Notice the byline on this post? Yes, the ‘USAID-funded researcher’ is none other than our middle daughter, Michelle. And yes, she is one whose voice was silenced on 1/20/2025. A few weeks ago, Michelle asked if she could share her perspective with my readers.
It was time.
PART 1: War and Life
The room was small.
Not much more than a cinderblock room with some chipped paint. There was a small bed that looked more like a massage table, some buckets in the corner, some posters on the wall, and some equipment on another table. No electricity. No running water. There were two windows, positioned across from each other to provide a good cross-breeze, covered in light fabric curtains. The windows had no other covers – no glass, no screens. They were nothing more than intentional holes in the wall.
The window style is not unusual in Africa, in fact it is very common in schools, so normally it would not strike me as noteworthy. But this was at a health clinic. This room, in fact, was a birthing room. One of four in the clinic’s maternity ward.
I was there to check on the equipment, among other things, as part of a monitoring mission in the middle of an active conflict zone in Ituri province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
This was for the non-governmental organization (NGO) I worked at that had helped build the clinic, train the doctors and staff, and provide medical supplies. I noted that the supplies were indeed received and were being properly sterilized and stored. I had long conversations with the clinic staff about proper procedures, safety, sanitation, privacy, and other topics.
I secretly thought to myself that I would never want to give birth in this room, for, while it was clean and sterile, it looked uncomfortable, and the window setup would make me self-conscious. Could there be any privacy? What about dust getting in?
l-r: photographer for the NGO’s communications team; sorting through equipment with clinic worker (shown); member of the NGO’s monitoring & evaluation team
Then the clinic director took me to the postnatal ward, to show me the beds where new mothers recovered under new mosquito nets. In the row of beds, there was one new mother – she arrived last night. Would I want to speak with her, the director asked?
Before I could answer, this woman began to thank me, telling me how this clinic saved her child and her from death. Without this clinic, she shared, she would have given birth in “the bush”, outside, while fleeing from militia and soldiers.
Who knows if she and her child would have survived.
I was wrong about the birthing room; it was luxurious indeed.
I have engaged with many people in challenging circumstances in my life as a researcher in international development and humanitarian assistance. I’ve met and played with many children, talked with many parents, had engaging conversations with teachers and administrators, given presentations to government officials, even held court with a king, in countries such as DRC, Côte d’Ivoire, Lebanon, Uganda, and others. This woman is one of many who live in my mind. But she is the one I think of the most.
I thought of her when the President signed the executive order to “review foreign assistance” on inauguration day. I thought of her again three days later, when the Secretary of State and the acting USAID Administrator decided that the executive order was not strong enough and issued “stop work orders” for all projects. And she is the one I have thought about every day since. To me, she symbolizes the vulnerable who will pay the price for any mistakes and errors that the powerful make in their careless, hasty efforts to pursue their agenda.
Next – Part 2: Chaos and Destruction
All photos: Michelle L. Solorio
Header photo: USAID presence in DRC with non-governmental organization (NGO) affiliate logo scrubbed for privacy reasons
Insert photo: Outhouses, DRC
For Non-Exhaustive List of Additional Reading click here
Thank you so much for sharing this piece. It’s beautifully written and makes it possible to understand what’s happening so far from our own homes. I appreciate how much a perspective can shift just by talking with people who live in the space.
You’re more than welcome, Laura. IMHO: The WP community is a gentler version of other social media platforms. A place where one can take time to present, ponder and engage with more depth in the subject matter written and with the comments.
Thank you for reading, Laura. I am grateful that there are people like yourself who are genuinely open to understanding and learning from others and, perhaps, a shift in perspective as you mention.
L Marie said what I was thinking. To just stop helping people one day for no reason other than greed… welp, I cannot fathom it but here we are. Thanks for sharing this story here.
[Fingers crossed my comment goes through.]
Thanks Ms Bean for chiming in with your added support! And, your comment came through – whew – (it just takes me awhile to reply)
Sadly, that is where we are, but thankfully there are people who are noticing. Thank you for being part of the support team.
This is a heartfelt and insightful post. Thanks Michelle; it’s firsthand accounts like yours that give a voice to the voiceless. Much appreciated!
❤️
Thank you for your kind words. Centering the voices and perspectives of those with whom I partner and serve is so important but finding ways to do so is not always easy. I’m grateful my Ma is willing to share her platform to enable this small act of giving voice.
<3
A moving change of perspective regarding the birthing room.
I know we have our own problems here in the U.K., but I do look on with much disquiet and despair about what is going on in your country too. It must be so difficult for you who are living through it. The hope I have for all of us is time – nothing lasts forever and no administration lasts forever.
Thank you for your thoughtful response, Andy. As is common, you and I are on the same page – there is always hope.
Thank you for reading and for your hopeful outlook. I, too, hope that time will bring action and positive change.
I am inspired and impressed by you & your work. I am so proud to call you my wife! Thank you for sharing your story and I look forward to reading more.
