On Holiday and Home!
It’s crazy to think that seven months has passed so quickly and that here I am, sat in Harrietcfield, writing my final blog entry. My overall experience had been incredible and settling back into life in the UK has had easy and challenging moments. Family life and home life seems oh-so-natural, but going into Perth and going to the shops is all a bit daunting! I’m sure I will get used to it in time; it’s just so strange that a week ago I was on my final Malawian bus ride…time flies.
Leaving Nchalo and the family was a very strange experience. I was very sad to say goodbye to the community which we had become so used to and especially sad to say goodbye to the Phiri family. Phoebe and Ignatius really were so good to us and what was bizarre was not knowing when we would meet again. While I fully intend on returning to Nchalo, I have no idea when, or if they will still be there. Even so, in living with the family we experienced Malawian life first-hand and built relationships which I hope will stay alive for years to come.
First stop after Nchalo was Blantyre, where we stayed with friends, went to church for the final time and were treated to lunch at a brilliant “English country pub”, called “Village Green”, in the city-a definite recommendation for anyone in Blantyre any time soon! At the same time we had to say goodbye to Tony, someone else who was so, so good to us in Nchalo. Unfortunately the “thank you and goodbye” was quite rushed and sudden and I didn’t feel that we conveyed our gratitude quite well enough, so (I’m hoping that Tony may read this) Thank You So Much, Tony!!!
From Blantyre Sophie and I went to Dedza where we met Mum, Dad and Jenny for one final night before they flew home the following day. Dedza is a very cold town up in the mountains, so we were very chilly, however pretty pottery and cheesecake served as good distractions! Once my family had left, we really began our travel time and were in Lilongwe, where we had never been before, to meet up with the other volunteers for a few nights. There were political protests lasting a couple of days which delayed our itinerary by one day, but in the grand scheme of things that’s not too bad at all! Drew, Sophie’s boyfriend, came out to visit and travel with us and we spent a lot of time travelling with Isla (another PT volunteer) and Lucia (Glasgow Uni med student who we met).
First stop was Senga Bay, our first glimpse of the lake since April. The sun was deceptively cruel and the wind made the weather seem cooler, so most of us ended up a little pink after day one, but learned to apply sun-cream every hour (at least). One of the funniest parts of our time in Senga Bay was when the owner of the place we were staying said that we could have a pan of boiling water when we asked if we could self-cater. We said “Yes, please!” and later that night were presented with a pan of water which had just come off the stove. He wouldn’t let us use the kitchen so we were stumped as to how we would cook our pasta. Luckily, Family Lovegrove had brought me some instant custard to which you just add boiling water, so we certainly did not go hungry. I think the owner was a bit disappointed that his joke hadn’t worked, but we were very smug!
From Senga Bay, Sophie and Drew went to Cape Maclear while Isla, Lucia and I went north. My trip up the lakeshore road on a coach was quite something. Picture a normal, UK sized bus, crammed with as many people on seats as possible, luggage everywhere and the isle full of people too. This journey lasted 10 hours and I couldn’t help but think how boring and uneventful public transport will be now that I am home.
We spent a few nights in the Livingstonia area, visiting the mission and the huge waterfalls. While buying a slice of banana cake in the little craft shop in the town, I spied a shop-bag with “Steenson’s” written on it. I asked if I could see it: “But it’s my bag, Madam.” “Yes, that’s not a problem, I just wonder could I see all the writing on it more closely please?” Sure enough, it was a bag from Steenson’s Jewellers, Glenarm, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland! (A jeweller very near my family in Ireland, which has sold several rings or bangles to us over the years). It was very strange but was a reminder as to how small the world can be!
After Livingstonia, the three of us hit the lakeshore, meeting Drew and Sophie off the Illala Ferry in Nkhata Bay and then spending time at Kande Beach, where we did horse riding through forest, on the beach and in the lake. From Kande we went to Nkhotakota, Dedza Pottery’s sister outlet, where again, cheesecake featured heavily and so did pottery. This time we were able to paint pottery and have it glazed and fired; a brilliant memento of my travels. Heading back to Lilongwe before flying home, everyone’s bags were more heavily laden, mainly with pottery and chitenjes. Our final weekend in Lilongwe was quite surreal but enjoyable nonetheless and on Monday morning we made our way (via matola!) to the airport.
Our journey was uneventful and after saying goodbye to everyone at Heathrow, I continued on up to Edinburgh to meet Dad and Jenny. Being home is strange; on the one hand, nothing has changed, but then again, so much is different. I have learned so much from my time away and I am very excited about university in September. I cannot put into words how grateful I am for all my family and friends being so behind me in everything that I have done, to my sponsors for helping me get to Malawi, and to everyone who has taken an interest in my Gap Year. All the emails and post brought a smile and it’s saddening to think that most of my post will now be bank statements, not hand-written cards and letters!
So, I guess it’s time to sign off and say “The End”. It’s strange to think that two years ago I signed up for my PT selection course and here I am about to go to my debriefing course, having had an incredible experience. All the fundraising, training and preparations were well worth it and given the chance, I would do it all again.
Thank you for all the support, both moral and financial and I hope to see lots of people in the not too distant future.
Tionana! (Goodbye in Chichewa)
Lots of love,
Catherine
Xxx
THE END
Saturday, 20 August 2011
Thursday, 14 July 2011
Thursday 30th June 2011-Thursday 14th July 2011
The Lovegroves are in Malawi!...what?!...seriously?!
These last two weeks have been really, really different, in a good way though. By the end of June I couldn’t believe that it was finally time for the Lovegroves to visit Nchalo. How is it suddenly July and they have been and gone?! The night before Sophie and I went to meet Mum, Dad and Jenny just outside Blantyre I got very little sleep and kept expecting to wake up and find that it was still February! We had a great few days together and did some shopping in Blantyre (getting there by hitching a lift on the back of a matola (pick up truck) due to fuel issues in Malawi!) but were much happier when we were back down in the Shire Valley showing them where we had spent the last 6 months or so. Driving down with them was surreal, not only because my family were in Malawi with me, but also because it was the last time that we will drive down the Escarpment Road during our Gap Year in Malawi. While I have hopes of returning, I don’t know when and it was sad to see the view of the whole Shire Valley as we descended from Blantyre for the final time.
The Lovegrove family visit also included a day at Nyala Park, Illovo’s game park, spotting zebra, impala and giraffes, some time looking for chitenjes in Nchalo market and a morning exploring the hospital. Jenny was keen to see more of the hospital so she and I spent time in the paeds ward with burns patients and actually ended up in theatre together watching a hernia repair. The Phiri family joined us for dinner one night and we spent time introducing my family to all the friends that we have made during our time in Nchalo. I find it hard to believe that they have now been and gone, though we have plans to meet up for one day before they fly home, and it’s even harder to believe that this is the end of our final week in Nchalo.
While I asked Mum and Dad to bring me out a few supplies, both for fun and for my travels, they appear to have brought something that I would rather they had left in Harrietfield; the weather! It’s now winter in Nchalo which means that it is cloudy and a little drizzly. I know that I moaned about the heat when we first came, but I am not equipped to deal with this cold! At least at home when it’s cold I have lots of socks, tights and jumpers…I didn’t expect to need those in Malawi! Not only is it cooler than it has been for a long time, but I am now much more used to Malawian heat, so the “cold snap” really does feel wintery. It’s worrying that from now until February the weather will just keep getting colder for me as I leave Malawi in winter, arriving home as summer ends and Scotland heads into winter…I think I will be investing in thermals!
More seriously though (but not much) seeing Nchalo in cloud is very odd and women are now wrapped in knitted cardigans, jackets and jumpers have come out of the wardrobe and the babies at NRU are swathed in countless chitenjes and blankets. There are more cases of burns in the hospital, especially on children, too. Because for 10 out of 12 months of the year (roughly) Nchalo is so hot, there is little need for fires. This means that children rarely come across them and then when it is cold and they are gathered around the fire or the stove for heat, they do not realise the dangers. Kids have been playing near the baulas, knocking over pans of boiling water or jumping over the fire, playing with their friends. The burns are so widespread on their legs or torsos and while in the UK there are specialised units to deal with this, at St Montfort Hospital they are just admitted to the paeds ward. Because there is none of the sterility that there is in UK burns’ units, often the children catch infections and recovery is not painless or smooth. I’ve spent time watching and helping to dress the wounds, and it is another side of medicine which I am so grateful to have had the chance to see.
This Tuesday we had our final HBC training session. It was brilliant and after a couple of hours of questions and discussions we gave the volunteers and Never a few things, both to help them in their villages and to say thank you. The volunteers were adamant that the sessions we have done have been useful and from their continuous questions and stories, I do think that we have helped them in a very small way to detect and deal with sick villagers. As we left, after photos, singing and dancing, I was really sad to go. I doubt that I will see the volunteers again, even if I do return to Nchalo in the near future, but I feel so privileged to have been a part of their programme. How many other azungu have been able to become part of their work in remote Malawian villages? Probably very few, if any, and I doubt that there will be many more in the immediate future. We have had an amazing insight to their work in the community and have been lucky enough to have some involvement in basic African healthcare; something that I am now more interested in than ever, hence my hope to return!
Our last week in Nchalo has been spent, in general, preparing for departure. We’ve stripped the walls of photos (they now look horribly bare and threatening!) and gathered together our travel supplies.
