Blogs from Malawi, Africa - page 69

My first day at the clinic has come and gone. The dichotomy here is so deep. The clinic is part of an outreach project funded by multiple sources and primarily staffed by US doctors. You should check out the website www.bayloraids.org for more details on what they are doing around the world. This clinic is better equiped than the clinic I work in back in Atlanta. Each exam room has a computer on which the docs can access the electronic medical record on every patient they see. Upstairs there is a computer room, library, and conference room. Clearly Baylor has resources. In stark contrast is the neigboring hospital. Outside you see women washing the sheets for the cribs and beds. Women and babies lay in rusty cribs/beds. The hospital serves approx 300 kids. A large quantity ... read more

Gathering inspiration from some of the most well traveled folks I know, Meli and Leroy. I'm going to attempt to chronicle my journey. I can't promise consistency, but you'll get a little peak into my time here in Malawi and eventually Kenya. Plus, who actually wants to spend time individually updating everyone via email! So, for those who didn't know I left... I did. For those who did know...I made it safely. Today is actually day #2 in Malawi. This morning I about to head over to clinic and start seeing some kids. I come with very limited knowledge about pediatric HIV, so I am excited to start learning and teaching. ... read more

A more perfect African meeting place could not be found. It was on the shores of Lake Malawi, the very lake "discovered" by Livingstone 150 years ago, that I found him. Feared lost in the heart of Africa, here he was, immersed in conversation in the Butterfly Lodge. As I walked in, he stopped talking, and met my gaze. He was shorter than I had imagined, and his hair was longer, blonder - but it was definitely the man I was looking for. 'Bobbie Nystrom, I presume?', said I. Well, no, I didn't really, but I did say 'Bobbie?' After months of searching, I had found Nystrom, a man I had never met, but nonetheless, felt I knew like a brother. Years ago - in the mid-80s, in fact - my folks befriended a Swedish family ... read more

Hello everyone from the shores of beautiful Lake Malawi! Two days of horrible driving, including one bushcamp (camp in the middle of the road in a pineforest) brought us here from Dar es Salaam. We arrived late at night, and five minutes before entering the campsite we got stuck on a sandy road. We had to dig the truck out and push the feckin 16 tons, but this is Africa, what can you do? I spent the last two days lazing on the beach, wave riding and sunbathing. Lake Malawi is so big that you cannot make out the opposite shore. Just like the beautiful Indian Ocean, it has got white sandy beaches and beautiful clear water. The weather had been quite stormy when we arrived, and so the waves were pretty big for a lake ... read more

Eventually we managed to drag ourselves away from the home comforts of Mzoozoozoo and April, Dunkin and Donut. We’re still on the road with the Israelis: Raz and Uzi and their trusty Nissan 4 x 4 and Nadav. Next stop was Lake Malawi. We’ve ended up staying at 3 different places along the Lake: Nkhata Bay in the North, Kande Beach in the middle and Cape MacClear in the South. The Northern lake shore is quite hilly - from Mzuzu you drive through the hills and drop down steep slopes to the Lake. Nkhata Bay is a village crowded around a small bay and the headlands either side; Mayoka Village hostel has chalets and campsites spread out over the terraces of the steep slopes down to the Lake. It’s a beautiful place with fab views of ... read more