It’s Our 1 Month Anniversary-“The Uterus Looks Like A Chicken Breast!”

4th February -19th February 2011

Well, it’s official. I have been in Malawi for one month now. On the one hand, time has flown and we have jammed so much into the last month, but at the same time I can’t help but still not feel set up. I guess that it’s wishful thinking to presume that after a month in a country I would be established and settled. As time goes on in Malawi, it has become apparent to us that life moves at a much slower pace. I suppose that this is because of the heat and also the culture of being more laid back about life in general. As a result, very little progress had been made project wise this week, but we have used our British “must-do-something” attitude to organise our own timetable for some days and we will speak to Paul about what he would like us to do on other days. One morning we waited around for him to arrive at 9…and we waited some more…eventually, at 10.30, Patrick appeared with his bike. We asked why he was here- “transport” was the reply…we were somewhat confused as firstly, there was only one of him and two of us, and he then took the cushion off the back of his bike and put it in our store room. What followed was a hilarious exchange where we asked questions in very slow Chichewa or English, and he relied in a rapid stream of unintelligible Chichewa. I couldn’t help but burst out laughing-if I hadn’t, I would probably have jumped up and down in frustration, as it was we just fell about in fits of giggles, and then Patrick joined in. Then I decided to pose a simple Yes/No question- “Patrick, have you seen Paul today?” The five minute thinking time that followed was enough for Sophie to fall about in hysterics and I had to join in when he answered “No idea”. Sorry, Patrick, that wasn’t one of the options!

We did return to the maternity ward one morning though. We were just about to examine someone in the early stages of labour when a woman fell off the hospital bed in one of the cubicles. Looking through, we could see her having a fit and Sophie and I were both concerned about just how hard she had hit the floor. The midwife explained that due to pre-eclampsia (high blood pressure), she was convulsing and her brain had shut down. It was really important that she be taken on to surgery for a caesarean section, but everybody seemed to move so slowly. We were invited in to help, but still being new to the hospital and Malawian practices, as well as not being qualifies, we declined. I hope that in time to come we will have the skills and knowledge to chip in, but for now it’s safer that we get used to such a different way of handling healthcare. I can’t work out the reason why, but there appeared to be no urgency despite the fact that the placenta was becoming distanced from the baby and it would be denied of oxygen. Eventually she was wheeled off to the operating theatre and everybody else went for lunch. I suppose that even the pace of healthcare in Malawi is slower, I just didn’t expect such important matters to be looked on so causally. I wish we could have followed her progress in theatre, but as yet I still don’t know the outcome.

We’ve also spent time at the NRU near FHECC doing antenatal clinics and we have arranged to spend Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings there. Sophie and I weighed the women and then joined Etulis in one of the cubicles where she was examining the ladies. Etulis and Catherine, the community nurses who work at NRU are great, very friendly and enthusiastic for us to spend more time with them. Etulis has even invited us for dinner and agreed to teach us how to give injections providing that we bring a tomato or orange as practise material! We acted secretarially, at the clinic, increasing the efficiency of the whole process, and wrote fundal height, how many weeks pregnant the lady must therefore be, what position the baby was in, what drugs had been given and when the patient should return. It was great and we both learned so much, but also felt like we were being of use and helping in a small way. Another morning was spent filling in the register as mothers came for the first time to the clinic. It was nothing advanced or scientific, but we were just making the current situation a bit more efficient so we did feel like our contribution was valid-always a bonus! There were some very young mothers-to-be and I wondered about their home lives. Were they married? In a stable relationship? Or had they been abused? There are so many possibilities for so many people and I think that there are probably far too many cases of fathers not being there to help or abusing young girls.