Today we went to the hospital with our fridge, some toys that Sophie brought back from England with her and some medical supplies too. They were really well received and the hospital administrator couldn’t believe me when I told him that I have benefitted much more from the hospital in the last 6 months than it has from me. I have a little book which all our friends have been writing messages in and the final goodbye will be said to all the hospital staff tomorrow morning.
We also went back to Sekeni to visit our old neighbours and give them some of our clothes. It was amazing wandering through the village and there was no “Azungu” chanting, instead it was “Catherine!” “Sophie!” It was amazing to be remembered and greeted so warmly. The smiles on their faces were brilliant and they were dressing up in the clothes and putting stickers all over the place. I couldn’t help but wonder at how different life would have been for us in Sekeni if we had been able to stay. It would have been different, no doubt, but I don’t think it would have been harder or easier, but the good points and bad points would just have been like chalk and cheese to those that we have had living on the sugar estate. I don’t see the point in wondering “what if” for too long because we have played the cards that have been dealt to us and had the most incredible time in doing so. It’s sad to be leaving the Phiri family. They have been amazing to us and we had no idea how to thank them for all that they have done. Last night we cooked a family meal for the final time and in doing so learned to make Malawian beans and made them brownies too, which were scoffed up no bother, though salt was still added by the family to their portions of beans!
I am reluctant to leave Nchalo and all the friends that we have made. I will especially miss all the friendly waves, smiles and laughs that are part of everyday life here and have become so normal. While I am sad to be leaving, I am excited to be spending 4 weeks travelling in Malawi and have hopes of exploring the north with Isla and then making the most of the lake; after all, that is what Malawi prides itself on!
Because I have little idea of internet access as I’m travelling, this will probably be my last blog for a while, possibly until I’m home, but I cannot be sure! So, I just want to say a huge thank you to anybody who has been reading my blog, sending letters and encouraging texts (*cough* Grandma! *cough*) and who helped me fundraise in the first place to come to Malawi. My time in Nchalo has been unbelievable and I’m not leaving Malawi yet; I’m sure the next 4 weeks will be full of fun and finding out more about the country while meeting new people. Thanks for all the support and I’ll try to keep in touch over the next month, but if that fails I hope to see as many people as possible before I head to uni in September (2 months’ time…scary!).
Hope that everyone is well and enjoying their summer,
See you soon,
Tionana,
Catherine
xxx
These last two weeks have been really, really different, in a good way though. By the end of June I couldn’t believe that it was finally time for the Lovegroves to visit Nchalo. How is it suddenly July and they have been and gone?! The night before Sophie and I went to meet Mum, Dad and Jenny just outside Blantyre I got very little sleep and kept expecting to wake up and find that it was still February! We had a great few days together and did some shopping in Blantyre (getting there by hitching a lift on the back of a matola (pick up truck) due to fuel issues in Malawi!) but were much happier when we were back down in the Shire Valley showing them where we had spent the last 6 months or so. Driving down with them was surreal, not only because my family were in Malawi with me, but also because it was the last time that we will drive down the Escarpment Road during our Gap Year in Malawi. While I have hopes of returning, I don’t know when and it was sad to see the view of the whole Shire Valley as we descended from Blantyre for the final time.
The Lovegrove family visit also included a day at Nyala Park, Illovo’s game park, spotting zebra, impala and giraffes, some time looking for chitenjes in Nchalo market and a morning exploring the hospital. Jenny was keen to see more of the hospital so she and I spent time in the paeds ward with burns patients and actually ended up in theatre together watching a hernia repair. The Phiri family joined us for dinner one night and we spent time introducing my family to all the friends that we have made during our time in Nchalo. I find it hard to believe that they have now been and gone, though we have plans to meet up for one day before they fly home, and it’s even harder to believe that this is the end of our final week in Nchalo.
While I asked Mum and Dad to bring me out a few supplies, both for fun and for my travels, they appear to have brought something that I would rather they had left in Harrietfield; the weather! It’s now winter in Nchalo which means that it is cloudy and a little drizzly. I know that I moaned about the heat when we first came, but I am not equipped to deal with this cold! At least at home when it’s cold I have lots of socks, tights and jumpers…I didn’t expect to need those in Malawi! Not only is it cooler than it has been for a long time, but I am now much more used to Malawian heat, so the “cold snap” really does feel wintery. It’s worrying that from now until February the weather will just keep getting colder for me as I leave Malawi in winter, arriving home as summer ends and Scotland heads into winter…I think I will be investing in thermals!
More seriously though (but not much) seeing Nchalo in cloud is very odd and women are now wrapped in knitted cardigans, jackets and jumpers have come out of the wardrobe and the babies at NRU are swathed in countless chitenjes and blankets. There are more cases of burns in the hospital, especially on children, too. Because for 10 out of 12 months of the year (roughly) Nchalo is so hot, there is little need for fires. This means that children rarely come across them and then when it is cold and they are gathered around the fire or the stove for heat, they do not realise the dangers. Kids have been playing near the baulas, knocking over pans of boiling water or jumping over the fire, playing with their friends. The burns are so widespread on their legs or torsos and while in the UK there are specialised units to deal with this, at St Montfort Hospital they are just admitted to the paeds ward. Because there is none of the sterility that there is in UK burns’ units, often the children catch infections and recovery is not painless or smooth. I’ve spent time watching and helping to dress the wounds, and it is another side of medicine which I am so grateful to have had the chance to see.
This Tuesday we had our final HBC training session. It was brilliant and after a couple of hours of questions and discussions we gave the volunteers and Never a few things, both to help them in their villages and to say thank you. The volunteers were adamant that the sessions we have done have been useful and from their continuous questions and stories, I do think that we have helped them in a very small way to detect and deal with sick villagers. As we left, after photos, singing and dancing, I was really sad to go. I doubt that I will see the volunteers again, even if I do return to Nchalo in the near future, but I feel so privileged to have been a part of their programme. How many other azungu have been able to become part of their work in remote Malawian villages? Probably very few, if any, and I doubt that there will be many more in the immediate future. We have had an amazing insight to their work in the community and have been lucky enough to have some involvement in basic African healthcare; something that I am now more interested in than ever, hence my hope to return!
Our last week in Nchalo has been spent, in general, preparing for departure. We’ve stripped the walls of photos (they now look horribly bare and threatening!) and gathered together our travel supplies.
Today we went to the hospital with our fridge, some toys that Sophie brought back from England with her and some medical supplies too. They were really well received and the hospital administrator couldn’t believe me when I told him that I have benefitted much more from the hospital in the last 6 months than it has from me. I have a little book which all our friends have been writing messages in and the final goodbye will be said to all the hospital staff tomorrow morning.
We also went back to Sekeni to visit our old neighbours and give them some of our clothes. It was amazing wandering through the village and there was no “Azungu” chanting, instead it was “Catherine!” “Sophie!” It was amazing to be remembered and greeted so warmly. The smiles on their faces were brilliant and they were dressing up in the clothes and putting stickers all over the place. I couldn’t help but wonder at how different life would have been for us in Sekeni if we had been able to stay. It would have been different, no doubt, but I don’t think it would have been harder or easier, but the good points and bad points would just have been like chalk and cheese to those that we have had living on the sugar estate. I don’t see the point in wondering “what if” for too long because we have played the cards that have been dealt to us and had the most incredible time in doing so. It’s sad to be leaving the Phiri family. They have been amazing to us and we had no idea how to thank them for all that they have done. Last night we cooked a family meal for the final time and in doing so learned to make Malawian beans and made them brownies too, which were scoffed up no bother, though salt was still added by the family to their portions of beans!
I am reluctant to leave Nchalo and all the friends that we have made. I will especially miss all the friendly waves, smiles and laughs that are part of everyday life here and have become so normal. While I am sad to be leaving, I am excited to be spending 4 weeks travelling in Malawi and have hopes of exploring the north with Isla and then making the most of the lake; after all, that is what Malawi prides itself on!
Because I have little idea of internet access as I’m travelling, this will probably be my last blog for a while, possibly until I’m home, but I cannot be sure! So, I just want to say a huge thank you to anybody who has been reading my blog, sending letters and encouraging texts (*cough* Grandma! *cough*) and who helped me fundraise in the first place to come to Malawi. My time in Nchalo has been unbelievable and I’m not leaving Malawi yet; I’m sure the next 4 weeks will be full of fun and finding out more about the country while meeting new people. Thanks for all the support and I’ll try to keep in touch over the next month, but if that fails I hope to see as many people as possible before I head to uni in September (2 months’ time…scary!).
Hope that everyone is well and enjoying their summer,
See you soon,
Tionana,
Catherine
xxx
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
Monday 20h June 2011-Wednesday 29th June 2011
Night-Shift, Needles and Nearing the End
It’s been quite a week and I cannot believe that we have only two and a half weeks left in Nchalo before setting off for a month of travelling in Malawi. One of those weeks will be spent showing Mum, Dada and Jenny around Nchalo and the project, so really there’s only one and a half weeks of work left. Scary! Because we re so near to the end of our time in Nchalo we have just been seizing all the opportunities possible.
Last Wednesday night we did a 12 hour night shift at the hospital. In total contrast to when we arrived in January, we felt cold throughout the night and I was in woolly tights, skirt, top, cardigan and hoodie-who’d have thought it! It was a good night in the maternity ward, though quite quiet. Just before midnight Sophie delivered a baby which I received and then cleaned, weighed and wrapped while she finished the delivery. It was really special to do a team delivery and compared to how scared we were at first it’s amazing to see how much we have grown in enthusiasm and confidence to just get stuck in. Later in the night I also delivered a baby, just before the end of the shift and we then went home for some much needed sleep! I reckon that that will probably be the easiest night shift that I will ever have to do; there being few patients and no official role for me (we could have slept if we had liked but I refused to on principle-it’s a night shift!) but I am really glad that we took the chance to see another side to the hospital. It was great to experience the pure health-care side, without all the other paperwork and administration that happens during the day.
