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Literary Link
Monique and the Mango Rains |
| by Kris Holloway |
Kris Holloway tells the true story of Monique Dembele, an accidental midwife who became a legend. As a Peace Corps volunteer, Kris worked side-by-side with Monique for two years, birthing babies and caring for mothers in a remote village in Mali. One of the world’s poorest nations, Mali has few hospitals or social services. Childbirth is a life-and-death matter—the mortality rate for pregnant women is among the ten highest in the world. Many children under five die from easily preventable causes. “I have never lived so close to death,” Kris writes, “It was in every home, all the time.” Monique’s life was representative of many women in Mali, yet she faced her challenges in extraordinary ways. Only 24 years old when she and Kris first met, Monique was the sole midwife and health clinic operator to a village of 1,400, saving lives and dispensing hope every day—much of the time with her own baby strapped to her back. Despite her fiercely traditional society and her limited education she fought for her beliefs—the right to contraception, the right to receive a salary, the end of female genital cutting, and the right to educate her daughters—creating her own path.
From witnessing her first birth to the night of Monique’s own tragic death, Kris draws on her experiences, graduate studies in maternal and child health, medical and clinic records, letters and journals, as well as conversations with Monique, her family, friends and colleagues, to give readers a unique view. Her story is one of tragedy, joy, love, rebellion, and of an ancient culture close to the edge of survival in the midst of change. Those women who, like Monique, labor to improve the situation of their sisters are their country's hope and its future.
To read Monique's story, order a copy of Monique and the Mango Rains through http://www.moniquemangorains.com/.
Discussion Questions
Pathfinder invites you to share Monique and the Mango Rains with friends and family, and start a dialogue about the book and how Pathfinder’s work helps make motherhood safe for women around the world.
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“From a Westerner’s point of view, the lives of women in Mali, across all ethnic groups and especially in rural areas, are not easy. Most women are married by the age of eighteen and have seven children…one of the highest fertility rates in sub-Saharan Africa. The maternity mortality ratio…is among the top ten highest in the world. Less than 6 percent of women use any type of modern contraception. Over 96 percent have had some form of genital cutting performed during infancy or childhood.”—Monique and the Mango Rains
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- Were you surprised by what women face during pregnancy and childbirth in countries like Mali? How does this book shed light on the needs of women, mothers, and midwives around the world?
- Pathfinder believes that reproductive health is a basic human right. Did that value come across in the book? Did Monique and Kris share similar values? Why were those values adopted/not adopted in their town?
- For more questions, and to read an interview with Kris Holloway, click here.
If you would like to share your response to this feature, please email communications@pathfind.org.
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