I have had many great opportunities already, here in Malawi, but the most recent and the one which has left me totally speechless for longest was witnessing a caesarean section. We had visited a village in the morning and seen a couple of preschools, but we were back at the hospital earlier than we had anticipated. We sat on my favourite bench-prime position for meeting people and having conversations- and Edwin, one of the doctors walked past. We were talking and he mentioned that he was just off to do a c section. We asked if we could observe and he was more than happy for us to accompany him. We changed into scrubs (I have been in theatre in the UK before, but this was Sophie’s first time so I was keeping an eye on her) and went into the theatre. In many respects it was similar to home-the importance of sterility was still paramount, the equipment was similar, though it is a few years behind the UK. Edwin talked us through what he was doing-cutting the woman’s skin, through fat and muscle (sorry to anybody who is squeamish!) and he then cut into the uterus and brought out a baby boy! It was amazing to see a new life come into the world and Sophie and I were both completely in awe of the whole situation. How amazing is that-we saw a baby being brought into the world! He was a healthy 3.5kg and the mother was fine too. I had been wary when we went in because in the UK, there’s quite a high chance of success, but I wasn’t sure about the chances in Malawi. Edwin was very good and the theatre staff were really informative, explaining the whole procedure, they were so friendly. One thing that was different to the UK was that Edwin answered his mobile as it rang. The first time was quite funny, but Sophie and I thought it was hilarious when the second time that he answered it he said “I’m in surgery”-I wonder what the reply was on the other line!

We’ve also been to Blantyre for a day trip in order to buy a fridge and also renew our 30 day tourist visa. We set our alarms for 4am and we were walking down the dark road to Nchalo by 4.30 with Patrick. Even at 4.30 it is still hot in Nchalo! We were lucky in that we found a minibus which was ¾ full and we were quickly trundling up the hill to Blantyre. We had caught such an early minibus that we arrived in Blantyre at 6.30, a whole hour before immigration opened. Even so, we relished the fact that we felt cool and would quite happily have worn a cardigan if either of us had thought to bring one! Immigration was an interesting experience. What really need only have taken half an hour ended up taking two hours, mainly because we didn’t know what we were supposed to do and nobody really told us! Anyway, by 9 we were legally allowed to stay in the country until mid March, at which point we will have to return to Blantyre for some cool air and another trip to immigration-what a shame! Once immigration was out of the way, we headed to the Chichiri shopping mall (the westernised out of town one) where we quickly bought a fridge! We were both really happy at the thought of having a fridge that we could put water in and have cold drinks. It was amazing, the total contrast between Blantyre and Nchalo. Firstly, the temperature was totally different, but as we sat at the shopping centre, having an amazing lunch, we noticed how different the levels of wealth are too. I suppose it is the same in the UK, there are poor areas and then areas where everything is very built up and cosmopolitan, it was just strange to see it in Malawi. We people watched, one of my favourite hobbies, and watched all the well dressed, well off Malawians walk past going about their errands. Being next to two very British supermarkets, we stocked up on some luxuries to put in our fridge, like a supply of chocolate and some tuna tins and mayonnaise too! Buying them isn’t sustainable on our PT budget, but once in a while as a treat I think we may be OK!
Luckily one of Michelle’s friends was passing through Blantyre on his way to Nsanje and so gave us a lift, with our new fridge, to Nchalo. This was really helpful; the thought of getting the fridge from the shopping mall to the bus station and then on a minibus to Nchalo and then a Sherpa to Sekeni was not the ideal delivery method. Instead, we had a car, trundling down the beautiful Escarpment Road, back into the heat, which managed to drive through the narrow mud lanes of Sekeni and right to our gate. Having been up so early and not being hungry due to a large but delicious lunch we plugged the fridge in, stocked it up and collapsed into bed for an early night!

We also arranged to go south, to Nsanje and visit Chloe and Nancy and stay at Michelle’s house. The plan was for us to meet Grey-a VSO health assistant-as he passed through Nchalo in his car. The car had a slight problem and we ended up waiting in Nchalo town until 8.30 pm before we were on the non-tarmac ked, pothole ridden road to Nsanje! The suspension on these cars must be amazing! We spent a weekend at Michelle’s, in a climate slightly cooler than Nchalo but with many more mozzies, just relaxing and socializing with people in a similar situation to ourselves-i.e. British, young, away from home, working in Malawi. It was great fun and we saw their houses, their colleagues and friends and a bit of a drama production that one of their youth groups is doing about HIV/AIDS awareness. It’s really encouraging to know that they have been through similar experiences to us and we have taken advice on board, but also seen how other PT volunteers live.