This week at the hospital I have been in the male and female general wards. On Monday I had a lesson in cannula insertion and managed to correctly insert one on my second attempt. I cannot believe how willing the nurses and patients are for us to be active and clinical-it’s a totally different ball game to the UK! I also have been giving intra-muscular injections, both in arms and legs and giving injections into already-inserted cannula. I feel like we really are making as much as we can of our time here and I have no intention of wasting a minute that I have left in Nchalo.
This week’s HBC training session went particularly well I felt. Last week we focussed on childcare and set the volunteers a challenge; to convince as many patients (adults or children) to go for HIV testing. We found out this week that in total about 30 or so patients have been persuaded to take a test, which is great. It’s very good news, not only for the patients who will either have a weight taken off their mind or they can begin treatment earlier than they would have, but also for the HBC volunteers. It shows them what potential they have to make an active difference in their communities and what an opportunity they have to help. We focussed on their role as volunteers today and gave them advice on how they should continue when we leave. I was worried when one volunteer began a question with the words “Because you are leaving soon…do you think that when you leave, perhaps you would be able to leave us with…”, but my anxiety was quickly turned into a smile when he finished with “notes on the HBC training?” Their enthusiasm to continue their roles and to develop their skills too is great and I hope that it continues for a while to come. As much as I am excited to see more of Malawi, times like today, with the opportunities and friends at the hospital and the contributions at HBC training, make me sad at the thought of leaving Nchalo so soon.
Not only have we been taking advantage of opportunities at work, but last week Sophie decided to go for it and get braids; not cornrows which are braided to the scalp, but loose braids. We went after NRU on Friday afternoon and sat for a good two hours as two, sometimes three, women’s hands moved incredibly quickly through her hair. We got a lot of smiles from the locals a the azungu getting her hair braided and when she was done the “hair-dresser” made her promise to return in 3 weeks for a new hair-do! I came into our bedroom on Saturday afternoon to find Soph unpicking all the braids: “I have a constant headache!” They were cool while they lasted, but the volumous hair once they were all out also looked particularly good. The braids weren’t in long enough to give an afro, but there was a certain “je ne sais quoi” about the unbraided style.
Finally, we’ve also had a couple of cooking lessons from Phoebe. She makes the most amazing scones with no recipe and we asked her to show us how. We made them together one evening and there were none left the following morning. They will definitely make the cut when I get home and I just hope that I can re-create them just as well as she makes them. Somehow, I doubt it. She also taught us to cook cassava properly and showed us the difference between cassava when it is cooked from being fresh to when it’s cooked from having been out of the ground for a few days. The fresh one is much softer, whiter and tastier whereas the other is yellow and more fibrous…we’ll stick to the fresh stuff.
Now is probably the time where I have to say fro sure, please stop sending post. I really don’t want to have to say that, but there’s now a chance that things will arrive once we have left. If that happens, a friend says that they will forward anything track to us in the UK, but that puts pressure on him and requires more faith in the Malawi postal system. To be fair, the post has been incredible and thank you for all the cards and photos and letters. They have always given me a smile when I see that I have post and I really am grateful!
Well, have a good last week of school to everyone who’s just finishing and a great start to the summer. I hope that everybody is well and though post is a no-go-zone, I should be able to send an email or two occasionally. In the meantime enjoy whatever is happening with you and I will see you in August.
Lots of love,
Catherine
xxx
It’s been quite a week and I cannot believe that we have only two and a half weeks left in Nchalo before setting off for a month of travelling in Malawi. One of those weeks will be spent showing Mum, Dada and Jenny around Nchalo and the project, so really there’s only one and a half weeks of work left. Scary! Because we re so near to the end of our time in Nchalo we have just been seizing all the opportunities possible.
Last Wednesday night we did a 12 hour night shift at the hospital. In total contrast to when we arrived in January, we felt cold throughout the night and I was in woolly tights, skirt, top, cardigan and hoodie-who’d have thought it! It was a good night in the maternity ward, though quite quiet. Just before midnight Sophie delivered a baby which I received and then cleaned, weighed and wrapped while she finished the delivery. It was really special to do a team delivery and compared to how scared we were at first it’s amazing to see how much we have grown in enthusiasm and confidence to just get stuck in. Later in the night I also delivered a baby, just before the end of the shift and we then went home for some much needed sleep! I reckon that that will probably be the easiest night shift that I will ever have to do; there being few patients and no official role for me (we could have slept if we had liked but I refused to on principle-it’s a night shift!) but I am really glad that we took the chance to see another side to the hospital. It was great to experience the pure health-care side, without all the other paperwork and administration that happens during the day.
This week at the hospital I have been in the male and female general wards. On Monday I had a lesson in cannula insertion and managed to correctly insert one on my second attempt. I cannot believe how willing the nurses and patients are for us to be active and clinical-it’s a totally different ball game to the UK! I also have been giving intra-muscular injections, both in arms and legs and giving injections into already-inserted cannula. I feel like we really are making as much as we can of our time here and I have no intention of wasting a minute that I have left in Nchalo.
This week’s HBC training session went particularly well I felt. Last week we focussed on childcare and set the volunteers a challenge; to convince as many patients (adults or children) to go for HIV testing. We found out this week that in total about 30 or so patients have been persuaded to take a test, which is great. It’s very good news, not only for the patients who will either have a weight taken off their mind or they can begin treatment earlier than they would have, but also for the HBC volunteers. It shows them what potential they have to make an active difference in their communities and what an opportunity they have to help. We focussed on their role as volunteers today and gave them advice on how they should continue when we leave. I was worried when one volunteer began a question with the words “Because you are leaving soon…do you think that when you leave, perhaps you would be able to leave us with…”, but my anxiety was quickly turned into a smile when he finished with “notes on the HBC training?” Their enthusiasm to continue their roles and to develop their skills too is great and I hope that it continues for a while to come. As much as I am excited to see more of Malawi, times like today, with the opportunities and friends at the hospital and the contributions at HBC training, make me sad at the thought of leaving Nchalo so soon.
Not only have we been taking advantage of opportunities at work, but last week Sophie decided to go for it and get braids; not cornrows which are braided to the scalp, but loose braids. We went after NRU on Friday afternoon and sat for a good two hours as two, sometimes three, women’s hands moved incredibly quickly through her hair. We got a lot of smiles from the locals a the azungu getting her hair braided and when she was done the “hair-dresser” made her promise to return in 3 weeks for a new hair-do! I came into our bedroom on Saturday afternoon to find Soph unpicking all the braids: “I have a constant headache!” They were cool while they lasted, but the volumous hair once they were all out also looked particularly good. The braids weren’t in long enough to give an afro, but there was a certain “je ne sais quoi” about the unbraided style.
Finally, we’ve also had a couple of cooking lessons from Phoebe. She makes the most amazing scones with no recipe and we asked her to show us how. We made them together one evening and there were none left the following morning. They will definitely make the cut when I get home and I just hope that I can re-create them just as well as she makes them. Somehow, I doubt it. She also taught us to cook cassava properly and showed us the difference between cassava when it is cooked from being fresh to when it’s cooked from having been out of the ground for a few days. The fresh one is much softer, whiter and tastier whereas the other is yellow and more fibrous…we’ll stick to the fresh stuff.
Now is probably the time where I have to say fro sure, please stop sending post. I really don’t want to have to say that, but there’s now a chance that things will arrive once we have left. If that happens, a friend says that they will forward anything track to us in the UK, but that puts pressure on him and requires more faith in the Malawi postal system. To be fair, the post has been incredible and thank you for all the cards and photos and letters. They have always given me a smile when I see that I have post and I really am grateful!
Well, have a good last week of school to everyone who’s just finishing and a great start to the summer. I hope that everybody is well and though post is a no-go-zone, I should be able to send an email or two occasionally. In the meantime enjoy whatever is happening with you and I will see you in August.
Lots of love,
Catherine
xxx
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
Monday 23rd May 2011-Sunday 19th June 2011
Malawi, Malawi, Malawi!
I cannot believe how time flies and apologize for not having updated my blog sooner. The last few weeks have been pretty eventful, mainly in a good way, so I’ll cut to the chase!
To start with, Sophie is now back with me in Nchalo. Unfortunately at the beginning of May she had to fly home to England to get diagnosis and treatment for her wrists which had been incredibly sore since January. At the time we were keeping it quiet, but now that she is back and it is not too serious we can celebrate her return! Life in Malawi without Soph was pretty tough; one of the best things about having a partner is that you can be honest with them and discuss your situation openly, knowing that they will understand because they are experiencing the same situations. Without that to fall back on, life at home was chaotic and, despite the fact that there were 11 people in the house, it was quite lonely. Spending a month in Malawi, alone, was difficult but I believe that it was good for me and that I became more outgoing (having to work harder in social situations) and independent at the same time.
What didn’t help was catching labarynthitis while Sophie was in England! Being quite a distance from the lake and very far from any ocean, the feeling of having sea-sickness was very strange and I was off work for a week. At first we wondered if I had malaria and Phoebe and Ignatius insisted on having a blood test. I am very happy that not only did I not have malaria but I also have a Malawian Health Passport! Admittedly the name on it is “Catherine Rovegrove”, but with “R” and “L” being interchangeable in Chichewa we’ll let that one slide!
