Free Downloads Monique And The Mango Rains: Two Years With A Midwife In Mali
What is it like to live and work in a remote corner of the world and befriend a courageous midwife who breaks traditional roles? Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years with a Mali Midwife is the inspiring story of Monique Dembele, an accidental midwife who became a legend, and Kris Holloway, the young Peace Corps volunteer who became her closest confidante. In a small village in Mali, West Africa, Monique saved lives and dispensed hope every day in a place where childbirth is a life-and-death matter and where many children are buried before they cut a tooth. Kris worked side-by-side with her as they cared for each other through sickness and tragedy and shared their innermost secrets and hopes. Monique's life was representative of many women in one of the world's poorest nations, yet she faced her challenges in extraordinary ways. Despite her fiercely traditional society and her limited education she fought for her beliefs birth control, the end of female genital mutilation, the right to receive a salary, and the right to educate her daughters. And she struggled to be with the man she loved. Her story is one of tragedy joy, rebellion, and of an ancient culture in the midst of change. It is an uplifting tribute to indomitable spirits everywhere. Monique and the Mango Rains is a fascinating voyage to an unforgettable place, a voyage spent close to the ground, immersed in village life, learning first-hand the rhythms of this world. From witnessing her first village birth to the night of Monique's own tragic death, Kris draws on her first-person experiences in Mali, her graduate studies in maternal and child health, medical and clinic records, letters and journals, as well as conversations with Monique, her family, friends and colleagues, to gives readers a unique view and a friend in West Africa. Latest printing includes "2012 Postscript." Not-for-sale instructor resource material available to college and university faculty only; contact the publisher directly.
Paperback: 215 pages
Publisher: Waveland Press; First Edition edition (July 20, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1577664353
ISBN-13: 978-1577664352
Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 6 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (159 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #19,460 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #13 in Books > Medical Books > Medicine > Internal Medicine > Obstetrics & Gynecology #71 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Anthropology > Cultural #326 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Specific Groups > Women
I love the music of Mali. Love how the songs of Ali Farka Toure and Boubacar Traore are about community --- farming and water and schools. And a passionate, exciting CD called Divas of Mali taught me that however poor Mali is --- and it's the fifth poorest nation on the planet --- women in Mali are encouraged to sing. And is that not positive as well?When she got her letter from the Peace Corps in 1989, a college senior named Kris Holloway knew a few things about Mali I seem to have overlooked. Like: Forget singing --- it's a particularly hard place for women. Most marry by 18 and have 7 children. Mortality rate for pregnant women: about 1 in 12, among the 10 highest. Genital cutting? In Mali, it's almost universal.And yet here is Monique Dembele, the young midwife in Nampossela, doing amazing work against ridiculous odds. The town's birthing house stinks. A storm has ripped off a corner of the roof. The heat is oppressive. But it is one place where men may not go --- though she has little medicine and modest training, Monique rules here.The Peace Corps has sent Kris --- the first white person ever to live in this village of 1,400 --- to be Monique's assistant. The friendship is instant. But who wouldn't be inspired by Monique? She has an unfaithful husband. Her father-in-law, a village elder, gets her pay and skims off so much for himself and his son that she can't take good care of the household. And yet Monique is one of life's ebullient spirits: ever-positive, warm-hearted, always looking to help others.This book is many things --- a reminder of our good fortune in the West, a granular look at another culture, an appreciation of the rich variety of human experience --- but I like it best as an account of a friendship.
This is such a fitting tribute to a brave, strong woman that no one outside of her country would have had reason to read about if it weren't for a good friend she made in a Peace Corps volunteer. Monique was a midwife in a small African village, surrounded by a war-torn country and constantly defeated at every turn by a patriarchal society and a lack of some of the most basic resources needed to survive. She was a real-life hero, sacrificing her own happiness to do what she knew was her duty - educate women in caring for themselves and their children, educate villagers about personal health and medicine, and save lives through her own rudimentary medicinal skills. Monique made the best of what she had to work with. She found ways to increase her own knowledge, found resources where there were none to be found, and found ways to discover joys in the simple life she led.The author, Kris Holloway, tells Monique's story with such an obvious personal interest that it can't help but grab your attention and hold it. Her love for this woman, the village they worked side-by-side in, and the country that is not in any way kind to its women, seep under your skin as you read this well-written memoir. It is upbeat and optimistic, even as it has to tell the harsh realities that many of us have never had to face about life. It is matter-of-fact about things that cannot be changed, and passionate about things that must, one way or another, change for the better. It is never tiresome, boring, or whiny - in fact, it is surprisingly free of any of the negatives that can come from someone writing about a time or a person they may have romanticized, or their own role in such a story.I'm so glad of the chance to read about this woman and her fascinating culture.
Monique and the Mango Rains: Two Years With a Midwife in Mali Children's book: The Magical Mango Tree: The blooming secret of the mango tree in Venezuela, a success story for Early-level readers ages 6-8 Why Don't Sheep Shrink When It Rains?: A Further Collection of Photocopier Folklore Call the Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy, and Hard Times Ina May's Guide to Breastfeeding: From the Nation's Leading Midwife Motherwit: An Alabama Midwife's Story The Midwife's Apprentice Mansa Musa and the Empire of Mali The Royal Kingdoms of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay: Life in Medieval Africa Old Mali and the Boy (New Windmills) The Bite of Mango Ancient West African Kingdoms: Ghana, Mali, & Songhai (Understanding People in the Past) La Casa en Mango Street The House on Mango Street Koyal Dark, Mango Sweet Where is the Mango Princess? A Journey Back from Brain Injury Mali Under the Night Sky: A Lao Story of Home Sundiata: Lion King of Mali Two by Two: Tango, Two-Step, and the L.A. Night Behind the Scenes, or, Thirty Years a Slave, And Four Years in the White House
