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
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