Community Health Workers

Friday, July 3rd, 10:15 am

In the northern part of Afghanistan - near the site of the 1,700 year Buddhas', there is a heroic community of mountain people who have been providing health care to their neighbors for decades. Back in 2004, I met two women in this region who were trained community health workers. They walked me up and down the mountain side until I almost passed out. They deliver babies, medicine and health information. They walk for six to twelve miles a day through rocky, snow covered paths to serve their community. The day we spent together we were visiting the family of a young woman who had tried to kill herself by setting herself on fire. When I asked these two health workers if they believed the young woman had really done it to herself - they told me depression and suicide are common problems in Afghanistan. I wonder if things have improved.