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
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
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
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