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
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