NRU continues the same as ever, though we arrived on Friday to find a new BP machine-a battery operated one too! That will not only be good for our ears, as using the old, broken stethoscopes was really sore, but now the nurses have more chance of finding possible cases of pre-eclampsia in pregnancy early and acting to prevent harm to mother or baby. The weather in Nchalo has become significantly cooler in the mornings, never fear, it’s still hot by 10am, and so the mothers come to the clinic a lot later than they do during the hot season. Nevertheless, we continue to register new clients who are either very young or have given birth many times before. I came across a woman on her 11th pregnancy the other day-wow!
Recently, home based care training sessions have been going well. We still have a strong turn-out of about 20 volunteers (though there are still a couple who turn up in the last 5 minutes-Malawi!) and they are very enthusiastic and willing to learn. We have done a couple of sessions on nutrition and HIV, using activities and diagrams to illustrate the lessons and get the volunteers involved. This week they were particularly excited when we had them moving around while discussing HIV/Aids; they were like school children and we had to keep telling them to please be quiet and listen to the explanation! Their animation shows enthusiasm and that they are not only enjoying the morning, but that they are interested and gaining something from the session. We keep encouraging them to apply what we tell them in the sessions to the patients who they visit in their villages. Both Sophie, Never, the volunteers and I feel very positively about how this part of our project is going.
As always, the hospital has been very interesting and in the last few weeks I spent time in theatre watching a hernia repair. It was really interesting to learn how common hernias are in the population around Nchalo. It turns out that they are quite prevalent; both because of genetic pre-dispositions but also because of how much manual labour people do to earn a living. Having seen hernia repairs in the UK, it was also great to see how they deal with them in Malawi. Because there is less up-to-date technology and fewer specialized tools, the hernia was repaired using sutures. At home there is a specific mesh which surgeons incorporate into the patient’s tissue, but that isn’t an option here, so they make do with what supplies are relatively plentiful. Unfortunately, a lot of surgery has had to be postponed because the hospital’s autoclave has broken so equipment cannot be sterilized. Any emergencies are referred 30km north to Chikwawa and all elective procedures are put on hold, so if anyone has an autoclave spare or knows where to find one, I can think of a good home for it!
All in all the project is going well though we haven’t seen Paul, our host in over two months now. For a while I felt a little confused because of how much has turned out differently to what I expected (no youth group running or drumming clubs and outreach clinics) and I wondered if my being in Nchalo was doing good. However, I feel that we are helping the HBC volunteers and therefore the patients in villages because they seem to be learning new things which they can apply to their roles within FHECC. At NRU we have encouraged efficiency and give the nurses more time to spend with clients as we handle formalities and they examine them. At the hospital, though we aren’t qualified, for many patients, seeing a white face gives them confidence that they are receiving good treatment. We have been busy in the maternity ward discharging patients and I even removed one mother’s c-section sutures; that was amazing. What I have realized is that we are being useful to the community despite not being essential, and this is the best way to have it. If we were essential then when we leave in 4 weeks’ time for travelling and then home (scary!) we would leave a hole in the community and the projects would suffer. As it is, when we leave, the community will be more than capable of continuing the good work that they do and what we are contributing now will still be of use to them when we leave.
So much of our project has involved us scouting out where and how we can be involved and though PT aren’t sending volunteers to Nchalo next year, I still see this as a positive experience. We have used a lot of initiative so far and learned masses about healthcare, Africa and ourselves. I was probably naïve when I came to Malawi, but I now see that I can make a small positive impact on the Nchalo community, but it will make far more of a difference to me and I am so grateful for that; so thank you to everyone who helped me get here!
Just after Sophie came back it was time for our first family visit. Her Mum, Dad and sister came out and we spent a five days with them, both in Nchalo, Blantyre and in Thyolo. It was Phil’s birthday and we had a very special celebration on an old colonial tea estate with some incredible food, lovely tea, brilliant games and great company. It was a very successful visit and now we’re looking forward to our next guests; the Lovegroves! I can’t believe it’s 2 weeks until my family arrive in Malawi and also how close it is to the middle of August. I am very excited about the coming weeks, especially seeing Mum, Dad and Jen, but also reluctant to leave Nchalo and the Phiri family because I have grown into Nchalo life so much in the last 5 months.
Ok, nearly done, but I realize that I have barely mentioned food in this blog. I have discovered that maize flour (a Malawian family’s staple food, used to make nsima) can be used successfully to make pancakes! Soph brought back a few treats from England and we are looking forward to some risotto and parmesan for the first time since January! What I will ask is this: does anybody know if you can get or grow cassava in the UK? It’s a root vegetable a bit like potato but it is an actual root and it has been brilliant while I have been here and Sophie and I are worried about missing cassava when we return home and venture off to university. So, if anybody could let us know, that would be great!
In the mean time, love to all, have a good end of term and start to the summer. Post is still amazing and please keep it coming but I would recommend not sending anything after the beginning of July because we’ll leave Nchalo soon after and there’s a strong possibility that letters would arrive after our departure. In saying that, we do have a possible solution as to how to retrieve any late post, so don’t feel completely deterred!
Enjoy Wimbledon, Greese and the end of exams. I’ll see you all soon.
Lots of love,
Catherine
xxx
I cannot believe how time flies and apologize for not having updated my blog sooner. The last few weeks have been pretty eventful, mainly in a good way, so I’ll cut to the chase!
To start with, Sophie is now back with me in Nchalo. Unfortunately at the beginning of May she had to fly home to England to get diagnosis and treatment for her wrists which had been incredibly sore since January. At the time we were keeping it quiet, but now that she is back and it is not too serious we can celebrate her return! Life in Malawi without Soph was pretty tough; one of the best things about having a partner is that you can be honest with them and discuss your situation openly, knowing that they will understand because they are experiencing the same situations. Without that to fall back on, life at home was chaotic and, despite the fact that there were 11 people in the house, it was quite lonely. Spending a month in Malawi, alone, was difficult but I believe that it was good for me and that I became more outgoing (having to work harder in social situations) and independent at the same time.
What didn’t help was catching labarynthitis while Sophie was in England! Being quite a distance from the lake and very far from any ocean, the feeling of having sea-sickness was very strange and I was off work for a week. At first we wondered if I had malaria and Phoebe and Ignatius insisted on having a blood test. I am very happy that not only did I not have malaria but I also have a Malawian Health Passport! Admittedly the name on it is “Catherine Rovegrove”, but with “R” and “L” being interchangeable in Chichewa we’ll let that one slide!
NRU continues the same as ever, though we arrived on Friday to find a new BP machine-a battery operated one too! That will not only be good for our ears, as using the old, broken stethoscopes was really sore, but now the nurses have more chance of finding possible cases of pre-eclampsia in pregnancy early and acting to prevent harm to mother or baby. The weather in Nchalo has become significantly cooler in the mornings, never fear, it’s still hot by 10am, and so the mothers come to the clinic a lot later than they do during the hot season. Nevertheless, we continue to register new clients who are either very young or have given birth many times before. I came across a woman on her 11th pregnancy the other day-wow!
Recently, home based care training sessions have been going well. We still have a strong turn-out of about 20 volunteers (though there are still a couple who turn up in the last 5 minutes-Malawi!) and they are very enthusiastic and willing to learn. We have done a couple of sessions on nutrition and HIV, using activities and diagrams to illustrate the lessons and get the volunteers involved. This week they were particularly excited when we had them moving around while discussing HIV/Aids; they were like school children and we had to keep telling them to please be quiet and listen to the explanation! Their animation shows enthusiasm and that they are not only enjoying the morning, but that they are interested and gaining something from the session. We keep encouraging them to apply what we tell them in the sessions to the patients who they visit in their villages. Both Sophie, Never, the volunteers and I feel very positively about how this part of our project is going.
As always, the hospital has been very interesting and in the last few weeks I spent time in theatre watching a hernia repair. It was really interesting to learn how common hernias are in the population around Nchalo. It turns out that they are quite prevalent; both because of genetic pre-dispositions but also because of how much manual labour people do to earn a living. Having seen hernia repairs in the UK, it was also great to see how they deal with them in Malawi. Because there is less up-to-date technology and fewer specialized tools, the hernia was repaired using sutures. At home there is a specific mesh which surgeons incorporate into the patient’s tissue, but that isn’t an option here, so they make do with what supplies are relatively plentiful. Unfortunately, a lot of surgery has had to be postponed because the hospital’s autoclave has broken so equipment cannot be sterilized. Any emergencies are referred 30km north to Chikwawa and all elective procedures are put on hold, so if anyone has an autoclave spare or knows where to find one, I can think of a good home for it!
All in all the project is going well though we haven’t seen Paul, our host in over two months now. For a while I felt a little confused because of how much has turned out differently to what I expected (no youth group running or drumming clubs and outreach clinics) and I wondered if my being in Nchalo was doing good. However, I feel that we are helping the HBC volunteers and therefore the patients in villages because they seem to be learning new things which they can apply to their roles within FHECC. At NRU we have encouraged efficiency and give the nurses more time to spend with clients as we handle formalities and they examine them. At the hospital, though we aren’t qualified, for many patients, seeing a white face gives them confidence that they are receiving good treatment. We have been busy in the maternity ward discharging patients and I even removed one mother’s c-section sutures; that was amazing. What I have realized is that we are being useful to the community despite not being essential, and this is the best way to have it. If we were essential then when we leave in 4 weeks’ time for travelling and then home (scary!) we would leave a hole in the community and the projects would suffer. As it is, when we leave, the community will be more than capable of continuing the good work that they do and what we are contributing now will still be of use to them when we leave.
