Antanimbaribe is a village in the Bemaraha Region in Madagascar that we visited for the first time a few weeks ago. On our second visit, we stayed overnight. We took advantage of the darkness in the evening to do an open-air cinema, showing a film.
Afterwards, we visited other villages. In every village they appreciated and took advantage of Dr. Justin’s offer of medical help. I vividly remember one particular incident. On the previous evening, we had discussed that we would start at 9 o’clock. Dr. Justin and I were at the helicopter at 9, ready to fly to the next village.
While we were waiting for Denis, a group of people from a different village came running. They had heard the helicopter the evening before and now hoped to get medical help for a young boy with breathing problems. Dr. Justin immediately started treating the obviously very weak infant. The medication he used took effect very quickly, so that the small child was soon feeding at his mother’s breast again.
In the end, I was glad for our “delay”, because the child could be helped. Illnesses like that can quickly become life-threatening for infants in the bush.
Nick
