think the next two weeks will go well with him helping me out.  However, he is likely to be snatched up by the Norwegian PRT out here as a translator, a job he held previously before going abroad for medical care. 

Now that the official approvals and blessings have been acquired, we are set to head out to the district to have discussions with community leaders.  Through the analysis of some preliminary data, I have prioritized 17 out of 194 NSP communities in the district, 3 of which are in a particularly appealing area of Pashtun Kot, known as Manteqa Sabz.  We may go visit some of these communities tomorrow, but since it is bazaar day in Maymana (when many people from the villages come into the city to sell and/or buy), we may hold off until Sunday, given that Friday and Saturday are weekend days. 

Of greater relevance to everyday life here:  A huge wedding hall has been erected almost directly in front of the ACTED office/guesthouse, where I am staying.  Pre-recorded Afghan music pours out of this ghastly buildling (ie., typically Afghan-chic with blue reflective windows, red flags and a horribly large red sign with culturally-sensitive images of wedding cars and parties) almost all day long.  Thankfully the evenings have been blissfully absent of marriage ceremonies since my arrival here.  Surely, according to the Maymana-ites, this new building is a sign of Maymana's development as a sparkling metropolis.  I could not agree more.

And there is now a new Pax.  My dog, Pax, from 2005 had an unfortunate encounter with an ACTED vehicle in the street a few months back.  The staff here were very happy to show me that they have acquired another puppy who they have kindly named Pax.

Other oddities that make like in Maymana more normal:  I have gained access to the military gym at the PRT compound.  This is thanks to my two new friends Catrine and Hildur (political advisors for Norway and Iceland, respectively) who acquired permission for me from the head of camp and who are willing to escort me from the gate to the gym and back each time I visit.  I am also enjoying a daily late-morning routine of shopping for various kinds of greens  and other ingredients for a salad, which I bring back to the kitchen and prepare for 10-15 people each day.   It is a very nice way to spend an hour.

And so, I will leave you now.  Warmest regards from sunny and dusty Maymana.

 

elections, maymana

Today is general election day in Canada.  While in Maymana, I am following the live results closely on the Globe and Mail website, slightly aghast at the proximity of the conservatives to the 155 seats needed for them to form a majority government.  The Greens have 0 seats thus far, but the NDP is making good headway with 32 seats at this point.  Still a few hours to go before all the polls are in.  In the Moncton-Riverivew-Dieppe riding, I am disturbed by the close race between the reds (38.5%) and the blues (36%).  Alison Menard is sitting with 8.8% so far. 

So, here I am in Maymana.  I arrived three days ago and have spent my time here refamiliarizing myself with the city with walks everyday, shopping and visiting old friends and colleagues.  The city has changed quite a bit, but it is still a comfortable place to be. Major roads are paved and there is now constant power in the city.  Having electricity changes life here dramatically--shops can play music, shopkeepers and tradesmen can use their power tools without generators, homes are lit at night across the whole city, except, notably, in the IDP camp just outside the airport.  I notice a big different at night--I used to sleep on the roof, falling asleep only to a chorus of barking dogs.  Now, I am kept awake by cars driving by and voices all around--the people of Maymana are much busier during the night hours than they were in 2005.  Construction is booming in the centre of the city--a new 3-story wedding hall has gone up across the road.  Homes all around us are being renovated, and the bazaar is buzzing with the sound of power saws and welding tools.  This is a busy time of year as Afghans across the province (and, indeed, across the country) are preparing for winter, which tends to set in around mid-November up here, particularly in the more mountainous areas.

Still, Maymana remains familiar.  Gawdi's, the horse-drawn carts, still make their way through the roads with their bells jingling at every step.  The back roads are still dusty and quiet, with children running and playing in between their chores.  The bazaar days, Monday and Thursday, are bustling and as energetic as ever.  The men in the carpet bazaar are still as warmly persuasive as they were 3 years ago.  And, importantly for the foreign female making this her regular haunt, Afghans in Maymana are curious but generally leave you to your own business as you do your shopping or wandering.  This adds significantly to the quality of life here--knowing that you can go out and not be swarmed by beggars, followed by anyone or leered at is a very big advantage to living in Maymana. 

The next few days will, hopefully, be filled with meetings with provincial and district authorities.  Hopefully by this time next week I will have a solid idea of which district I will work in, and I can then begin to communicate with communities and their leaders to determine who is willing to work with me over the next 11 months.

And so, until next time...

