Small fields are ribbed with rows of mounded dirt waiting for the farmers to plant manioc, peanuts, vegetables, and maybe some corn. Women, most with babies tied to their backs, walk along the road with baskets on their heads, carrying vegetables to market. Others carry huge loads of firewood or containers of water. A group of armed young men moves off into the bush to hunt. Meat is scarce.
Few animals live here anymore.
Most of the men will return with empty game pouches. The people live in round mud huts with dry, thatched roofs. Fire is a constant threat. It's almost midafternoon, and the blistering sun beats down as SIM nurse Beth Roberts makes her way through the village. She's a little late, so she doesn't stop to chat as she usually does.