Hi guys,
So I'm finally in Malawi and already two weeks into my 10 month placement. In thud post I want to explain what has happened so far in my time being here and some of the difficulties I have found to be here.
So after I arrived in Malawi we were picked up at the airport and went up to the north to start our orientation camp. After we had only arrived at around two o'clock in the morning, we were told that we would start the orientation on the Saturday after lunch time, so that we had some time to adapt. So it meant I was able to get a little bit of sleep, but was awake at 9 o'clock already again. I met some of the staff that worked at Maji Zuwa, the lodge where we had our orientation. SO after lunch we started talking about what we should expect being here and what some of the safety ideas are behind our stay in Malawi, for example not using the minibuses after dark, as the drivers can be drunk sometimes. I noticed there being the problem of people being drunk as the journey we had the day before from Lilongwe to Maji Zuwa, we had to stop at several police check points and quite a few of the police officers seemed to be drunk. So so much to actually having police checks present. On the Saturday evening, we had a party then as one of the memebers of the other Organisation that was present there, D2D, was leaving to go back home after being in Malawi for 2 years. It meant I had the chance of meeting some of the local boys that stayed there. I have to say every single one of them was so nice. It gave me a first insight into the attitude of the people here in Malawi, which is so open and friendly.
The next wo days we got some language lessons in Tombuka, the language the people speak up north. I thought the language was very difficult to comprehend, with there being a big different to English. I was hoping that I would get an area where people predominantly speak English, as speaking tombuka is quite difficult. We also had our first experience in the market, where we would walk around and see what for products there are and what the prices where. The market we went to was in a town called Ouliwa. So we had to go on our own on the Monday to the market and with the minibus and see if we wanted to get some things as on Tuesday all the Volunteers would be sent to their placements. I have to say, the market was at first a bit difficult to get a hang of as there is so much going on and so many different people. I was not very sure what I wanted t get as I was not sure what my house would look like and what there would be at the market in my village as I had two bags to carry which were already full and difficult to carry.
So then Tuesday approached faster than I thought. I have to say, deep down I was a bit nervous as I was not sure what I was going to expect. We set off at aroun 10 o'clock towards our placement to put our bags there and then go on to Karonga, the biggest city in the north, to buy supplies we needed. The first time I saw my clinic or my health Centre, I was shocked as it was a small building. My host seemed really nice. I was then told that he was the only worker at that clinic and that I would assist him in the keeping the clinic running and actually making sure that if he is not in the clinic on some days, that I would be there and would be able to run the clinic, meaning I would be the person incharge sometimes. What I really liked about my village at first sight was the fact that it was at the lake, meaning that I could go for a swim whenever I wanted to. I was really happy about that as I knew the climate would be really hot here, in hindsight, I didn't expect it to be that hot. So after a day in Karonga and finally getting to my hut in the evening, I was more than tired and fell straight into bed.
So now, what have I been doing the past two weeks? Well in the week I arrived, my host, Mr. Chilanga was facilitating at a small conference near Maji Zuwa, so I joined him on the Wednesday for this event. It was interesting to see what exactly they talked about as it was about sanitation of people and how to get the community to respect the nature the nature they live in. Anyway, after that day, my host said that Thursday and Friday I should not go as the conference was in Tombuka, but I should go and look at the surrounding, so I can familiarize myself with the town I will be staying at for my 10 month placement. So that is what I did. During that time it only came to me what I was doing. I was gone from my Family and friends for 10 months all by myself, no other volunteer in my town to talk to. I would have loved to just gone back home at this point because I really started to miss my family at that point and I did not have a lot of distraction to help me take away my thoughts about my family.
On the Saturday, I went back to Karonga to go get some supplies I needed, but also to meet the other volunteers to see what their experiences have been at their placement. I then was told by my host that I should go to a meeting with him in Nyungwe, the bigger town with the bigger health Centre. So that is was I did and raced back to Nyungwe, a 45 minute car journey or lets say minibus journey. This meeting was held to get the Health Officers from Ngara and Nyungwe to start at Cholera prevention project in September, as in the rainy season, cholera is a big issue in the north and the company PSI Malawi wanted to reduce this risk. SO anyway, I was included in this meeting as I would have to work very closely with my host in this campaign.
So then my first work week started. I have to say, the clinic is in dreadful shape. There is only one room which actually works and is able to be used to treat patients, but then there is a storage room so messy and so dirty, that it just did not look like a good clinic to treat any patients. It also has a toilet, but because the solar panel is broken, it won't work, so yeah the facilities are dreadful. I was able to see what exactly my goal was for this health Centre. So in my first week at work, what have I done? Well, I have started to learn how to treat patients. These are either women that want to have a family planning injection or children which are sick. I have done Malaria testing, giving out medication for when a child is sick and then also we started the cholera campaign, which meant cycling into the catchment area, the area where the health officer is incharge of treating patients and making sure that the sanitation is correct, to talk about cholera prevention and see if these households actually have the correct facilities, such as a kitchen, handwashing facility, a good toilet facility and a bathroom or kitchen. I also have cleaned the storage space so that at least it can look a lot better and much more organized. As well, we had the under 5 clinic, which is two days in the month where parents come in with children and they are weighed and given vaccinations, to ensure that they stay safe. On Friday, the whole council of the clinic had a meeting so that I can introduce myself to the council and we can discuss the expectations that each one of us has.
Throughout my two weeks here, I have to say I met so many chiefs and village headmen, as my host wants me to introduce myself to everyone so that they know who the new muzungu (white man) is in town. Each of those chiefs have been so nice and so helpful with one sending his grandchild to get me water on the first day I arrived in Ngara. SO a verdict on my first two weeks can be, I am happy I have come here and everyone is really friendly and nice, however, I am finding difficult as homesickness is slowly but surely catching up and the reality that I won't see my family for a year is slowly settling in. And no skyping is not yet an option as the internet connection in this part of Malawi is not very good.
So that was just a brief insight into my first two weeks here in Malawi.
Tim
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