marklesparkle

After four months in Malawi it is sadly time for me to say a temporary 'goodbye' to my friendly yet admittedly taxing "second-home." My experience at Partners In Health thus far has been nothing short of life-changing. In addition to getting an inside look at the drug procurement process - which is unfortunately plagued with corruption, customs problems, and routine stock-outs - I have also been inspired by my clinical experiences here to think seriously about pursuing medicine as a second-career (more on this later...). While I will thankfully be returning to my post at PIH in March, this temporary departure is still somewhat bittersweet. When I return in March, the weather will be much cooler, and the bugs will be much more manageable; but I will nonetheless miss some of my colleagues who will be ... read more

After a brief and relaxing vacation at Cape Maclear, the time has finally come for me to begin my duties for Partners in Health. To be honest, I still feel like I am in a bit over-my-head. Despite having an 'academic' background in global health, I have never actually worked in a health facility before, and the challenges of working in an area as poor and remote as Lisungwi will likely be even more difficult than normal. Just to recap a little from my first blog entry in Malawi, Partners in Health was invited to the country in 2007 in order to help support a number of health facilities in the country's poorest district of Neno. Much of the reason behind the poverty here is (I think) a result of geography. Neno is the only district ... read more

While reading up on Malawi over the past few months, I repeatedly came across articles that said that Malawi was "the warm heart of Africa." And, quite literally, they were correct- Malawi is about as hot as a gorilla's anus. But despite the overwhelming heat (it is currently about 110 degrees here), the people in Malawi are indeed as friendly and hospitable as any you will find in Africa. I am always shocked at how happy and accommodating people are in places where the average person lives off of less than $1 a day. We, in the states, could definitely learn a lot from this... But I digress. About a month ago, I was fortunate enough to land a gig working as a Health Systems Coordinator (and videographer) for the global health organization, Partners in Health, ... read more

Before I first arrived in Japan, I had a vague idea of what I expected to see. Based on the few books and films that I had read/seen, I (perhaps naively) expected to see temples filled with Buddhist monks and geishas walking the streets dressed in kimonos and serving tea. Needless to say, Japan as a whole is nothing like that; but Kyoto is something totally different. As I soon discovered, Kyoto is a rare relic of Japan's past, and a city that I feel everyone should visit to get a sense of what Japan was really like before the 20th century. Having served as the capital of Japan for over a millenium (from 794 to 1869 CE), the city is filled with literally thousands of Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, which dot the city on ... read more

Between the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 and the Great East Japan Earthquake last year, a lot has been said about the effects of natural disasters on the health and well-being of the communities that are affected the most. Much of the dialogue has revolved around how to rebuild these communities using limited (and sometimes nonexistent) financial and logistical resources from NGOs and foreign governments. While these discussions are immensely valuable, and usually succeeded by an initial outpouring of aid and volunteerism from the international community, they are usually somewhat short-lived. But, unfortunately, it often takes years, if not decades, to rebuild the lives of those who have lost their homes, loved-ones, and livelihoods. This is especially true in the case of Japan, where it is still unclear how long people will continue to feel the ... read more