Profiles in Medicine: the nu-nu’s

This is an odd profile in medicine. (And really, the motivation for this post is Noel: see below) But it is important to not underestimate the importance of the Nu-Nu’s (have no idea if that is actually how it is spelled.) Not sure who the Nu-Nu’s are? Well, let me tell you. They are the hired help (usually girls of like 12) of the nurses who have infants. They sit in a little room (or roam around the hospital) all day (or night) watching the infant until it is time for the babies to nurse. It’s like on-site day-care, with all the intellectual nurturing that 12 year-olds can give.

Below you will see a picture of a nu-nu and baby in action:

And now, the real reason for this post. Meet Noel. She’s my new, cute little sister. I’ve always wanted a cute little sister. (Marti, calm down…it’s just a joke.) Noel is the 6 month-old daughter of one of our nurses. Her two-year-old brother is Jacob (pronounced with a long “ah” sound. J-ah-cob). That’s my name too. (In Bambara, they say, “Yacuba”) So I adopted her as my little sister. And the big plus: She’s not afraid of white people, which means, unlike 95% of the children here, I can hold her.

I tried taking a picture of her one morning, and I could get her laughing, but as soon as the flash for my camera would go, she would get the, above, wide-eyed look.