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Before she became a trusted voice in her community’s fight against tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, Nandipha Titana was a shy young woman—quiet, but drawn to helping others. While volunteering as an interpreter in the local family court system, she began to find her voice. While working as a translator, Nandipha was approached by a community leader from a medical research center who was seeking recruiters to work with pregnant adolescents and people struggling with substance abuse.

It had finally arrived. At a transfer point in a small village in Malawi a group of parents, elders, and local health workers stood ready. Some had brought carts; others had cleared space on boats. If they had to, they would carry it on their shoulders. Whatever it took, they would get it to the clinic. “There was a lot of excitement,” recalls Mphatso Mtenje, who was then a manager in Malawi’s vaccine management program. This wasn’t just any delivery; it was a solar powered refrigerator.

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