March 4, 2014
Martha is my nurse, or Americans would say "housekeeper". She brings me water carried on her head from the community well, does my washing, daily cleans and straightens my house, cooks and brings me meals. She is teaching me the local language, Kpelle, while I work with her on reading English. She is 19 years old, in the sixth grade at the local school, and the mother of Larry, the cross-eyed little boy.
Martha's story is not unusual for Liberia. She is from an even more remote village. She came to this village, Sinyea, to live with her aunt and go to school. She became pregnant by the son of the woman who heads the local women's association and earns her and her baby's keep by doing household chores, as well as, attending to me where the family can earn money. She is not married and in a way kind of an indentured servant. Just what her future may be is hard to predict.
Martha asked me some questions about why she was not having her periods. She is still nursing and I thought that may be the reason until she said she had a five year birth control chip implanted in her arm. She had no idea about the physiology of the chip or menstrual cycle. I gave her a box of 100 condoms which she readily took and told her to give some to her female friends.
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| Martha |
Martha's story is not unusual for Liberia. She is from an even more remote village. She came to this village, Sinyea, to live with her aunt and go to school. She became pregnant by the son of the woman who heads the local women's association and earns her and her baby's keep by doing household chores, as well as, attending to me where the family can earn money. She is not married and in a way kind of an indentured servant. Just what her future may be is hard to predict.
Martha asked me some questions about why she was not having her periods. She is still nursing and I thought that may be the reason until she said she had a five year birth control chip implanted in her arm. She had no idea about the physiology of the chip or menstrual cycle. I gave her a box of 100 condoms which she readily took and told her to give some to her female friends.
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