A Mother's Love

So the other day Colin and I were coming back from Kara in the Monastery’s van. About halfway back, roughly 12 km, the van pulled over on the side of the road right up next to a young woman carrying a baby. As a little sidenote, the baby sacs they have here are sweet. Basically anyone carrying a child puts the kid on their back as they lean over and then wrap a long piece of cloth around and tie it up in front. It’s a little bit cheaper than a baby carrier and a little more natural when you think about it. Anywho, she happened to be the daughter of a monastery fieldworker and was on her way back from Kara – by foot. I was told by one of the monks in the van that her baby had fallen gravely ill and that her husband had abandoned them due to the monetary strain that providing for a sick baby would take on him. So she had walked to and from Kara the week before to set up the appointment at the hospital and had to return about a week later in order to see a doctor. We were picking her up on the final return trip.

To put this in perspective, it takes about 2 hours to bike the 20+ km from Agbang if you are peddling your ass off. Otherwise it can take between 2.5 and 4 hours to make the trek from the village, by bike. The monastery is about 2 km from the village and she lives another 2 km back through the bush. And the hospital is up on the mountainside on the far side of Kara. So she walked roughly 28 km one way. Needless to say, for a single woman burdened with a sick child it is a two-day trip when eating and sleeping are factored in. In total she walked 116 km in 8 days (2 separate 4 day trips), waited for who knows how long in the hospital, and did it all in flip-flops. Just some food for thought, but think about that the next time you are sitting in a waiting room wondering if you’re ever going to see the doctor. And keep in mind that while you’re there you most likely don’t have a child who is on the brink of death.