It is amazing that I am now at last again on South African soil, since my previous trip here was in December.   I am at home in my soul in a way that is unique for my travels.   I am breathing in the salty air from the Indian Ocean, feeling the hot rays of the […]

July 31, 2009 It is Friday afternoon, and I am in the Johannesburg Oliver Tambo Airport preparing for my journey back to New York where I will arrive Saturday morning.  I left South Africa and Swaziland at the beginning of July, only to return two weeks later to put together the project that I am […]

July 13, 2008 It is hard to believe that I am in my fifth week of working and living in South Africa.  I am doing really well in acclimating to new work, new home, and new challenges. I moved into a small place in a seaside town called Gonubie, just outside of East London.  It […]

September 15, 2007 Dear friends, I have now been back in New York for two weeks, immersed in teaching at Columbia University and reunited with the women and families at the Bronx birthing center, as well as my own family.  I have had time to reflect on my work and need to share with you […]

JENNIFER DOHRN, CNM, is Director of Midwifery Services at the Childbearing Center of Morris Heights, the Bronx, New York, the first birthing center in the United States to serve inner-city women of diverse backgrounds.  Jennifer also directs the midwifery education program at Columbia University School of Nursing.  She has been working in South Africa to […]