I have also now made pancakes for the first time in Malawi. At home, Jen and I make them every Sunday morning, so it was comforting to eat such a homely food. Also, because life in Malawi runs a few hours earlier to Britain, when we were eating lunch, I guess Jen was making pancakes at the same time. Assuming that she has kept up the tradition that is!

We also now have the chance to have cold milk with cornflakes or muesli in the morning! I’m actually ok with powdered milk, though it does taste a lot better cold. Many of you will know that cereal is going to be a main staple for me during my student life, and milk is has been a huge part of my daily routine for years. I’m not quite at the stage of having a glass of powdered milk, but the ability to have cereal is very comforting!
Now, Sophie and I consider ourselves OK cooks; we enjoy cooking at home and are enjoying the opportunity to experiment with local ingredients. However, there have been a few mishaps. One night we decided to have scrambled eggs and make popcorn to have while watching a film. When Sophie went to crack the eggs into a bowl to whisk, we discovered that these eggs didn’t crack very easily…we had bought hard boiled eggs! Never mind, we can still have hard boiled eggs on toast followed by popcorn…let’s just say that the popcorn wasn’t very successful, at least the first batch wasn’t, but luckily Sfero came to the rescue as he passed by on his way back from work and he showed us how we were supposed to do it. We spent the evening sitting outside, chatting to him and eating popcorn while he told us the best places in Malawi to visit, so it certainly wasn’t a wasted evening. We have also bought some rather odd ingredients accidentally-the other day we went to buy a bunch of bananas and thought that we would be clever and buy a green bunch-surely they will last longer. Turns out they aren’t bananas-Gloria and Catherine say you have to boil them first, I think they are plantains or something, but if anybody at home has any ideas of what they are or what to do with them, we would appreciate it! We had to buy another bunch of bananas in the end, seeing as the green things were inedible and there has been another disappearance of pineapples in the market and mangoes have gone too. I hope that this doesn’t last too long, though I have been promised that oranges are on their way in (oranges which are green in colour).

Our other big news is that after having lived in Sekeni for 3 weeks and having really started to get used to it, we’re moving house. Paul and FHECC aren’t happy with us living in Sekeni. Mainly because we are so far away from the office, but also we have no way of getting to the office and they would prefer somewhere closer for security reasons too.
The Doctor in charge of the hospital came and searched us out to show us a room that he thought we could maybe have. We were somewhat confused when the Matron then showed us to a private patient room in the private wing of the hospital. We asked where we would cook and she agreed that the doctor had been somewhat confused and thought we just needed somewhere to rest. The thought of spending the next 6 months in a hospital room and sleeping in a hospital bed wasn’t that appealing, and she agreed, as well as the fact that there’s nowhere to cook!

The matron has taken us into her family. She’s already adopted 5 or 6 of her nieces/ nephews who are orphans, but she was so motherly and welcoming and invited us for lunch the next day to see the house and meet the family. Her house is a far cry from Sekeni. The sugar estate is lush with vegetation and her house is very comfortable, with fans and AC and amazing food! Her husband, Ignatius, is so welcoming and I was really humbled by just how much they genuinely want us to be part of their family. Phoebe and Ignatius also have Phoebe’s brother and a cousin living with them and there are several children-Michael’s 2, Monica’s about 4, Prudence is 9 and Grace is 11 and there are other children who go to university in Blantyre and Zomba. We felt so welcome and have accepted the offer of sharing a room with Prudence and Grace. It is odd, to live somewhere that is such a contrast from Sekeni, especially as we have grown used to it over the last few weeks. On the other hand, I am so excited about living as part of a family, building relationships with the parents and children and experiencing Malawian life first hand. We’ve agreed that we will still cook for ourselves some nights in the week, but we will join the rest of the family at other times and we will definitely be learning Malawian recipes and teaching some British ones too! This does mean, however, that we now need to go about selling the furniture that we bought for our Sekeni house. The beautiful table and chairs will have to go, and the beds, fan –we’re keeping the brand new fridge! I’m sure it will all work out. Living at the Matron’s will still have challenges; we will share a room so we wonder how much alone time and personal space we will end up having, but I’m sure we will sort something out-the family are just so welcoming and understanding and I am so appreciative of that. So, we have now packed up the house, taken photos down, put our clothes in our rucksacks for a fourth time in just over a month and said bye to the neighbours. I wrote Gloria and Catherine a letter in my best Chichewa thanking them for their help and generosity and we have promised that we will come back and visit. It is odd to leave Sekeni, but we’re on for a different type of adventure now!

