Nine Hills to Nambonkaha

Erdman relates the stories of the two years she spent as a Peace Corps volunteer in a small village in the Ivory Coast in Africa in the late 1990's. I had to look up the copyright date after I started the book; was the book taking place in the 1990's or the 1890's? It could have been either based on the lives of the villagers. No running water, no electricity. Mothers didn't know the birthdates or even the ages of their children. Very little reading or writing. No knowledge of birth control or ways to combat disease. Little knowledge of the outside world.

Where should Erdman, assigned to the little village as a health care worker, start? She begins to teach the mothers about their babies, how to help them gain weight, getting them immunized, and gradually begins to help them learn about ways to avoid getting AIDS and about birth control. In the end, she feels a deep sense of accomplishment in her work in the village.

My new favorite travel story.