The temperature is stifling, red-tinged dust seems to coat every surface, and the whir of many fans fills the air with a rhythmic pulsing. I am seated on a bench in a small community center in Kati, Mali, observing a training meeting for all of the relais (health care volunteers) from the surrounding villages, sponsored by CapacityPlus.
The room is packed with women wearing bright and colourful boubous. Some are cradling babies, others are scribbling down notes—but they are all intensely attentive.
Relais are the backbone of Mali’s health care system. They are most important in remote underserved villages that lack health infrastructure, where they provide advice on prenatal and postnatal care. The training session focused on a picture book developed by the Malian government and a host of NGO partners.
The innovative guide has everything from images of a woman dragging her daughter to be excised under the word “NON” in a bold red to an illustration of a couple and their baby sleeping under a mosquito net. Read more »
Kabelo Bitsang, 
