Rushing somewhere...

Well I left Lilongwe just before 6am and arrived in Mzuzu just before 11am - long drive with many blip opportunities again had I not been driving! I was just glad to arrive safely after missing goats, cows, donkey carts, ox carts, dogs, chickens, bicycles, people and of course cars, lorries and buses! Driving here is not a joke - you have to be alert all the time in case anything runs out in front of you! There were only about 6 broken down lorries today which is rather less than usual!

Once I got back it was straight to the office where there is a lot to do as I leave again on Thursday en route to South Africa for a conference! So I did not have a chance to take any pictures.

After work I was tired and still am - I just went to the gate and snapped a few people walking past and this is one of the pictures - looks like a mother and her children rushing somewhere! I wanted to take this to illustrate how caregivers (who can be a mother or a guardian or anyone caring for the child) carries the baby on the back.

This is a very traditional way of carrying children especially if the caregiver has a long way to go and wants to get there in reasonable time. However, working in Early Childhood we are trying to encourage caregivers to allow their children to have some time crawling on the ground, and moving around. Children are often kept on the back for long periods of time and has in some extreme cases delayed development of the young children - physical development, cognitive development and even language development.

Thank you for all the comments on my blip for yesterday - its great to see all your blips too!