So much of our project has involved us scouting out where and how we can be involved and though PT aren’t sending volunteers to Nchalo next year, I still see this as a positive experience. We have used a lot of initiative so far and learned masses about healthcare, Africa and ourselves. I was probably naïve when I came to Malawi, but I now see that I can make a small positive impact on the Nchalo community, but it will make far more of a difference to me and I am so grateful for that; so thank you to everyone who helped me get here!
Just after Sophie came back it was time for our first family visit. Her Mum, Dad and sister came out and we spent a five days with them, both in Nchalo, Blantyre and in Thyolo. It was Phil’s birthday and we had a very special celebration on an old colonial tea estate with some incredible food, lovely tea, brilliant games and great company. It was a very successful visit and now we’re looking forward to our next guests; the Lovegroves! I can’t believe it’s 2 weeks until my family arrive in Malawi and also how close it is to the middle of August. I am very excited about the coming weeks, especially seeing Mum, Dad and Jen, but also reluctant to leave Nchalo and the Phiri family because I have grown into Nchalo life so much in the last 5 months.
Ok, nearly done, but I realize that I have barely mentioned food in this blog. I have discovered that maize flour (a Malawian family’s staple food, used to make nsima) can be used successfully to make pancakes! Soph brought back a few treats from England and we are looking forward to some risotto and parmesan for the first time since January! What I will ask is this: does anybody know if you can get or grow cassava in the UK? It’s a root vegetable a bit like potato but it is an actual root and it has been brilliant while I have been here and Sophie and I are worried about missing cassava when we return home and venture off to university. So, if anybody could let us know, that would be great!
In the mean time, love to all, have a good end of term and start to the summer. Post is still amazing and please keep it coming but I would recommend not sending anything after the beginning of July because we’ll leave Nchalo soon after and there’s a strong possibility that letters would arrive after our departure. In saying that, we do have a possible solution as to how to retrieve any late post, so don’t feel completely deterred!
Enjoy Wimbledon, Greese and the end of exams. I’ll see you all soon.
Lots of love,
Catherine
xxx
Thursday, 26 May 2011
You Learn Something New Every Day
Monday 2nd May 2011-Sunday 22nd May 2011
Lack of internet access in a while means that this blog will be posted at the same time as the previous one, so I’ll try and keep it brief! The last three weeks have been both eventful and uneventful but the non-events have almost been the biggest part.
Before our Easter holiday we had one week where turn-out to CBCC caregiver training was particularly low and we were forced to abandon the session. Unfortunately this trend has continued and despite our visits into villages to promote the scheme there has been no increase in attendance. We have had to accept that the community are not interested in receiving training with no obvious financial or materialistic gain and so the training sessions have come to an end. This is really disappointing because now only three elements remain to the project; Home Based Care Training, NRU antenatal clinics and hospital experience. We really hoped that the CBCC training would work out but part of living in a different community is accepting the differences in opinions and after fighting a losing battle we have accepted defeat. In addition, Paul, our host and co-ordinator of FHECC, has now found a job on the sugar estate and effectively left FHECC. Unfortunately I feel that this will lead to the charity fizzling out in years to come, but for now there are still volunteers working and participating in the community, carrying out worthwhile activities.
On a more positive note we have begun to run the Home Based Care Volunteer Training. There have been three sessions so far, focussing on personal and food hygiene and malaria. Each week on a Tuesday morning there is a healthy turn out of about 23 volunteers from neighbouring villages and what is so encouraging is that they are enthusiastic. We are asked all manner of questions about caring for patients and their families and, though we cannot help them with resources and money, they are really grateful for what they are learning. Focussing on hygiene brought to their attention the importance of washing children when they have an accident and the session on malaria brought many questions too, from “Can mosquitoes transmit HIV?” to “When do you use a mosquito net; when you are sick or when you are not sick?” I am so glad that the volunteers are so eager to learn and will readily ask questions; it shows dedication to their role and genuine care too.
Still, the antenatal clinic has no blood pressure cuff and they are also out of iron tablets; such is medical care in the Lower Shire Valley! What has become apparent in the last few weeks is that the women have started to turn up later. In March and April about 50 mothers-to-be would appear between 8 and 9 in the morning, now they don’t come until about 9.30 and apparently it’s due to the cooler temperatures. It’s not that much cooler-I’m still in vest tops, a skirt and flip flops, but it is noticeably cooler in the mornings before 8.30. With the fall in early morning temperatures mothers in the villages don’t get up as early, and so by the time the morning chores are complete they arrive at NRU later. I can’t say that this makes any significant difference to the clinic, it just starts later and finishes later, but then in Malawi time is not important!
With the CBCC programme falling through a lot more time has been spent at the hospital. Unfortunately despite all the hours I have sat in the labour ward I have seen remarkably few deliveries-why don’t Malawian women give birth in May?! The few that I have seen have been interesting though-there’s been a breech delivery and a twin delivery. I am happy to say that both were successful but what was interesting was that the mother giving birth to twins had no idea, until she was in labour and giving birth, that she was expecting twins. Because the ultrasound machine is almost never used antenatal care is all done on listening and feeling. According to the midwife it is hard to feel two heads or hear two foetal heart rates and when someone has a big bump they normally assume that it’s just a big baby. That’s quite a surprise for the mother! I have become more hands on in the hospital and last week had the chance to be a theatre assistant. I helped the clinician in 5 operations; an abscess drain, 3 hydroceles and the removal of a mass from a lady’s back. It was quite surreal being in a sterile apron and gloves swabbing at blood vessels, cutting stitches and collecting fluids with just me, the clinician and the patient at times!
What I’ve realised recently is that firstly, we have made a strong attempt to make the FHECC project work, but, with the failure of the CBCC plan and Paul finding a job, we need to accept that parts are not working and make the most of the rest of our time here. If that means spending more time at the hospital, gaining personal experience, then so be it-whatever we do will be totally different from anything we would experience in the UK. Also I have realised that although we are not needed at the hospital, we can be helpful. There are theatre assistants who could have been in the operations that I participated in, but as it happened they were particularly busy, rushed and short staffed that day, so my input was of some use. Finally I have realised that the project is not about being essential to the community; if we were needed there would be a reliance on us and when we leave problems would arise (PT have decided not to send vols to Nchalo next year). As it is we are helping to develop small parts of the community in a non-vital way which means that, come August, they will be more than capable of continuing, hopefully with more ideas and having learned a little too. Being in Malawi involves not only learning about the local environment and myself, but also what is important. I think what is important is to give as much as we can, but also to take as much as we can and right now I think we’re doing pretty well at that!
There’s not a lot to report on, food-wise, except that avocadoes are now out of season. This is particularly upsetting because one of our staple meals (guacamole and flatbread) is no longer an option. On the plus side, tangerines are plentiful, though they aren’t orange, but green. I made the mistake of taking a green fruit, thinking it was an orange, peeling it and then proceeded to tuck in to a lemon. Seeing as I ate the lemon on the day that the world was predicted to end it was a pretty minor tragedy compared to what may have happened but I won’t be repeating the experience!
From what I gather, exams are now in full swing and I hope that they go well for everybody. For everybody who has a birthday in May, (there are many of you) Happy Birthday! Things are going well here in Nchalo and I love hearing everyone’s news from home, be it in text form, email, Facebook or the amazing postal service!
Take lots of care and please keep in touch,
All the best,
Catherine
xxx
Lack of internet access in a while means that this blog will be posted at the same time as the previous one, so I’ll try and keep it brief! The last three weeks have been both eventful and uneventful but the non-events have almost been the biggest part.
Before our Easter holiday we had one week where turn-out to CBCC caregiver training was particularly low and we were forced to abandon the session. Unfortunately this trend has continued and despite our visits into villages to promote the scheme there has been no increase in attendance. We have had to accept that the community are not interested in receiving training with no obvious financial or materialistic gain and so the training sessions have come to an end. This is really disappointing because now only three elements remain to the project; Home Based Care Training, NRU antenatal clinics and hospital experience. We really hoped that the CBCC training would work out but part of living in a different community is accepting the differences in opinions and after fighting a losing battle we have accepted defeat. In addition, Paul, our host and co-ordinator of FHECC, has now found a job on the sugar estate and effectively left FHECC. Unfortunately I feel that this will lead to the charity fizzling out in years to come, but for now there are still volunteers working and participating in the community, carrying out worthwhile activities.
On a more positive note we have begun to run the Home Based Care Volunteer Training. There have been three sessions so far, focussing on personal and food hygiene and malaria. Each week on a Tuesday morning there is a healthy turn out of about 23 volunteers from neighbouring villages and what is so encouraging is that they are enthusiastic. We are asked all manner of questions about caring for patients and their families and, though we cannot help them with resources and money, they are really grateful for what they are learning. Focussing on hygiene brought to their attention the importance of washing children when they have an accident and the session on malaria brought many questions too, from “Can mosquitoes transmit HIV?” to “When do you use a mosquito net; when you are sick or when you are not sick?” I am so glad that the volunteers are so eager to learn and will readily ask questions; it shows dedication to their role and genuine care too.