Me in Afghanistan: a bend in the river

I feel I am in the midst of a change in bearing.  My research and, resultingly, engagement with Afghanistan is shifting in its theme and scope.  As the PhD project continues to take shape, I can see my researcher role changing drastically.  Therefore, this current trip to Afghanistan is going to be entirely different from what I had envisioned, in ways I cannot yet articulate.  I apologize for this vague introduction to this new phase of my life, but this is very much the reality of what I am feeling.

I arrived in Kabul last evening, and was lucky enough to immediately begin catching up with old friends and contacts within an hour of landing.  I am comfortably settled in a guesthouse, with attentive and kind staff and drivers all around.  It has so far been quite lovely to reconnect with the cleaners, cooks and drivers who take such good care of me.  Former NGO colleagues, some of whom I have not seen in almost three years, have also been here to say hello.  Tonight and over the weekend I will catch up with the expat side of my social circles.  I am fortunate to arrive in Afghanistan and feel it is a homecoming of sorts. 

Kabul seems comfortably familiar, yet there is a sharp edge of unfamiliarity in the heightened tension and escalating frustration in the air.  I experienced a similar sensation when I was here in May, when the reality of volatile markets, rising oil and food prices and increasing economic disparity became all too clear to me.  Though I have only been here less than a day, I already see and feel that the tensions and frustrations are higher, with most people having lost hope for a secure future.  I can see it in the faces of the street vendors as well as on those of Afghans who have gainful employment.  The latter group of Afghans do seem appropriately relieved that they are employed, a status highly coveted in this failed/failing economy. 

On the lighter side of things, the weather here is immensely enjoyable--sunny, mid-20s, and today the sky is a striking azure blue.   I'd love to say that I'll go for a walk this afternoon, stretch my legs and soak up some of the city, but I won't.  I will take stroll through the garden instead.  This evening I am off for a BBQ at an old friend's house.

The weekend looks as though it will be filled with both work and play.  Formal and informal gatherings will hopefully fill the next few days before I head north. 

I plan to stay in Kabul until Monday, at which time I will hopefully depart for the north, traveling either directly to Maymana or through Mazar-e-Sharif.   I will stay in Maymana, Faryab's provincial capital, for a month, during which time I need to select the district and villages in which I will research over the next 11 months.  This selection process will require input from national, provincial and district authorities, and, most importantly, from local leaders and powerholders.  I must ensure that the authorities and community members are comfortable with the presence of a foreign woman over quite a long period.   Obviously the last thing any of us need is me being somewhere I am not wanted.  By the time I return to London in mid-November, I hope to have finalized which 3 or 4 villages will collaborate on this research project with me.

So, here I am, navigating the bend in the river that will lead me further along my Afghan journey.   Stay tuned to this page for more on how it is all progressing.

Here is a map to help in your imaginings of my work:

the return

I recently returned to Afghanistan after a 2 1/2 year hiatus. The trip was fantastic, emotional, joyful, frustrating and saddening.  I saw old friends (and their beautiful new babies) and visited families as much as possible.  I laid the ground for my fieldwork beginning in mid-September 2008 and garnered a good level of support for my research from ministerial offices and key aid/development actors in Kabul as well as in Maymana.  I am fortunate to have such diverse support resources, and it is having access to these valuable supports that reminds me that if anyone can carry out this research project, I can. 

My first fieldwork trip will take place in Faryab province--a relatively comfortable and familiar place to get warmed up to practicing independent research in rural settlements.  I hope to have six solid weeks to spend in up to three settlements, each in a different district.

I've received enough pressure from friends to decide to keep this blog active throughout my year of fieldwork, which, after Faryab, will take me to Kunduz and Badakhshan provinces into mid-2009 . 

So, stay tuned!

water also ebbs

thus far during my time in london i have been repeatedly struck by my vast amount of good fortune.  this is not to say that i have not worked to get where i am, as i certainly feel that i have earned this situation, but the luxuries that comprise my current life certainly have not gone unnoticed and unappreciated.  i am surrounded by friends and colleagues with whom i am able to share thoughts, experiences and feelings.  i suppose this luxury is difficult to appreciate unless you have been without it for longer periods of time.  i can now call family on a whim, i have internet 24 hours a day (if i so wish), i can communicate with  anyone i wish and i am now just a regular person, not a spectacle or the subject of relentless staring, whispering and joking.  i am incredibly fortunate to reside in a lovely home with heat and free of vermin and other pests.  i even have quite a nice view (though i doubt i will ever have such a view as was mine in mindat).  good conversation, an endless variety of food and drink, and transport to anywhere in the world are all at my doorstep.  i can buy good chocolate.  i can eat a fresh salad every day.  i can ride my bike anywhere i like without telling anyone.  i can go anywhere i like without telling anyone (though with CCTV i can still be assured that my movements are recorded).  quality books, art, theatre and music are making a reappearance in my life.  i am myself again. 

