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Published: January 3rd 2008
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Cape Maclear
Another pretty picture The Inconvenient Centipede
On the way home from Mangochi (email town) last week, we suddenly heard our driver, Watipa, utter ‘sh*t’, before not-very-slowly pulling our Toyota minibus to a stop. There was a centipede (of the poisonous variety) on the dashboard. The word ‘centipede’ does not do this thing justice. It had 100 legs but they were by no means close together, causing the thing to be pretty large (a foot or so long). Our coordinator Francis managed to get it out of the vehicle but all the commotion caused an unsuspecting cyclist to fall off his bike, dropping his load of tomatoes at the same time. Three cars then joined forces to try to run over the insect so that one of the many people who walk barefoot along the roads in the pitch black would not stand on it with their bare feet. They eventually succeeded. I have enough stories of travel in Africa to write a book, but I thought I’d share that one with you.
I hope everyone had a happy New Year and 2008 is treating you well so far. The Malawians like to celebrate the whole way from Christmas through to January 2nd
(with January 2nd surprisingly seeming to be the most celebrated day of them all). We spent Sunday and Monday night back in Cape Maclear. It’s cheap, cheerful, and near to us. There were many more ‘mzungus’ than we had seen before, mainly South Africans. We lazed around at the beach and then went to a couple of bars to hear some more good Malawian music. At midnight we were outside a Reggae bar on the beach. We were pleasantly surprised to see some fireworks (the number of which I could count on one hand). Unfortunately, Steve was unable to come with us. He is getting over his malaria and is still in a pretty bad way. Needless to say he is getting pretty fed up with it. Just in the past few days he has been able to start eating again though (he has lost about a stone in weight), so hopefully he will be back to normal soon.
Work has been pretty busy. This morning we were taken out to learn about the ‘Home Based Care’ project. Villagers sign up on a voluntary basis and undergo four days of training in basic care. They are then provided with
New Year's Eve
Kaye, me, Stevie (gardener & sports manager), Computer (chef), Katherine & Early (one of the Cape McLear locals). a large box (1 per village) that contains bandages, re-hydration salts, Panadol, malaria medicine, condoms, towels, soap etc etc. Local people in need of treatment then have access to some basic care. If they are sick they can either visit the house where the box is kept, or they are visited in their own homes (some patients have permanent records and are visited on a regular basis). This project has helped 4 villages so far. It makes a huge difference to a lot of people as most of the people from the rural villages are unable to get to the hospital for reasons such as having insufficient money to pay for transport or because the access itself is so bad. Right now, in the rainy season, there are many more illnesses out here. There are also many more deaths as roads are inaccessible. The Home Based Care project is targeting the villages that need this assistance most. Next week we will be visiting a village that is only accessible by boat. I am hoping to use some of the fundraising money that you have all been sending me to help with this project. I think it’s a good one because,
like I said, the villagers themselves are trained. They are then able to assist themselves. I may have enough money to start up a whole new village (to pay for everything from training to manuals to a box and all of its contents). I will keep you posted and get some photos for you. Either way, money is needed to keep these boxes full of supplies. Many were originally provided by ICEDA (Icelandic Development Agency) but things are always running out.
That’s about it for this time. Saturday night I am off to see Lucias Banda in concert. A month ago I had never heard of this guy but a day in Malawi never goes by without me hearing his name. He has quite the following! At just over a dollar entrance fee I think I can make it.
Talk soon,
Joanna x
“The country of Malawi is rich. It’s the government that’s poor”
- Quote from the hospital security guard.
“Would you be this happy in Mozambique? Would you be this happy in Angola?”
- Quote from a local artist when he saw how happy we were during our New Year weekend.
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