Women always seem to carry their babies on their backs whenever they work, tilling the fields, selling or buying in the market, collecting firewood and in this case chopping firewood in the camp. The baby seemed to sleep through it all. The other afternoon I happened to run by Kisoro District Hospital and dropped in and chatted with a mid-wife who started her mid-day shift a few hours ago with her six-month old strapped to her back. She had since then delivered a baby in the maternity ward and would work her whole shift that way except when it came time for breast-feeding she would stop to feed the baby. There was no one to care for the baby while she was at work. It is not unusual for a woman to carry a baby on her back, balance a load on her head and carry two heavy bags besides while walking with a man who remains empty-handed.
In the clinic we continue to find a few cases of malaria but most of the children seem to be afflicted with cough and diarrhea and the ubiquitous tinea capitis- fungal infection of the scalp. In the late afternoon we held an informal class for the staff and we hope that they will also share some of their knowledge with us, specifically their knowledge on malnutrition.
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