Baby Girl, tiako ana, we love you

What does it feel like to have everything important to you, all that you love, vanish before you? Last night I could feel the weight of sadness fall over my village, as we had just received news that one of our own beloved had just hours before passed away. She was the daughter of my friend Hugette. She was merely 1 and a half years old, beautiful, with a sunny disposition. Her name was Cynthia. She had suffered immensely for two weeks, having lost dramatic weight, swollen lips, and could not hold any form of sustenance down. The doctor could not figure out what illness was afflicting this infant. I can still hear her piercing screams of anguish in my mind along with her young mother's worried face. They had left on a brousse a couple nights ago and the next morning when Hugette had reached the hospital in Tana it was too late. This is a bit hard for me to write but I feel its important that we understand that there was little Hugette could do. How can I blame her for what had happened to her little girl? She couldn't afford the taxi-brousse freight. I had found out to late about her illness, and by that time it seem that she was on her way to recovery as her swelling had calmed down, her diarrhea had stopped, and she had started eating again.

I don't know how I can express this more but everyday, especially on this day let us be thankful for our health and access to doctors. Rest in Peace Cynthia