Since I was a teenager I dreamed of working in Africa. In 2019 I had an opportunity to speak at a conference in Namibia, but I still longed to do more. When my friends Pat and Becky invited me to work with Nomad Foundation, I was very excited.
I have been doing global work in low and middle income countries since 2010. My work has focused on midwifery education and midwifery centers. I’ve lived in Haiti, Guatemala and most recently, Bangladesh, so I felt prepared for the travel and any challenges we may face in Niger.
Every country has a special experience, and I couldn’t wait to discover Niger’s. But Niger was filled with them. The desolate beauty of the open country– the wide sky, dinosaur tracks, natural pools in the desert, and brilliant stars– the land was always inviting me to see more. Every night I would lay out on a rock and stare at the milky way. But it was the people and the culture that filled me the most. Nights were filled with laughter, guitar playing, clapping and dancing and our days were filled with an eagerness to learn and more laughter. It seemed wherever we were, enjoying that place and the people there was the most important lesson to learn.
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