Just realized I never posted this entry.  Better later than never….

I’m sitting in the airport lounge in Kigali, Rwanda, thinking that maybe it is time for my first blog posting!  We are beginning the sad process of packing up our things to head back to Canada.  Holly has done an admirable job of documenting our adventures.  This sabbatical has been very different from our time in Europe.  We have all made friends and conquered fears and challenges.  We have also come to love this country and the people we have encountered here.  Brash, aggressive, friendly, thoughtful, committed, welcoming…these all describe our many friends and acquaintances. We have been fascinated by the way this country has moved forward since 1994, but we have also been struck by the changes that have yet to be made.  I had the opportunity to travel across the country; Mafeking, Kimberly, Pretoria, Johannesburg and Soweto, Belfast, Durban, East London, Cape Town, and many small towns in between. I have spoken with nurses, midwives, administrators, researchers, individuals working for UNFPA and the National Department of Health (including the minister of health!). My job has been to evaluate the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths in South Africa. While SA is a middle income country, the vast majority of the country is low income and a small minority are high income. Although the “middle class” is growing, there are huge disparities in terms of wealth, education and health. The maternal mortality reflects this. While SA has devoted much time and energy into assessing maternal deaths and understanding root causes, they recognize that improvements can and should be made. This is where I come in!  Interviewing people, reading reports and articles, participating in maternal death reviews at hospitals and in meetings with other African countries, has all been part of the evaluation. Though often challenging and stressful it has given me a rare insight into maternal health in Africa, and has introduced me to the most committed and hard working people I have ever met. I feel lucky!

Now we are starting to say goodbye to school friends and colleagues, packing our luggage and wondering how to get it all home!  Christmas in South Africa will be a novelty.  No white Christmas for us!  We will miss being home, surrounded by our Canadian family and friends, but we also welcome this last unique experience in a country we feel is partly our own now.  Merry Christmas to all of you who have “tuned in” to the blog!

Heather