Purple Hands - eBooks.

Purple Hands:
A Kiwi Nurse-Midwife’s Response in Times of Crisis

By Barbara Walker QSO

Discover the extraordinary journey of a Kiwi nurse-midwife, whose faith and resilience guided her through decades of humanitarian crises around the globe.

Read this book to:

• Gain insight into the challenges and triumphs of global humanitarian aid work.
• Be inspired by real-life stories of faith, courage, and compassion.
• Understand the realities faced by refugees in times of crisis.
• Learn how resilience and trust in God can overcome adversity.
• Discover practical lessons for making a difference in your own community.
• Experience the transformative power of cross-cultural service and partnership.
• Find encouragement to pursue your calling, no matter the obstacles.
  

Features

• First hand accounts from refugee camps and disaster zones worldwide.
• A blend of professional expertise and personal faith reflections.
• 12 pages of captivating colour photos from Barbara’s journey.
• Detailed insights into midwifery, healthcare, and crisis management.
• Inspiring examples of cross-cultural partnerships and humanitarian efforts.
  

You are buying a zipped file containing eBook editions of this 206 page book in PDF, ePub and Mobi formats. (2020) 

ISBNs:
Mobi 9781988572437
ePub 9781988572444
PDF 9781988572451

Language: English
B/W text, 12 pages colour photos

Description
What drives someone to leave behind comfort and safety to serve in the world’s most challenging environments? In Purple Hands, Barbara Walker—a Kiwi nurse-midwife and ordained minister—shares her remarkable story of faith, courage, and compassion.

Drawing on 20 years of experience in international aid, Barbara takes readers to refugee camps and disaster zones across Asia and Africa, where she faced incredible challenges, from makeshift bamboo hospitals in Thailand to life on the front lines in Somalia. Her gripping accounts of caring for displaced families, delivering babies in dire conditions, and navigating cultural complexities will inspire and move readers deeply.

But Purple Hands is more than just a memoir; it’s a testament to the power of faith, resilience, and teamwork. Barbara reflects on the lessons learned through her work and her commitment to making a difference in an unequal world. With vivid storytelling and heartfelt honesty, she invites readers to consider how they, too, can contribute to positive change.

Complete with stunning colour photographs and a foreword from esteemed colleagues, Purple Hands is a riveting and hope-filled read for anyone drawn to humanitarian work, faith-driven service, or the transformative power of compassion.

Click for: Print book • Audiobook

Praise for Purple Hands

“You are in for a riveting read. Expect to laugh a lot and maybe cry a bit. Barbara, one of my former highly valued colleagues in Pakistan, is one of God’s more intrepid and dedicated servants.” Ruth Coggan MB, ChB, FRCOG, OBE, SQA

“Every now and then God sends into the world a special person, a high achiever with a great passion for demonstrating Christian work. Barbara is that person.

Barbara sometimes lived on the edge of war zones. She took her extraordinary nursing and administration skills into desperate situations around world. Her resilience, bravery and perseverance are a shining light, benefiting humanity in many different countries.” Rosemary Holt (Fellow aid worker)

About the Author

Barbara Walker was called by God to become a missionary nurse at the early age of 13. Little did she know that she would end up working in some of the toughest places in the world over several years.

She has had a multitude of roles including nurse, midwife, eye surgeon, anaesthetist, dentist, car mechanic, vet, plumber, carpenter, health manager, and she is also an Anglican Priest.

Barbara has recently retired. S Lead Chaplain at the Hawkes Bay Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital in Hastings, New Zealand, and a Regional Chaplain Manager for the Interchurch Council for Hospital Chaplaincy.

The Bible verse, 1 Thessalonians 5:24 “The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.” has remained very special for Barbara. It has given her great strength to keep going, seeking to save lives and do her best as she faced challenges and situations which were way beyond her ability to handle, including a death threat and serious illnesses.

Contents

• Foreword

1. First the End…Then the Beginning

• And then one day, everything changed
• An update from the police

2. Roots

• Starting out
• Heading north
• The family is complete

3. A Seed is Planted

• Challenges

4. Earning my Stripes

•  I made it!