Thank you, David. I’m proud to have such a supportive husband 🙂
Michelle, I have always been proud of the work you were doing, and I look forward to more of your writings.
This administration has stained our international standing in so many ways. Cutting off USAID was unconscionable, bringing more pain and hunger to this world. What a sharp contrast to the work you and your co-workers were doing.
Steve, thank you for your support and for reading this piece. I agree, this has been a stain and one that keeps growing. It won’t be easy to remedy, but we can try.
Well said, Steve. Thanks for adding your supportive thoughts to the conversation here on the blog.
Michelle is one of the best. I commented on you post and her words.
Yes, she is! 🙂
And I think WP is having more technical difficulties with the comment/like aspect of our websites/blogs. Aaarg!
Sigh!
Thank you for this story. Your daughter is, well, … the apple doesn’t fall from the tree. ❤️
Jennie, I am greatly humbled by your comment. hugs
My pleasure! ❤️
Thank you for reading the story. I am honored you think I am in the same caliber as my Ma, thank you.
You certainly are, Michelle. Best to you.
Thank you for sharing this first-hand experience. It is heart-crushing what Trump and his minions are doing with their reckless, care-less, thoughtless cuts to programs that save lives around the world. We need more stories like this. Can’t wait to read the next installment, even though I’m guessing it will break my heart.
The stories are out there, but silenced in various ways – sometimes for safety’s sake. I’m grateful & honored to be a distributing conduit of one story, my daughter’s, reflective of many. peace, flower-sister.
I appreciate that you see a need for these stories to be shared. It’s encouraging. Thank you for reading.
💕
Laura, you must be so proud of your daughter. Thank God for people like Michelle. While my expectations of those in the Trump Administration are quite low, I am still shocked by their callous indifference to the suffering and deaths they have caused. They call themselves the Pro-Life party; their actions show that they are more pro-death than anything else.
I do look forward to part 2 of Michelle’s story. Thank you for sharing her stories here.
Marie, my comrade in gentle protest/activism: thank you for your comments. Yes, I am unabashedly proud of Michelle. Especially as I’ve watched her become her own woman, living out her values, convictions and kindnesses…making a difference in her own special way.
“Indifference” is a good way to put it. It’s unfortunate that we are in a situation where even those with low expectations continue to be shocked. Although the continued shock means that people like you are still paying attention, and that means a lot. Thank you for reading.
We have friends stationed in Africa who have made similar observations. What are we doing if the richest country in the world won’t help the poorest?
Amen & Amen.
A good question. Thank you for reading. If your friends are stationed in Africa as part of USAID work, I hope they return stateside safely. If it is part of non-USAID work, I wish them “bon courage” and lots of support.
Thank you to Michelle for sharing her experiences/perspective. I am not sure how we could take away aid that is a mere morsel of what we are lucky enough to have in the US from people who appreciate and need so much these mere morsel of our healthcare system. Thanks to Michelle for the good work she was doing before it was stopped.
I like your way of expressing this, Tierney. The image it evokes is quite impactful.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. The disparity you describe in your comment never ceases to shock me, but I’m ever grateful for people like you who can see it. Awareness is foundational to [positive] change.
Thank you for providing this valuable perspective. I’m always amazeed at how a decision that affects millions is made without any thought to how those millions will manage. It feels like “Let them eat cake.”
Aha – yes the quick dismissal of consequences of actions that’s supposed to validate those actions and ‘move on’ regardless. Sounds familiar. 🙁
We need to remember that our decisions and actions of practical aid, compassion, empathy, kindness, giving of ourselves and our (he)art, counter those dismissals – albeit not in such an obvious manner. You know, basic Golden Rule precepts. 🙂
Golden Rule, yes! When others drop the ball, someone needs to pick up the slack.
“Let them eat cake” does seem to capture the vibe, unfortunately, but it’s uplifting to know that there are people willing to see it for what it is. Thank you for taking the time to read this and for calling a spade a spade.
Thank you for posting!
Michelle, thank you for posting this. Shutting down USAID is yet another attack on defensless people, including children. It is yet another reason for the rest of the world to mistrust us, knowing that we, as a nation, no longer keep our word. Your post gives us details that bring our country’s shameful behavior into sharp focus. I will fight to end this insanity. I hope many others will too! 🌈
I look forward to part 2.
Laura, I know you must be a very proud mother to have a daughter who is working hands-on in the service of vulnerable women and children. ❤️
Cheryl, I knew you’d be right there with us…hugs
Thank you for your support. Knowing there are people out there “fighting to end the insanity” provides a much-needed motivational boost.
A powerful piece that shows how the poor are often the first to suffer. Make America Great Again is fake patriotism. Hugging a flag or peddling Bibles doesn’t make one a patriot. People like your daughter are what’s great about America.
Pete – your support is rock solid and I always appreciate it.
Thank you for your apt insight into what it means to be a patriot. It is humbling and (he)artening (to use my Ma’s style).
Thank you for sharing this!!
You are more than welcome, LA. Thanks for stopping by.
Thank you for taking the time to read it!