We’ve now been living in the Phiri house for 4 days and already we have cooked a meal for the whole family. We made vegetarian chilli, beans, guacamole, rice and flatbread on Thursday night. We think that they enjoyed it-Ignatius certainly did- but next time we cook we will make something requiring a little less labour- maybe shepherd’s pie?! I am really enjoying being here and learning about Malawian family life, Malawian traditions, trying to learn Chichewa and bawo (a Malawian game) and we have such an amazing opportunity to really live as Malawians for the next 6 months!

I hope that everyone is well and that the family at Grandma’s birthday celebrations enjoyed themselves; I’m sorry that I couldn’t be there, but it was great to chat to you. Love to all, take care and keep in touch,

See you soon,

Catherine
xxx


PS. Due to living with Phoebe and Ignatius, mu postal address is now:

Catherine Lovegrove
C/O Matron,
PO Box 68
Nchalo
Chikwawa
Malawi
Central Africa

And So To Nchalo

23^rd January-3^rd Febnruary 2011

Well, this has been quite one week! I hardly know quite where to start, but I will start where I left off. Last Sunday Sophie and I went to church with Ruth, Steve and the girls. We met Tamsin and Sarah there and they were in Blantyre for the day, getting some peace from Yamakani Orphanage in Limbe where their project is based. Church was not quite as interesting as the week before-mainly because the pastor was a guest speaker and his sermon wasn’t quite as enthusiastic or enigmatic as the previous speaker’s. Even so, the passion that the congregation have and the music that flows is amazing. At school, in choir, we were always taught the harmonies and we made sure that we knew the different parts. Instead here, everybody sings a different harmony and somehow brilliant music is produced! I was warned that the music in Malawi was good and I’m happy to confirm that this is the case! After a quick catch-up with the others, Sophie and I went back to Ruth’s where we spent the afternoon acting like domestic goddesses! Sophie was in charge of ironing and I handled the sewing. Together we made it through a pile of ironing and ended up making 2 pillows, 2 bed covers, 2 curtains and 2 floor cushions. We also tackled the organised chaos that was all around our room and somehow managed to fit it all back into our rucksacks.

Monday morning at 7, we left Ruth’s and went to the bus station laden with all our katundu to find a bus bound for Nchalo. It took us less than a minute to find one and the bus-men kindly helped load our 2 rucksacks, 2 day sacks, buckets, cushions and extra holdall into the minibus. In accordance with Malawi custom, we then waited for the bus to fill up. There’s no such thing as a bus timetable and 3 a half hours later we there were enough people jammed into the bus to warrant its departure! The Escarpment Road down from Blantyre into the Shire Valley is so beautiful and we watched the world go by, taking in the views and treasuring the breeze (we had been made all too aware that it would be hot in Nchalo-every time we spoke to somebody they’d say “Nchalo?! It’s hot there!”) I find it hard to explain our arrival in Nchalo because we were just so overwhelmed. Firstly, we arrived in the middle of the day and it was boiling hot, there were people everywhere, all demanding money for having taken our luggage off the minibus (!) or trying to get us to put it in their bikes so that they would take it wherever, or stroking my hair-that really annoyed me! Paul met us and was suitably dressed in a lummi vest so that we could spot him-he wouldn’t have a problem spotting us. Other volunteers from Family Health Education, Counselling and Care (FHECC) met us too and I was helped onto the back of a bike and Sophie was on the back of Paul’s motorcycle. We were taken to the office where we were met by singing and dancing and tens of people. We must have shaken everybody’s hand at least once, if not twice. We were sat in front of all the other volunteers and introduced and stood up and received applause. We still find this hard to get to grips with- we receive praise and thanks for just being here; we haven’t done anything except turn up to a lively community in Nchalo and yet so many people are so happy to see us and everybody is welcoming. We feel quite undeserving because we are yet to prove ourselves and I hope that I can live up to expectations! We were taken to our house, which is 2km away from Nchalo and the office, where we put our bags down and Paul made us put up curtains instantly. Sophie and I were a little overwhelmed to say the least, but somehow we managed to muster up the energy to hang curtains and mosquito nets. Neighbours and children were everywhere and we were introduced to so many people again. We were taken to meet the chief of police, in the back of a pickup truck, though before we could leave our house to go, the car didn’t start, so all the children were all gathered around, pushing the car and when we eventually did get going, they were jumping on and off the back and hanging on for a ride. That night, both of us were exhausted, roasting hot and homesick. I don’t think that either of us slept at all and it didn’t help that the glass fell out of Sophie’s window.

