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
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