Checking out the Birthing Huts in Moyamba
Andrea Fandrich
November 21, 2011

About a month ago, I gladly accepted an assignment from CAUSE’s Canmore office to go down to Moyamba and take pictures and reports on each and every birthing hut CAUSE has helped build in Moyamba. 

I always love going to Moyamba and seeing the staff down there as well as working with anything that relates to my passion for health care, so this seemed like an exciting task for me to take.

It was definitely exciting. It was also difficult, time consuming and, quite literally, painful. Over the course of about 4 days, I spent about 9 hours in a truck and 18 hours on the back of a motorbike, going to some of the most remote places on this planet. In some villages I was officially the first white person to ever set foot there.  I had to hike a few miles, cross a few rivers, and go down some very rough roads, (some weren’t even roads, just foot paths.) Even though my tailbone was blistered and bruised, and my whole body hurt for a day, I managed to see all 10 birthing huts and take plenty of pictures of new moms and their precious babies.  I was exposed to some brand new cultural experiences and had a great time chatting with my driver. 

All in all, the adventure was definitely worth the sore body and I am very glad I did it. After a couple days rest I am feeling back to normal and ready to catch up on all the work I need to finish in my last week and a half here.