Challenges

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In the final few days of my trip and have been really busy after recovering from the unplanned for hospital stay being treated for malaria - can't believe this happened of all my preparations I think I paid most attention to health but consider myself initiated into Malawian life and the stronger for it. The care and consideration that I have had from the people here has been remarkable, including sleeping on the floor of the hospital room overnight. They tell me that this is the Malawian way and even though I came the here a stranger just a few weeks ago they have treated me as a sister and I shall never forget their kindness and compassion.

Making up for the time lost has meant a very busy couple of weeks and time has flown. I have visited a number of schools, hospiother services services, continued to make visits to the elderly in the different wards of the Church, meet with the many and varied Church Committees and attend Sunday Schools, prayer meetings and services.

Malawi has a thriving community of private Church Schools and many people who can afford it send their children to these. They regard education as really important and investing in it for their children, so that they can do well, go onto furthereducation and get good jobs is really important to them. The classes are a reasonable size, well disciplined and with a full curriculum being taught ( including both English and Chichewa). When set against the state schools it is easy to understand why those Malawians who can send children to these schools do.

I visited M'buka state primary last week. The school has over 7,000 pupils and 65 teachers. Class sizes are over 100 and teaching is done in two shifts ( one lot of pupils and teachers in the morning and one in the afternoon) as there are not enough classrooms and hardly any desks. Even with this arrangement some classes have to be held outside and in the rainy season can't be held at all at times. They have little in the way of teaching resources other then themselves.

The teacher are positive and motivated but fully aware of the restrictions that the circumstances place on them and the disadvantages for the children particularly the less able.

Attendance of children, particularly girls can also be an issue as some of the poorer families don't see the value in education and children may be needed for undertake work at home, care for younger children or the elderly.

I have also visited two state hospitals. Visiting the children's ward at the Kamazulu Central was quite overwhelming, the wards (including intensive care) are very overcrowded with 2 and sometimes 3 children to a bed or cot. There are a huge number of babies and children under 5 in the wards and the Guardian system means that all have family members to help with physical care, emotional support and providing food. This means wards are even overcrowded, there is a constant throughflow of human traffic and it is very hot.

The surgical wards offered a similiar sight with many patients on mattresses in the corriders and two nurses to over 100 patients.

In all areas they struggle with staffing, patient to staff ratios and the availability of require drugs and equipment.

The hospital is considered good, particularly the children's ward, due to the skilled and dedicated paediatricians and nurses but the situation is immensely challenging and it puts into perspectivsavour own complaints about the health service and hospitals we have in Britain.

I also visited the maternity wing of Bwaila hospital (where many of the gifts from the Churches have been distributed) There were so many tiny premature babies in both the intensive care ward and what they call the Kangaroo care ward. It is hard to think of these mothers and babies going home to care for these babies at home in a few days in some quite difficult home circumstances.

The population in Malawi is growing at an alarming rate and 55 percent of the population are under 17. HIV and AIDS is at a pandemic level, touching the lives of all families and with many orphaned children being cared for by other family members, including elderly grandparents or in orphanages. Malnourishment of children and the elderly is a significant issue.

There are immense challenges to the lives of people despite which there is much hope, positive commitment and work. I have seen so many good projects, the dedication of groups and individuals, through the Church, government, community and aid initiatives two reduce need and work towards a better future.

My own thinking, values and what we take for granted (and often complain about) has been seriously challenged during my time here. It is the norm for the warm, and peaceful people that I have been with during my visit and their courage, generosity and compassion in reaching out to others - not because they have a lot themselves but because it is the way they are, the way of their lives is very humbling.

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