Still, the antenatal clinic has no blood pressure cuff and they are also out of iron tablets; such is medical care in the Lower Shire Valley! What has become apparent in the last few weeks is that the women have started to turn up later. In March and April about 50 mothers-to-be would appear between 8 and 9 in the morning, now they don’t come until about 9.30 and apparently it’s due to the cooler temperatures. It’s not that much cooler-I’m still in vest tops, a skirt and flip flops, but it is noticeably cooler in the mornings before 8.30. With the fall in early morning temperatures mothers in the villages don’t get up as early, and so by the time the morning chores are complete they arrive at NRU later. I can’t say that this makes any significant difference to the clinic, it just starts later and finishes later, but then in Malawi time is not important!
With the CBCC programme falling through a lot more time has been spent at the hospital. Unfortunately despite all the hours I have sat in the labour ward I have seen remarkably few deliveries-why don’t Malawian women give birth in May?! The few that I have seen have been interesting though-there’s been a breech delivery and a twin delivery. I am happy to say that both were successful but what was interesting was that the mother giving birth to twins had no idea, until she was in labour and giving birth, that she was expecting twins. Because the ultrasound machine is almost never used antenatal care is all done on listening and feeling. According to the midwife it is hard to feel two heads or hear two foetal heart rates and when someone has a big bump they normally assume that it’s just a big baby. That’s quite a surprise for the mother! I have become more hands on in the hospital and last week had the chance to be a theatre assistant. I helped the clinician in 5 operations; an abscess drain, 3 hydroceles and the removal of a mass from a lady’s back. It was quite surreal being in a sterile apron and gloves swabbing at blood vessels, cutting stitches and collecting fluids with just me, the clinician and the patient at times!
What I’ve realised recently is that firstly, we have made a strong attempt to make the FHECC project work, but, with the failure of the CBCC plan and Paul finding a job, we need to accept that parts are not working and make the most of the rest of our time here. If that means spending more time at the hospital, gaining personal experience, then so be it-whatever we do will be totally different from anything we would experience in the UK. Also I have realised that although we are not needed at the hospital, we can be helpful. There are theatre assistants who could have been in the operations that I participated in, but as it happened they were particularly busy, rushed and short staffed that day, so my input was of some use. Finally I have realised that the project is not about being essential to the community; if we were needed there would be a reliance on us and when we leave problems would arise (PT have decided not to send vols to Nchalo next year). As it is we are helping to develop small parts of the community in a non-vital way which means that, come August, they will be more than capable of continuing, hopefully with more ideas and having learned a little too. Being in Malawi involves not only learning about the local environment and myself, but also what is important. I think what is important is to give as much as we can, but also to take as much as we can and right now I think we’re doing pretty well at that!
There’s not a lot to report on, food-wise, except that avocadoes are now out of season. This is particularly upsetting because one of our staple meals (guacamole and flatbread) is no longer an option. On the plus side, tangerines are plentiful, though they aren’t orange, but green. I made the mistake of taking a green fruit, thinking it was an orange, peeling it and then proceeded to tuck in to a lemon. Seeing as I ate the lemon on the day that the world was predicted to end it was a pretty minor tragedy compared to what may have happened but I won’t be repeating the experience!
From what I gather, exams are now in full swing and I hope that they go well for everybody. For everybody who has a birthday in May, (there are many of you) Happy Birthday! Things are going well here in Nchalo and I love hearing everyone’s news from home, be it in text form, email, Facebook or the amazing postal service!
Take lots of care and please keep in touch,
All the best,
Catherine
xxx
Three Weeks of Work, Wildlife and Water
Monday 11th April 2011-Sunday 1st May 2011
Well, it has been a while since I’ve blogged and, as always there are new experiences to report and updates to be made! As I write this blog it is our Half-Way Anniversary in Malawi-we’re 3 ½ months into our project and the time has just flown so far. The project has had some successes and problems in recent weeks but what I have learned is to accept a situation when there’s nothing more that can be done to change it and with this in mind I am excited about the next half of the project.
A couple of weeks ago we held our first CBCC training session with an aim in mind-the focus of the lesson was teaching not by repetition. As I’ve mentioned before, I think, the care-givers tend to shout “A-E-I-O-U” at the children, who shout it back, however they have no idea that A is the first letter of the alphabet, that it is a vowel, that it can be joined with other letters to form words, etc. The first session was successful we felt; about 20 care-givers showed up and by the end they were enthusiastic, had listened to what we had said and were asking us more questions, so we were really pleased. What did go down well was our illustration of how if a message is passed on through repetition and mistakes are made and not corrected the message changes and is wrong. We played Chinese Whispers to show this and the message certainly changed by the end of the line!
Unfortunately, the second training session was less successful-we had a total of 3 people turn up and with an important lesson to teach and 45 minutes left (after we’d waited, optimistic that the no-show was due to Malawian timing!) Never agreed that the session should be postponed. We were disappointed, especially because the day before we’d spent 2 hours on bikes, spreading the word about the session. One of the struggles is that in Malawi, if you go on a training course, you expect to receive something in return, be it money or refreshments. This is strange for us to get used to because in the UK, people pay to go on the course and it works the other way around. We hope that this week will bring more people to the training and I’ll keep you posted!
NRU continues to be busy, especially on Friday mornings when the new mothers come to be registered at the clinic. Unfortunately the BP cuff no longer works so no measurement of blood pressure can be taken and risk of pre-eclampsia cannot be recognised. I don’t know how common a problem it is in Malawi, but it is just another example of African medicine and using the resources that are available to maximise the service that you can provide.
We spent an amazing morning in theatre, watching a very gruesome operation-I won’t go into too much detail! During the operation the patient began to wake up but the anaesthetist was putting another patient to sleep in the other theatre and said that it wasn’t possible for him to come through and attend to the patient undergoing the operation. Thankfully, a nurse came through very shortly afterwards and gave more anaesthetic but when it happened again Edwin, the clinical officer/surgeon, told me to administer the anaesthetic! I know that drawing up anaesthetic into a syringe and then injecting it into a cannula is not anywhere near to actually carrying out clinical work, but it was on opportunity that a 19 year old gap year student would never have been given the chance to do in Scotland. The operation had so many differences to theatre in the UK and both Sophie and I came away deep in thought and amazed too. What was very reassuring was that during the whole procedure we both felt entirely comfortable and at ease watching Edwin’s work. When we first came to Nchalo and spent time at the hospital I would feel queasy from the heat and doubts were forming as to whether or not I would be OK at medical school (even though I have been in theatre many times in Perth) so it was great to come out knowing with more certainty that medicine is what I want to do and also that we are adjusting to the temperature in the Lower Shire Valley. It was an amazing morning and one that has made me very excited for university in September.
Unfortunately, Sophie’s repetitive-strain-injury in both wrists has become very painful, so a trip to a physiotherapist in Blantyre was called for. We decided to see how far we could hitchhike there and ended up in the back of a pick up truck going up the Escarpment Road-please look at the road going from Blantyre to Chikwawa/Nchalo on Google Earth if the resolution is good enough! On the way up, we passed a 16 wheeler drinks lorry that had taken a corner too fast and tumbled off the side, spreading glass Carlsberg, Coca-Cola and Fanta bottles everywhere. The matola ride was an experience that we don’t mind doing around Nchalo or on straight, flat roads, but we have vowed not to go up the hair-pinned, twisting road to Blantyre in any form of open-aired vehicle ever again.
Over the last 3 weeks we have seen a lot of wildlife in Malawi. Firstly, our friend, Tony, took us and his two children to a friend’s crocodile farm. It’s about 12 miles south of us and the crocs are bred and then sold for their skins to dealers who then sell on to the designers in London, Paris, Rome, New York, etc. There were hundreds of them, from 6 inches long to huge fat ones that were 3m long. It was a great chance to see the farm and to touch a baby crocodile but I am still not a fan of snakeskin clothing or accessories!
Over the Easter week we took our first visit to Lake Malawi-beautiful isn’t a good enough word to describe it. We spent time with friends who volunteer by the lake, went to a concert by the Black Missionaries (a brilliant Malawian Reggae band) and at Cape Maclear we went on a boat trip to the nearby island. We snorkelled and saw the famous Lake Malawi fish, had barbequed fish for lunch on the island, watched fish eagles swooping around and then jumped off huge rocks into the clear blue water. It was stunning and at night, when everywhere else is dark, there’s a line of lights on the horizon from the lanterns on the fishing boats out on the lake; it’s easy to see why Livingstone nicknamed it “Lake of Stars”.
On the day of the Royal Wedding, while the UK watched TV, we took a boat safari up and down the Shire in Liwonde National Park and sat 5m away from a 15 year old elephant eating grass by the riverside. It was fantastic and our guide, Jimmy, said that we had a very diverse safari; from elephants to hippos, to crocs, to fish eagles, malachite kingfishers and a whole host of other bird life (the full list is very long). The experience was so special and that, along with a successful curios shopping trip, more than compensated for the sketchy accommodation that we had at Warthog’s Wallow in Liwonde town. We’ve renamed it Cockroach’s Wallow, much more accurate.
Finally, of course, the food instalment! I’ve already mentioned the fish at the Lake that we had and I have said to Sophie many times just how fresh and delicious it was. Sitting on the rocks, in the sun, in Malawi, on my Gap Year, was just great. Before Sophie’s wrists became very sore she made em a birthday cake in a true Malawian style (i.e. no measurements used). It was a lovely coffee cake (our favourite) in the shape of a heart and there were three layers. It went down a treat and was gone very quickly! She also made an incredible, gooey banana cake with some old, black bananas-what a good use of over-ripe fruit! That cake, and the brownies that we baked for the family too, did not last long and I think that our baking skills are much appreciated.
