This is a fascinating account of an Ecuadorian physician working as a health coordinator in refugee camps among the Chewa and Yao people in two countries challenged by important political and historical transformations: Malawi and Mozambique.

While working with the French organization Medecins Sans Frontieres, the author witnessed the horror of the long civil war in Mozambique, becoming one of the first health professionals to access a guerilla training camp for child soldiers.

Stories of cruelty and sacrifice, international health and technical cooperation, traditional medicine, the daily struggle against malaria and AIDS, the refugee drama, and the social and political changes of the region, are vividly described throughout the book from the perspective of a Latin American professional.

This is a book of interest for the general public, people in the health profession, and for students interested in community and international issues who wish to understand the evolving African reality.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Benjamin Puertas Donoso finished his medical studies at the Universidad Central del Ecuador and obtained a Masters of Public Health at the University of Illinois. He has served as Associate Consultant for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in Washington D.C. and currently works at the PAHO office in Ecuador, and continues teaching at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito. 

CATEGORY
Travel, Health/AFRICA