Miriam beginning to walk, Nigeria, ca. 1924

Black and white photograph showing two female infants, Miriam and Ruth, patients at the hospital run by the Primitive Methodist Missionary Society in Ama Achara,southeast Miriam stands on the veranda, taking early steps. A smaller girl, Ruth, sits on the ground. Other girl patients can be seen in the background. In the context of other images in the collection, Miriam was a twin girl rescued by the mission after abandonment at five months old. Twins were believed to bring bad luck in traditional Nigerian culture. The body and feet of a European missionary can be seen in the image. The caption to this image reads: "Miriam beginning to walk. Ruth with dimple!" This photograph was pasted into one of a series of exercise book albums created by Emily Godfrey, Matron of the Ama Achara Methodist Hospital.