I’m also very lucky to be able to do this kind of work. Every culture has something that it can teach us. In Ethiopia, there’s a long tradition of giving a mother a certain type of porridge with butter immediately after she gives birth. And there’s a coffee ceremony, too. We try to bring those things to our facilities there, so new mothers are more comfortable. I always think to myself that it is such a beautiful way to treat mothers postpartum. I mean, really, who doesn’t like the smell of freshly brewed coffee and porridge?

I’m not going to say, though, that everything is easy. We have worked in more than 150 developing countries, getting needed services to people, training doctors, nurses and midwives. Often, trying to understand and change cultural perceptions about pregnancy, birth and gynecologic issues, like cervical cancer screening, can be tough. But it’s so worthwhile to see healthy women and children.

I do have to chuckle just a little when people think security checks are difficult in the United States. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, departures are an all-day affair. The first stage is a visit to an airline hub in downtown Kinshasa. We do that early in the morning. It’s a crowded place, with few procedures. So what you wind up doing is standing in one line until someone tells you that’s the wrong line.

Once you find the right line, luggage is weighed, opened and searched. Then, you’re questioned by several officials, each of whom scrutinizes your documents. Then you are searched. After about three hours of that, my team and I will head off to visit a health clinic. Then, we head back to the airport three hours early to make a late-night flight, about 10:30 p.m. Once we get back to the airport, we’re told to find our luggage in a pile of suitcases and then are directed to a series of lines, and the routine begins again. Our luggage is weighed and searched, documents scrutinized, and we get another pat-down. At the last count, we had to go through 18 checkpoints before we were cleared to board. And people think Kennedy Airport is tough.

I don’t like flying in small planes. On one flight in Uganda, I was on a 12-seater. The plane hit turbulence and the pilot tried to land, but he had to pull up and circle. The plane was shaking and rumbling. A woman across the aisle from me whipped out her rosary and began praying. The plane felt as if it was dropping like a rock. I’m looking at the praying woman and feeling the plane shudder and I figured, O.K., this isn’t good.

I was traveling with a colleague who, surprisingly, was fast asleep. I figured if I was going to die I wanted to share some comforting thoughts with someone I knew. So I woke him up. He looked a little groggy. I told him what was going on, which, I suppose, isn’t the best news to hear when you’re still half asleep. Obviously, we landed safely, but I’m not sure my colleague has ever quite forgiven me for waking him up only to tell him we might be dying soon.

By Leslie Mancuso, as told to Joan Raymond. E-mail: joan.raymond@nytimes.com.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/09/business/congo-is-home-of-the-all-day-security-delay-frequent-flier.html?partner=rss&emc=rss