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Published: November 15th 2016
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Hi all.
It's been a big day. today's experience was gut wrenching, and this blog may be a little disjointed as a result. Stay with me though - I do have an embarrassing story to share at the end that will hopefully leave you with a smile.
So, early start and a 3 hour bus trip. Given today was a trip to an 'untouched' village (hunger project hadn't kicked off until this month) it was always going to be the toughest of the trip. We got to see what was possible yesterday - today was about potential and need. Mostly need.
The greeting was epic. Much of the closest village turned out - at least 70 people, maybe more. There's a photo of part of the group attached. The village chiefs had us sit up the front. We were welcomed, a prayer was said for our safe travels and we introduced ourselves. The village put on a short performance for us, then individuals were invited to tell us why the hunger project work was so necessary for them.
Many of the villagers talked about the need for better health care and more permanent work. In particular, health
care for expecting mothers. It's not at all unusual for pregnant women in labour to walk 5-15 kms to have their children born in a proper medical facility. That's right - 15kms. There is limited motorised transport here - and as a result, many births result in the deaths of the child, the mother, or both. It's tragic. And if the child and mother survive the birth, the first five years are still critical. Malnutrition results in many illnesses for children in their first 5 years. We saw evidence of that in the children of the people there - distended bellies and lighter coloured hair.
A woman carrying a baby 5 months old (and she couldn't have been more than 18) was invited to speak. She had walked 5kms today to visit a clinic that had been set up. Her baby looked so unwell - tired and listless and underweight. She didn't ask us for anything for her as an individual, but asked us to share the plight of women and children with anyone who could help when we got home. She wanted to do the best for her child, but was asking on behalf of all mothers in the surrounding villages. When you see first hand a woman asking for what should just be a basic human right - health care and food for her child, it's really hard to understand how no one could have stepped in to help before now. we have so much at home - imagine telling an Aussie that they needed to walk to a hospital when in labour or that their child wasn't entitled to vaccinations or nutrition to help them grow up healthy and strong? We wouldn't stand for it. And yet, there are entire villages in Africa where this is just a fact - and they struggle to imagine it ever being any different.
After the meeting was closed, we were split into groups and taken into some local homes. Our visit was to a mother of nine children (not all had lived beyond 5 years of age). We were able to ask any questions we wanted - she welcomed us into her tiny house with no qualms. Can you imagine inviting four strangers into your home to ask you personal questions? I certainly can't! Yet, she'd even swept up the dust and dirt in front of her tiny house to make us more comfortable. Malawi is very dusty (we come back each day covered in brown dirt and dust), yet she had gone to the effort of trying to make things less dusty for us To ensure we felt welcome.
So, I'm going to try to keep this to the key points of the conversation, which is effectively the key points of how she lives.
First, she's a second wife. Not common here but not unheard of. Her husband doesn't really help out much - she thinks most of the money and his time goes to the first wife. her mother died when she was young and her father raised her. he didn't remember exactlywhen she was born, but she told us she thought she was 45 this year. Our interpreter knew her son - who was 6 years ahead of him in school. That made her oldest son 35. Do the math. We did. We came to the conclusion that, while it was unlikely she was 10 when she gave birth, she was too young to really remember so in all likelihood, was probably 12 or 13. Which makes her 47 or 48 now, but at 12 or 13, way too young by anyone's standards to be a first time mum.
because she's effectively the sole bread winner, she works in addition to looking after her four remaining kids ( three kids are out of home and married). She gets up at 6, and goes to the fields to work. This is usually tending a maize crop. She then walks home via the water source, where she carries back a large bucket of water. She makes lunch for her children and then may take a bath or wash what little clothes they have. She will then prepare for another walk to get water, and then come back to make dinner. She didn't have any food for their evening meal on the day we visited though, so dinner wasn't going to happen that night.
So, with all of those challenges, her youngest son then came in to the house. His name is Charles. Like the other children, his belly was distended. But Charles also appeared to have intellectual challenges. You see, she had had him in her 40s with no health support and she herself was malnourished when she was pregnant. She spoke about his health and was quite matter of fact about him being disabled. I asked her what support she could get to help look after him. She told me that she had taken him to the hospital, but that they'd sent her home with him, telling her there was nothing that could be done and no help they could provide. He is almost 5 years old, yet he's never spoken. I've attached a photo of them.
To have a child in poverty is hard enough. To have a child who is disabled and malnourished, and be told there is nothing that can be done, is surely more than any person should have to live with. But she does - every day. All I could think about when we left her house is what would happen to him if something happened to her. At home, there are support structures in place to help children with these challenges. No child should reach 5 years without having spoken. No mother should be faced with such a hopeless outlook for her child. The hardest thing I've done in a while is walk away from that house without leaving the cash I had in my pocket for her. The hunger project operates on the concept of no handouts - teaching people to look after themselves. after what I've seen in the last few days, I absolutely understand the concept. But I am sitting here at 10.30pm writing this blog with an overwhelming sense of guilt nonetheless. We really take for granted all that we have. At one point, she asked us what we did each day. One of my fellow trippers answered (luckily for the rest of us, who couldn't figure out what to say). Her response? your life sounds perfect - nothing to worry about. Enough said.
so, it was a confronting day. but I did promise you a lighter story!
Many of these kids haven't seen anyone with light skin before. We were certainly a novelty! Except for one little guy - who was probably about 2.5 yrs old. anyway, his mother invited us to sit on her verandah. I walked around the side to go up the steps, just as the little guy came out of his house. I swear, he took one look at me - he screamed in horror and started crying! Our guide, who is from Malawi picked him up to comfort him, then sat down next to one of my fellow trippers. Also with fair skin! Didn't help! Eventually, I'm pleased to say he stopped crying and according to our guide, his heart rate stopped racing (way to make me feel bad!) he eventually came down to the bus with all the other kids to say goodbye. Still wary of us all (and giving me a stare that made me feel like I was under an interrogation lamp!)
Anyway, that's about it from me for this blog. Another site tomorrow, so stay tuned!
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