I taught Prudence to make pancakes one Sunday, and was delighted to walk into the kitchen later in the week to find her making them all by herself. I made me feel part of the family and that we have settled in very well. We were so warmly welcomed home on our return from the lake and I am excited about spending the coming weekends in Nchalo, spending quality time with the girls and being a part of the family that have been so good to us. When we came home both Sophie and I were so happy to be back and it felt right!
April has been an interesting month and I’m sure that May with bring more developments and news-this is Malawi after all! I’m having an amazing time, am very happy and thoroughly enjoying the whole experience.
I hope that everyone’s well and that the Easter holidays were good. To everyone with exams; Good Luck! Let me know all the news from home and please keep post coming!
Lots of love and I’ll see you soon,
Catherine
xxx
Well, it has been a while since I’ve blogged and, as always there are new experiences to report and updates to be made! As I write this blog it is our Half-Way Anniversary in Malawi-we’re 3 ½ months into our project and the time has just flown so far. The project has had some successes and problems in recent weeks but what I have learned is to accept a situation when there’s nothing more that can be done to change it and with this in mind I am excited about the next half of the project.
A couple of weeks ago we held our first CBCC training session with an aim in mind-the focus of the lesson was teaching not by repetition. As I’ve mentioned before, I think, the care-givers tend to shout “A-E-I-O-U” at the children, who shout it back, however they have no idea that A is the first letter of the alphabet, that it is a vowel, that it can be joined with other letters to form words, etc. The first session was successful we felt; about 20 care-givers showed up and by the end they were enthusiastic, had listened to what we had said and were asking us more questions, so we were really pleased. What did go down well was our illustration of how if a message is passed on through repetition and mistakes are made and not corrected the message changes and is wrong. We played Chinese Whispers to show this and the message certainly changed by the end of the line!
Unfortunately, the second training session was less successful-we had a total of 3 people turn up and with an important lesson to teach and 45 minutes left (after we’d waited, optimistic that the no-show was due to Malawian timing!) Never agreed that the session should be postponed. We were disappointed, especially because the day before we’d spent 2 hours on bikes, spreading the word about the session. One of the struggles is that in Malawi, if you go on a training course, you expect to receive something in return, be it money or refreshments. This is strange for us to get used to because in the UK, people pay to go on the course and it works the other way around. We hope that this week will bring more people to the training and I’ll keep you posted!
NRU continues to be busy, especially on Friday mornings when the new mothers come to be registered at the clinic. Unfortunately the BP cuff no longer works so no measurement of blood pressure can be taken and risk of pre-eclampsia cannot be recognised. I don’t know how common a problem it is in Malawi, but it is just another example of African medicine and using the resources that are available to maximise the service that you can provide.
We spent an amazing morning in theatre, watching a very gruesome operation-I won’t go into too much detail! During the operation the patient began to wake up but the anaesthetist was putting another patient to sleep in the other theatre and said that it wasn’t possible for him to come through and attend to the patient undergoing the operation. Thankfully, a nurse came through very shortly afterwards and gave more anaesthetic but when it happened again Edwin, the clinical officer/surgeon, told me to administer the anaesthetic! I know that drawing up anaesthetic into a syringe and then injecting it into a cannula is not anywhere near to actually carrying out clinical work, but it was on opportunity that a 19 year old gap year student would never have been given the chance to do in Scotland. The operation had so many differences to theatre in the UK and both Sophie and I came away deep in thought and amazed too. What was very reassuring was that during the whole procedure we both felt entirely comfortable and at ease watching Edwin’s work. When we first came to Nchalo and spent time at the hospital I would feel queasy from the heat and doubts were forming as to whether or not I would be OK at medical school (even though I have been in theatre many times in Perth) so it was great to come out knowing with more certainty that medicine is what I want to do and also that we are adjusting to the temperature in the Lower Shire Valley. It was an amazing morning and one that has made me very excited for university in September.
Unfortunately, Sophie’s repetitive-strain-injury in both wrists has become very painful, so a trip to a physiotherapist in Blantyre was called for. We decided to see how far we could hitchhike there and ended up in the back of a pick up truck going up the Escarpment Road-please look at the road going from Blantyre to Chikwawa/Nchalo on Google Earth if the resolution is good enough! On the way up, we passed a 16 wheeler drinks lorry that had taken a corner too fast and tumbled off the side, spreading glass Carlsberg, Coca-Cola and Fanta bottles everywhere. The matola ride was an experience that we don’t mind doing around Nchalo or on straight, flat roads, but we have vowed not to go up the hair-pinned, twisting road to Blantyre in any form of open-aired vehicle ever again.
Over the last 3 weeks we have seen a lot of wildlife in Malawi. Firstly, our friend, Tony, took us and his two children to a friend’s crocodile farm. It’s about 12 miles south of us and the crocs are bred and then sold for their skins to dealers who then sell on to the designers in London, Paris, Rome, New York, etc. There were hundreds of them, from 6 inches long to huge fat ones that were 3m long. It was a great chance to see the farm and to touch a baby crocodile but I am still not a fan of snakeskin clothing or accessories!
Over the Easter week we took our first visit to Lake Malawi-beautiful isn’t a good enough word to describe it. We spent time with friends who volunteer by the lake, went to a concert by the Black Missionaries (a brilliant Malawian Reggae band) and at Cape Maclear we went on a boat trip to the nearby island. We snorkelled and saw the famous Lake Malawi fish, had barbequed fish for lunch on the island, watched fish eagles swooping around and then jumped off huge rocks into the clear blue water. It was stunning and at night, when everywhere else is dark, there’s a line of lights on the horizon from the lanterns on the fishing boats out on the lake; it’s easy to see why Livingstone nicknamed it “Lake of Stars”.
On the day of the Royal Wedding, while the UK watched TV, we took a boat safari up and down the Shire in Liwonde National Park and sat 5m away from a 15 year old elephant eating grass by the riverside. It was fantastic and our guide, Jimmy, said that we had a very diverse safari; from elephants to hippos, to crocs, to fish eagles, malachite kingfishers and a whole host of other bird life (the full list is very long). The experience was so special and that, along with a successful curios shopping trip, more than compensated for the sketchy accommodation that we had at Warthog’s Wallow in Liwonde town. We’ve renamed it Cockroach’s Wallow, much more accurate.
Finally, of course, the food instalment! I’ve already mentioned the fish at the Lake that we had and I have said to Sophie many times just how fresh and delicious it was. Sitting on the rocks, in the sun, in Malawi, on my Gap Year, was just great. Before Sophie’s wrists became very sore she made em a birthday cake in a true Malawian style (i.e. no measurements used). It was a lovely coffee cake (our favourite) in the shape of a heart and there were three layers. It went down a treat and was gone very quickly! She also made an incredible, gooey banana cake with some old, black bananas-what a good use of over-ripe fruit! That cake, and the brownies that we baked for the family too, did not last long and I think that our baking skills are much appreciated.
I taught Prudence to make pancakes one Sunday, and was delighted to walk into the kitchen later in the week to find her making them all by herself. I made me feel part of the family and that we have settled in very well. We were so warmly welcomed home on our return from the lake and I am excited about spending the coming weekends in Nchalo, spending quality time with the girls and being a part of the family that have been so good to us. When we came home both Sophie and I were so happy to be back and it felt right!
April has been an interesting month and I’m sure that May with bring more developments and news-this is Malawi after all! I’m having an amazing time, am very happy and thoroughly enjoying the whole experience.
I hope that everyone’s well and that the Easter holidays were good. To everyone with exams; Good Luck! Let me know all the news from home and please keep post coming!
Lots of love and I’ll see you soon,
Catherine
xxx
Sunday, 10 April 2011
Three Days on Mount Mulanje-Definitely Not Enough.
Sunday 28th March 2011-Sunday 10th April 2011
We are now back from our first holiday in Malawi and it was incredible! Over my birthday week we climbed Mount Mulanje and words cannot describe how beautiful it was. I felt very at home, back among mountains, because Nchalo is so flat and I am used to being in hilly surroundings! Sophie and I stocked up on provisions before meeting Sarah and Tammy (two other volunteers) and catching the minibus to Chitakale, a small town at the base of the mountain. We hadn’t been long in driving out of Limbe before we could see the enormous Massif in front of us and we felt quite daunted by its sheer size. Chitakale is about 11km from Likhubula House, the project that school fundraise for, and I am pleased to say that I did manage to squeeze in a visit to meet Nancy and Mr Nyambalo and also see the pavilion that was built. Nancy could recognise me when I told her who I was (Dad was there over New Year and she could see the resemblance), and Mr Nyambalo didn’t even need to be introduced to me; he walked towards me saying “Catherine, I must be dreaming!” as though we had met before or he had known that I was coming that day, which he hadn’t! it was really strange to be recognised as Dad’s daughter out in Malawi of all places and I was so warmly welcomed; I only wish that I could have spent longer than I did at the project. That evening we went to a great pizzeria for what was an early birthday meal. Walking back to the rest house, cloud had descended over Mulanje Mountain and the top was invisible but it still seemed so high!
I was awake really early the next morning, full of excitement at hiking up and after some last minute stocking up and waiting an hour and a half for a minibus to fill up, we met our guide and porters at the base of the mountain. As we walked up the path to Likhubula forestry office we were surrounded by other guides and porters who were very irate that we had organised our trip in Mulanje town and not through the forestry office, even though we were perfectly justified in doing so. Their anger actually lead to a fight breaking our between our porters and the others so to keep the peace we went to the forestry office and were made to change our guide and porters, but by 10am we were on our way up the mountain. You don’t have to walk for very long uphill before the views over Malawi become spectacular. Peter, our guide, led us up to Lichenya Plateau on the first day, across to Chambe Basin on the second day and down the mountain on the third day. We stayed in the mountain huts with their open fires and the whole trip was brilliant. We felt really small and insignificant on the plateau, looking down on Malawi and looking up to the peaks.