5. A Rocky Start
6. The Diameters of the Pelvis
7. Friendships
8. ‘I Get My Directions from God, not Man…’
9. Mission, Marriage and Me: A Time to Reflect
10. ‘You Won’t Ever Make it!’
11. One Door Closes, and Another Opens Wide
12. Sakeo One Refugee Camp, Thailand, 1979: Baptism of Fire
13. Bamboo Hospitals in a Bamboo City
14. Another Happy Coincidence
15. Back to the Largest Bamboo City in the World
16. The Boat People: Desperation, Danger and Hope
17. Night Sisters, Rules, and Restrictions
18. Heat, Dust, Little Water, and Purple Hands

• An unfortunate start

19. Midwifery in Somalia: What Challenge Can Teach Us
20. Wind, Rain, and Other Acts of Nature
21. Christmas in a Refugee Camp

• Teach a Man to Fish…

22. New Year’s Eve in Nairobi, 1980
23. More Adventures Await
24. At the Mercy of the Banks of Africa
25. Up in the Air, and in God’s Hands
26. Farewell Somalia, Hello Calcutta

• Sisters of Mercy

27. Nepal
28. New Directions: The World Vision Disaster Response Team

• Liverpool
• Going to church can be dangerous

29. New Culture, New Location, New Challenges

• Pennell Memorial Hospital, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan.
• Bannu Beginnings
• If you don’t ask, you won’t get!

30. Midwifery on the Front Line: Extraordinary Circumstances and Extraordinary Measures

• Questionable practice
• Neonatal Tetanus
• Prolapsed cords
• Blood transfusions
• Internal version breech extractions
• Exchange transfusions on new-born babies
• ‘Call the flying squad!’ ‘I AM the flying squad!’
• The building of a new midwifery unit

31. Life in Bannu
32. Interlude: from Bannu to Ethiopia

• Ethiopia: First impressions
• Everyday life in the camp
• Politics in the field
• Some time away
• An unexpected proposal

33. As Kiwi as…

• On the receiving end of care …
• You can take the Kiwi farm girl out of New Zealand…
• Time for self-care
• A death in the family
• Goodbye, Bannu!

34. Back Under African Skies: Kenya, 1988

• Kapedo Mission Hospital
• The Kenyan Nursing Council and me
• On the Sudanese border
• Left to die: A cultural dilemma

35. Zambia, via Sweden and England

• A tough decision to be made

36. A Fresh Beginning

• Zambian Nurses’ Council
• The HIV and AIDS epidemic
•  ‘A new red dress and new shoes; ready to dance for Jesus.’
• My interpreter
• A new addition to the hospital
• Stepping up to every challenge
• Resuscitating our smallest patients
• Premature babies and Kiwi ingenuity
• Free time in Mpongwe
• Family, friends and God
• Back to the classroom
• Moving on

37. Tanzania

• Our work
• Graduation of our trained HIV/AIDS educators and counsellors
• The robbery
• University, here I come!
• Rwanda
• Why God, why?
• Traditional healers
• ‘Barbara, they want to circumcise you.’

38. More Challenges to Come

• Return to Tanzania – HIV Aids Consultant for World Vision
• Family visit
• The truck drivers and the prostitutes
• Expelled from Tanzania
• The day a letter arrived
• Somalia, here I come again
• The day I just wanted to die
• The closing of one door, the opening of another
• Brunel University graduation day

39. Three Weeks to Learn Portuguese: Yeah, Right!
40. Coming Home

• I am safe
• A time of reflection
• Reacquaintances
• Re-entry
• Reflections

41. A Time for Recognition

• Fellow of the College of Nurses of Aotearoa New Zealand
• New Zealand Queen’s Birthday Honours, 2000
• The Margaret Golding Award
• Back to my roots
• Rebirth of the call to ordination

42. ‘Sister Barbara, You Still Haven’t Learnt Urdu!’
43. A New Direction

Index