but i do miss myanmar.  i miss my friends and colleagues who taught me what it is to be strong and what reality often means under the surface.  i miss the fresh air and the stifling humidity.  i miss the values that permeate everyday lives that seem to be so far from everyday life here in london.  life just 'is' in myanmar.  it's not simple or easy, but it is life and everyone is in touch with what that means.   i know that i have experienced a myanmar that is rarely seen or heard, and this is the side of it that i miss the most.   

i am grateful to be enjoying my current incarnation here in london and look forward to reconnecting with the golden land soon enough.  i know that myanmar will remain a part of my personal and academic life though all the ebbs and flows that are to come my way.

Re-posted: Chin State Infrastructure

An Introduction to Chin State

Chin state is in northwestern Myanmar. It is the most sparsely populated of Myanmar’s 14 States and Divisions. The state is broken into North and South, with Southern Chin comprising 4 Townships (Matupi, Pawetla, Kanpetlet and Mindat). These 4 Townships are among the poorest in all of Myanmar. Northern Chin tends to be in a better socio-economic situation, due mainly to cross-border trade and development with India.

My experiences of Southern Chin are mostly of Mindat Township, though I have some connections to Kanpetlet Township as well. The project I coordinated took place entirely in Mindat Township. This township comprises 197 villages and a population of just over 29,000 individuals in approximately 5300 households. Our project targeted roughly 1/5 of the township, including 35 villages, 1190 households, 5979 individuals.

Water and Sanitation:
Mindat Township is situated in a mountainous region, with elevations ranging from 500 to 2500 meters. Most villages are situated on steep hillsides, meaning water sources can be difficult to come by. Our preliminary surveys revealed that most people had to travel between 15 minutes and ½ day to fetch water at the spring sources. There are few to no roads in Southern Chin, and as people do not have money to own vehicles (with the average locally-produced jeep costing USD5,000-8,000 and monetary incomes ranging from non-existent to USD200 per year per family), all water collection is done on foot, almost exclusively by women and children.

Because the water fetching comes at such a high cost (time, effort), quantities collected are generally too little to allow for proper sanitation practices such as personal hygiene or environmental sanitation. This has resulted in diarrhoea becoming the leading cause of death in Southern Chin. It is important to understand that the people of Southern Chin still live mainly traditional lifestyles involving traditional medicinal practices and animistic rituals (often combined with Buddhist or Christian practices). So, even if higher quantities of water were available at the household level, people would not have the knowledge or desire to use the water for preventing or treating diarrhoea. For example, traditional methods of treating diarrhoea include consuming red millet wine mixed with dog faeces, swallowing live insects or eating the meat or brain of a black dog. Traditional beliefs state that diarrhoea or malaria come from spirits (or ‘nats’) as punishment for bad behaviour. Thus it is clear that education on personal hygiene and water hygiene are crucial elements in reducing mortality rates and improving the quality of life in Southern Chin. In this context, provision of water alone will not save lives.

Health Infrastructure:
The public health system has many levels, with the lowest level being the Sub-Rural Health Centres are supposed to be located in rural villages and employ a Midwife or Assistant Midwife (the degree of formal training varying between 2-6 months) to provide basic health care to those in remote areas. Rural Health Centres (RHCs) are supposed to located in small towns in rural areas and offer services by Health Assistants and/or Midwives. Township and District Health Centres (or Hospitals) are found in larger towns such as Mindat or Kanpetlet and will have a handful of qualified physicians and Health Assistants.
The main problem in remote villages in Mindat Township is that the Sub-Rural Health Centres do not really exist. Not only are there virtually no dedicated buildings for health centres, but Midwives who are responsible for providing basic health assistance to clusters of 5-7 villages are most often from Mindat town and do not spend enough (or barely any) time outside of Mindat. When you combine the distance of the villages from Mindat (some take 1-2 days of walking and 5-6 hours of driving) with the extreme poverty in the villages, then it becomes clear that most villagers are unable to find the time or financial resources to reach the nearest Rural Health Centre or Hospital for necessary medicines or medical attention. They simply cannot reach Mindat on their own. Also, without the regular presence of educated health providers, the levels of health and hygiene knowledge in the villages and individual households are dangerously low, leading to frequent deaths from excruciatingly simple illnesses such as diarrhoea.

Next blog entry:
Traditional music and handcrafts