Sick tonight

I had to come home early tonight because I was sick. It doesn't happen often and certainly not bad enough to go home but you just know when you have to stop. As I was driving home I was feeling a bit sorry for myself and thinking how much I hate that feeling of nausea. I stopped however when I remembered something a friend who works in International Development told me earlier today. Apparently each year of primary education a woman has received in a developing country will increase her child's mortality by a year. I couldn't work out why but it's really very simple - at primary school we learn basic hygiene like always washing your hands. And, importantly, we learn how to read which is of crucial importance if you're administering medicine to your children. Yet again it puts it all in perspective. We all get sick from time to time but at least in this part of the world few of us will die from straightforward bouts of sickness!