My birthday was spent walking from Lichenya to Chambe and I have to say that, though I didn’t have signal to speak to home, it was a great day. Waking up in the morning, the clouds were below us and completely covered all of Malawi so that it seemed that we were looking out of an airplane and I could imaging jumping on them, they looked that bouncy! I could see where the Chichewa name for Mulanje (Chilumba mum mlengalenga-meaning “Island in the Sky”) came from. It was amazing, also, how the vegetation was so changeable on the mountain. When we left Lichenya Plateau it looked very like the Perthshire highlands, all that was missing were sheep, but by lunch time we were walking through rainforest with Tarzan-esque vines dangling and damp leaves about our ankles. Overall, it was an amazing day; I had birthday cards, it was a pleasant temperature, the sun was out, monkeys swung from trees for us at lunch time, we arrived at our hut with time to bathe in the river and the sunset was stunning. Every minute that we watched, it just became more beautiful and required another picture to be taken. My birthday dinner was also quite an event, with sausages barbequed over an open fire with baked beans and a nice glass of rosé wine! It was a day quite unlike any other and all four of us keep thinking back to the whole trip and remembering how incredible it was. It was also really special to spend time on the mountain that I know Mum and Dad used to escape to at weekends when they lived in Malawi, so it was lovely to spend somewhere that is so special to them too.
After a weekend in Blantyre, in which Sophie and some others got ears and noses pierced (but not me!) we returned to Nchalo. Just descending the Escarpment road we could already feel our surroundings warming up. The last week had been so cold in comparison to the Shire Valley, to the extent that Sophie has had a cold which she is blaming on the cold climate of Mount Mulanje!
This week back at work has been a positive one and progress has been made in several parts of our project. We have both been more hands on at the hospital, carrying our physical examinations on mothers in labour and we also had our second visit to theatre. We watched a caesarean section and also had the chance to watch a leg abscess being drained. What was reassuring was that neither of us felt at all ill form the heat when in theatre which reinforced that the heat is a massive contributor to how we react in clinical situations and also that we have adjusted a bit to the climate, though it’s still crazy hot! Being in theatre again was a great experience and every day at the hospital does shed light on a new aspect of Malawian healthcare and how it differs from the UK in both good and bad ways.
Our FHECC work has also moved forwards. We have had a meeting to discuss Home Base Care Volunteer Training and we have agreed to start that up at the beginning of May. Our aim is to cover basic healthcare issues, such as hygiene, nutrition, malaria prevention, HIV Aids awareness and support and any other issues that we come across in the villages in the coming months. We also had our first CBCC caregiver training meeting, where we discussed our plan and asked the caregivers what they would like to gain from the sessions. We are still battling with the image that we are here to provide material goods or financial help, but I think that we are beginning to make progress with helping by using our skills and knowledge and I am looking forward to the coming weeks to the training sessions starting up properly and spending more time working at our project, now that it has taken on a clearer form.
And so, it is time for the food update! This week we made fajitas for the family. We mow have an older sister and brother also living in the house, so the population had risen to 11. I am delighted to say that the meal was a success and there were no leftovers because they kept coming back for more! I think we will stick to fajitas in future and scrap the risotto. Nobody even added salt; we were really chuffed!
The whole Malawian experience continues to be an amazing learning curve which we are both enjoying so much. I hope that everyone at home is enjoying their Easter holidays and as always, I will make a plea for post; we love post! I’m going to keep writing and in the mean-time have an enjoyable break from school or work.
Take care and see you in August,
Love
Catherine
xxx
We are now back from our first holiday in Malawi and it was incredible! Over my birthday week we climbed Mount Mulanje and words cannot describe how beautiful it was. I felt very at home, back among mountains, because Nchalo is so flat and I am used to being in hilly surroundings! Sophie and I stocked up on provisions before meeting Sarah and Tammy (two other volunteers) and catching the minibus to Chitakale, a small town at the base of the mountain. We hadn’t been long in driving out of Limbe before we could see the enormous Massif in front of us and we felt quite daunted by its sheer size. Chitakale is about 11km from Likhubula House, the project that school fundraise for, and I am pleased to say that I did manage to squeeze in a visit to meet Nancy and Mr Nyambalo and also see the pavilion that was built. Nancy could recognise me when I told her who I was (Dad was there over New Year and she could see the resemblance), and Mr Nyambalo didn’t even need to be introduced to me; he walked towards me saying “Catherine, I must be dreaming!” as though we had met before or he had known that I was coming that day, which he hadn’t! it was really strange to be recognised as Dad’s daughter out in Malawi of all places and I was so warmly welcomed; I only wish that I could have spent longer than I did at the project. That evening we went to a great pizzeria for what was an early birthday meal. Walking back to the rest house, cloud had descended over Mulanje Mountain and the top was invisible but it still seemed so high!
I was awake really early the next morning, full of excitement at hiking up and after some last minute stocking up and waiting an hour and a half for a minibus to fill up, we met our guide and porters at the base of the mountain. As we walked up the path to Likhubula forestry office we were surrounded by other guides and porters who were very irate that we had organised our trip in Mulanje town and not through the forestry office, even though we were perfectly justified in doing so. Their anger actually lead to a fight breaking our between our porters and the others so to keep the peace we went to the forestry office and were made to change our guide and porters, but by 10am we were on our way up the mountain. You don’t have to walk for very long uphill before the views over Malawi become spectacular. Peter, our guide, led us up to Lichenya Plateau on the first day, across to Chambe Basin on the second day and down the mountain on the third day. We stayed in the mountain huts with their open fires and the whole trip was brilliant. We felt really small and insignificant on the plateau, looking down on Malawi and looking up to the peaks.
My birthday was spent walking from Lichenya to Chambe and I have to say that, though I didn’t have signal to speak to home, it was a great day. Waking up in the morning, the clouds were below us and completely covered all of Malawi so that it seemed that we were looking out of an airplane and I could imaging jumping on them, they looked that bouncy! I could see where the Chichewa name for Mulanje (Chilumba mum mlengalenga-meaning “Island in the Sky”) came from. It was amazing, also, how the vegetation was so changeable on the mountain. When we left Lichenya Plateau it looked very like the Perthshire highlands, all that was missing were sheep, but by lunch time we were walking through rainforest with Tarzan-esque vines dangling and damp leaves about our ankles. Overall, it was an amazing day; I had birthday cards, it was a pleasant temperature, the sun was out, monkeys swung from trees for us at lunch time, we arrived at our hut with time to bathe in the river and the sunset was stunning. Every minute that we watched, it just became more beautiful and required another picture to be taken. My birthday dinner was also quite an event, with sausages barbequed over an open fire with baked beans and a nice glass of rosé wine! It was a day quite unlike any other and all four of us keep thinking back to the whole trip and remembering how incredible it was. It was also really special to spend time on the mountain that I know Mum and Dad used to escape to at weekends when they lived in Malawi, so it was lovely to spend somewhere that is so special to them too.
After a weekend in Blantyre, in which Sophie and some others got ears and noses pierced (but not me!) we returned to Nchalo. Just descending the Escarpment road we could already feel our surroundings warming up. The last week had been so cold in comparison to the Shire Valley, to the extent that Sophie has had a cold which she is blaming on the cold climate of Mount Mulanje!
This week back at work has been a positive one and progress has been made in several parts of our project. We have both been more hands on at the hospital, carrying our physical examinations on mothers in labour and we also had our second visit to theatre. We watched a caesarean section and also had the chance to watch a leg abscess being drained. What was reassuring was that neither of us felt at all ill form the heat when in theatre which reinforced that the heat is a massive contributor to how we react in clinical situations and also that we have adjusted a bit to the climate, though it’s still crazy hot! Being in theatre again was a great experience and every day at the hospital does shed light on a new aspect of Malawian healthcare and how it differs from the UK in both good and bad ways.
Our FHECC work has also moved forwards. We have had a meeting to discuss Home Base Care Volunteer Training and we have agreed to start that up at the beginning of May. Our aim is to cover basic healthcare issues, such as hygiene, nutrition, malaria prevention, HIV Aids awareness and support and any other issues that we come across in the villages in the coming months. We also had our first CBCC caregiver training meeting, where we discussed our plan and asked the caregivers what they would like to gain from the sessions. We are still battling with the image that we are here to provide material goods or financial help, but I think that we are beginning to make progress with helping by using our skills and knowledge and I am looking forward to the coming weeks to the training sessions starting up properly and spending more time working at our project, now that it has taken on a clearer form.
And so, it is time for the food update! This week we made fajitas for the family. We mow have an older sister and brother also living in the house, so the population had risen to 11. I am delighted to say that the meal was a success and there were no leftovers because they kept coming back for more! I think we will stick to fajitas in future and scrap the risotto. Nobody even added salt; we were really chuffed!
The whole Malawian experience continues to be an amazing learning curve which we are both enjoying so much. I hope that everyone at home is enjoying their Easter holidays and as always, I will make a plea for post; we love post! I’m going to keep writing and in the mean-time have an enjoyable break from school or work.
Take care and see you in August,
Love
Catherine
xxx
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