A Way Of Life Is Ending. Thank Goodness.

Ancient Diseases Are Finally On Their Way Out
RWANDA - MAY 11: A recovering child with mother and doctor in a pediatric malaria ward. Butare, Rwanda. (Photo by David Evans/National Geographic/Getty Images)
RWANDA - MAY 11: A recovering child with mother and doctor in a pediatric malaria ward. Butare, Rwanda. (Photo by David Evans/National Geographic/Getty Images)

IMAGINE having to pick just one of your children to save, while leaving the others to face death.
On the Ground.

One of my most searing experiences as a reporter occurred in Cambodia, where I met a woman whose daughter had just died of malaria and who was left caring for seven children and grandchildren.

The woman, Nhem Yen, showed me her one anti-malaria bed net and told me how every evening she agonized over which children to squeeze under it — and which ones to leave out and expose to malarial mosquitoes.

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