Our house has one main room, 2 bedrooms, a small kitchen and a toilet and shower. We are lucky enough to have running water and electricity-both slightly sporadic. The village is called Sekeni I, apparently there’s a Sekeni II somewhere, and there are loads of little winding roads and alleys. Sophie and I have still to make our way to the main road by the same route! We asked Paul on day 1 if it was safe for us to drink the tap water. He said that the locals do and that it would be fine. We “weaned” ourselves onto the chlorine tasting, room temperature water by starting to drink it immediately (to the horror of both our Mums)! We’ve since decided that we will stick to bottled water for now after having drunk it for a few days and not having felt great some of the time.

Tuesday morning was hot and we found it very hard, mainly due to sleep deprivation and the temperature. We were shown around the office and the Mothers to Mothers clinic and some of the local area. By midday, Paul could see that we were clearly exhausted and we cam back to the house and collapsed. It was too hot to do anything at all, and we sat, contemplating 7 months of 36 degree Celsius. By some complete fluke, there was a sudden thunderstorm all afternoon. All at once the heavens just opened and we went outside in chitenjes and just stood in the rain, relishing the feeling of being cold! I have to say that that thunderstorm has been the highlight of my gap year so far. The transformation in our moods was amazing. In the space of an hour, we went from being thoroughly upset and bleak to dancing around in the rain and treasuring the goose bumps on our arms! With much higher morale, we moved both the beds into the main room for company and comfort and that night we slept!

A lot more refreshed, on Wednesday morning we went on a mission with Paul to find a fan. In the same day we managed to find a saucepan! After having searched out all of Blantyre, we have finally managed to buy a pan in Nchalo and our table and chairs were in the process of being made. Wednesday was also the day that we began cooking on our baula (charcoal stove). Gloria, one of our neighbours helped us light it and soon we were surrounded by many of the young mothers from the neighbouring houses. We tried out our Chichewa on them and we are slowly making progress! Paul is amazed that we know how to cook. We explained that we needed help with the lighting of the stove and not the cooking as we had been forewarned by other volunteers that the locals often try and cook your food for you with far too much salt or oil.

Thursday was spent at the office and then gathering some more supplies, meeting more people whose names we have forgotten and trying to stay cool and away from the heat. It is amazing how much the temperature can affect you; between sleep, appetite, mood energy…We hope that in time we will adjust and get more used to it and we are so happy to have a fan too!

Friday morning we went to Jasi I (apparently there’s also a Jasi II). Jasi I is a 12km bike ride, on mud roads, into the countryside. We were Sherpa-ed there (rode on the back of the bikes). This is OK for short distances, but for a good hour it can be painful! Malawian bikes are also not exactly the kind that you would find in the Tour De France or Etape Caledonia. The one I was on had to stop every 5 minutes to pump up the flat tyre and it also had no brakes-luckily the Shire Valley is quite flat, so no excessive speeds were reached. I can’t quite get over the physical strength of the guys though. Cycling 12 km on a dodgy bike on a mud road at 35 degrees is hard enough, before you put a passenger on the back too! Eat your heart out Mark Beaumont! At Jasi we were greeted with poems and songs and drama sketches which the youth group had put on, all centred around the topic of HIV/AIDS awareness and testing. It is clearly a worthwhile project and the community enjoyed it, as did we. We chatted to the group about their work and what they hope to achieve in the future. They have genuine hopes and ambitions for their community (e.g. to develop the water supply and enter the football team into a league, etc) but we can see that their problems are not unique and so many communities have the same issues. Nevertheless, we hope to be able to do what we can to help and develop what is now the community and area that we’re living in.

