Blogs from Southern, Malawi, Africa - page 11

So here is a brief breakdown of the work experience in Malawi. Since I've been here (2 weeks) I have been exclusively at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre. It is the biggest hospital in the country and home to the medical school. The medical school has only been in existence for a few years, initially the graduating classes were 20-30, now it's closer to 100. Regardless, these graduating doctors are meant to see to the needs of the entire country of 12 million, a difficult task given the current numbers. Because of this Malawi relies heavily on foreign doctors, specifically surgeons. One guy asked me if I would be willing to stay for a year if they could get approval for it. I have a feeling that, when I said no, he asked some dude ... read more

The African sun is setting gently over the countryside. As the sun sets, the warmth of the light bathes the surrounds and the earth deepens in colour and bringing out beautiful rich burnt ochre. On some days the sun itself turns a deep, deep red. The colours of the evening are uniquely African. The landscape during the day is largely dusty brown punctuated by occasional bright colours of bougainvillea or jacaranda trees which are shedding their purple flowers onto the grounds around them. Zomba is a quiet and small leafy green town in the south of Malawi. It has a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. Our garden looks out towards the Zomba plateau and elsewhere around the town are hills of varying sizes. I’m lead to believe that on top of the plateau there is forest and ... read more

Every interaction or conversation begins with the statutory greetings; which have quickly become referred to as mulu bwangying amongst ourselves. • Moni Achemwele / Amayi / Abambo (hello sister, mother, brother) • Mulu Bwanji? • Ndili Bueno, kaya inu? • Ndili Bueno, Zikomo Often that is the interaction in its entirety; people in the street call out to you as you pass Moni achemwale, mulu bwanje…..yesterday a man I passed on the street waved as many people do (there are relatively few white people here and we stand out like beacons and have some kind of strange celebrity status) and shouted his customary greeting and when I replied he broke into a huge grin and got up walked from where he’d been relaxing with his daughters and shook my hand went through the whole process and ... read more

Our journey to Zomba was not without adventure. We filled a small pickup truck with the three of us, a driver, Zenaida our representative from Zomba Mental Hospital, Thomas the HR manager and a policeman who had spent a few days in Lilongwe following up a case. All our oversized western baggage filled up the back and we had small bags on our laps. We made our way to the VSO Lilongwe guesthouse in order to pick up equipment for the house. After some discussion three double mattresses and a fridge freezer were added to the back and we all squoze back into the truck and went on a journey to try and find a rope to tie down the load. After trying several places stopping and starting our journey; we finally located a rope and ... read more

Hey again! So I have spent the last 4 weeks in Blantyre doing an orientation at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. It has not been my favorite thing to do so far in Malawi, but I have learned a lot. And I have seen a lot, but I will spare you the gory details. Usually, my typical day, Monday-Friday consists of me getting up around 6am. Putting on my lovely nurse’s uniform. Walking about a mile (uphill, in the rain - jk, it isn’t rainy season yet) to where the mini buses park. Paying about 50 kwacha (many times they try to charge me more because I am a mzungu) to ride to the hospital. Wandering around until I find the ward I am supposed to be at by 7:30. Waiting in the sister’s lounge (nursing station) until ... read more