africa

Nine hills is a journey. You follow Sarah who is in the peace corps and her struggle to help the village of Nambonkaha, in northwest Africa, learn about health, their bodies, disease and most important AIDS. Many of the villagers do know about the dangers of disease, AIDS and female circumcision, but they do not try and stop it. Sarah finds the village people fascinating. She educates them in traditional ways, flyers and classes, and nontraditional ways with plays and having the women preform in front of the whole village. You learn about the small village of Nambonkaha, but also of the larger country of Africa because Africa is made up of so many of these small villages. This book is great for people who are interested in joining the peace corps, like helping people, or love to read. It's a story that never ends, because you'll still want to learn more about Africa and these simple yet intriguing people.

In this complex debut, Peace Corps worker Erdman, who lived in eight countries growing up, takes the reader on a vivid and compelling journey into the colorful world of a small village in the Ivory Coast. Arriving in early 1998, she faced extraordinary challenges as she taught children how to read and women about nutrition and birth control, overcoming superstition, language barriers, ignorance, diseases, lack of funding, and her own personal fears. The lecherous gendarme; the many children; the old women of the village, who raise money to begin building a clinic; and Erdman's friends, local nurse Sideb‚ and his wife, Abi, are all wonderful, three-dimensional characters that liven up the narrative. Erdman's eloquent descriptions allow the reader to appreciate the scenes of cautious yet excited village women who show up each month for the healthy-baby contest and then to desperation at the description of a baby dying of AIDS. The author's sensitivity to the traditions of the villagers, the unique ways she found to overcome and incorporate those traditions in her work, and the despair she sometimes felt over the intrusion of the modern world make this a complicated but also contemplative book. Highly recommended for all libraries.-

Nine Hills To Nambonkaha is one of the best true stories I've ever read! I give this book five stars because Sarah Erdman has a brilliant talent for writing what she sees, but also writing what she feels. Nine Hills to Nambonkaha is about her wanting to help the village with their health problems. She comes from within the Peace Corps, just one woman, but in the end that's all this village needs. She opens up the eyes of the villagers by talking about issues that nobody else would dare speak outloud about. Issues like malnutrition, how to be a good mother, and the biggest " silencer" of all AIDS!! I was touched greatly when I finished this book, knowing that an outsider to the village of tradition could be known as one of their own, like a sister. Also she was welcomed and will always be remembered by the people of Nambonkaha. I was very sad when i finished the book because I was so wrapped up in all the emotions that were expressed at the end, that i never wanted her to leave. If you want a story about real poeple and what they go through every day to stay alive, Nine Hills to Nambonkaha is the one your looking for!!! A Excellent read !!!