We spent the weekend getting to know Nchalo a little and meeting the village chief- sadly he had no feathered headdress, much to my disappointment. Unfortunately Sophie wasn’t feeling great (suspected cause: tap water, hence why we’ve reverted to bottled water), so some bed rest was prescribed and I made myself useful by cleaning the house out and doing hand washing. By the time I’m home in August, I hope to be a pro when it comes to fire lighting and also hand washing. It’s surprisingly sore on your hands, what with all the rubbing and wringing!

We had a visit from Chloe and Nancy from Nsanje and they promised us that we would get used to the pointing and staring and the heat. Whatever we’re doing, the local children sit perched on our wall and watch-even when we’re being really boring and playing cards or reading or eating, they’re there without fail! To be fair, the kids aren’t the only ones-some ladies were trying to get in the gate while I was doing our clothes washing but I stubbornly refused to let them have a hold of our laundry! Wherever we go, when we walk through or ride through Sekeni I, we are followed by some little ones and they run about, chanting “Azungu” over and over. I thought one boy was going to hyperventilate the other day, he was so excited! I guess for the local children, who have probably never left Nchalo or Sekeni I, we are the first time they have ever seen a white person and maybe even the first time they’ve heard of one. That’s something which is quite hard to get my head around, seeing as in the UK we are constantly exposed to so many different races both in towns, but also in the media, and I guess that’s what makes Malawi and especially Nchalo, so different. Sophie and I both came here with the hope of fitting in and being accepted as locals, but we’re starting to think that it is more and more unlikely because everybody is always amazed by anything that we do. However, in saying that, the local mums and our neighbours Gloria and Catherine have been very friendly and visited Sophie when she was ill and they are invaluable when we need help with the baula! Maybe the children will always climb the walls and chant as we walk past, but the mums are all more than happy to help and just come round to our front step for a Chichewa chat! We’ve also noticed that since we met the chief the children no longer perch on our wall…we think he must have said something…

We spent a few days at Montfort Hospital this week too. The first day was quite eventful and ended up in me fainting! At the time I was an emotional mess, but now I can look back on it and see it as one of those crazy gap year experiences that make my time here special, I just hope that the experiences become slightly more positive! We were silly and just had half a mango each for breakfast and then went out in the heat and the hospital room was really warm. We were in the Maternity Ward and an “emergency” admission came in. I say “emergency” because there was none of the urgency that would be expected in the UK. While the patient was lying on the hospital table, the midwife took his time in introducing us to all the nurses-we didn’t think that it was quite the time for introductions. I was handed a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff and asked if I would do the initial observations. I said “no”-sure, I’m willing to learn, but I didn’t feel that in an emergency situation was the best time or place for that to happen! In the side room, I was just totally overwhelmed; by the heat, the total contrast with healthcare in Britain, the expectations that we provoke and the scale of the work that the ward have to carry out. There were just so many mothers and tiny babies and I had not anticipated it on such a scale. The next think I knew, my head was in Sophie’s lap and I was lying on the floor all hot and clammy. I’m absolutely fine, but at the time we were both really shaken and after much discussion we decided that we needed to take better care of ourselves and just take the whole Malawian experience a bit slower. We found some food and stocked up on proper breakfast foods. Imported powder milk from Ireland isn’t as bad as it sounds, and it is nice to have cereal again! Our next day at the hospital was much more positive and we were working at the post natal clinic, noting weights and temperatures, and feeling tummies for uterus positions! We both felt within our comfort zones, felt that we were learning and that we were having an experience that we would not be having at home.

Overall we’re settling in slowly and trying to adapt to life in the hot district of Chikwawa. Every day has its ups and downs but we’re taking it slowly and looking forward to some cooler weather! I hope that everyone is well and please do write to me! Take care and love to everybody,

See you in August,

Catherine

xxx