Mimi’s Village

Written by Katie Smith Milway
Illustrated by Eugenie Fernandes

In this fictionalized story about a real humanitarian problem facing many countries in the developing world today, readers meet Mimi, a girl from Western Kenya. When her younger sister, Nakkissi, gets very sick after drinking unsterilized water from the stream, Mimi learns firsthand how quickly things can go terribly wrong. With no health care provider close by, her whole family must travel on foot to a nearby village to see the one nurse who can provide the medical care her sister desperately needs. Though Mimi is relieved when her sister recovers, she wishes they could get a health clinic in her own village. Several months later, it is Mimi herself who becomes the catalyst to make her wish come true.

Author Katie Smith Milway, a former aid worker in Africa, has written an accessible global education book for children, filled with information that engenders empathy and understanding. The picture-book format with captivating artwork by award-winning illustrator Eugenie Fernandes brings Mimi’s story to life. At the end of the book, readers can find further information about organizations fighting Malaria in parts of Africa, a glossary and a map of East Africa. This terrific book would find many uses in elementary classrooms, including lessons on the basic health care needs of people everywhere. Most important, it offers opportunities for inspiring discussions about compassion, volunteerism and making a difference in one’s own community and the larger world community.