Government hospitals

I was impressed when I first heard about government hospitals. Hospitals of "free of charge" sounded very relieving after seeing so many people and children suffering from malaria and various infections in the villages. But of course, they can't provide the same services I get back home where I have to pay a lot of money for health insurance.

In the area I work, there are 2 government hospitals. People go there walking for hours and hours. When they finally get there, they may be lucky enough to get the medicines if it's malaria. Often times they run out of the medications and people simply have to go home with nothing but their weak and sick bodies. If it's an infection, they give you Panado (local pain killer tablets). Do Panado tablets heal infections? Obviously no.

The other day the wife of a field worker in HIV/AIDS project came asking for my help. Her son had a badly broken arm. I could clearly see it was broken. She went to one of the gov't hospitals and got Panado but she knew that it would not do anything. She had no money because the husband was away. I arranged the transport for her and her son and gave her money to go to a clinic to get his arm X-rayed and treated.

Another day, my local supervisor for preschool project fell down from bicycle. As he is turning 70 years old this year, he was having lots of pain in his back. His muscle must have been torn apart or something. He went to the gov't hospital and again, got Panado.

And today, at a preschool I'm supervising, I saw a 5 year-old boy with a swollen hand. He has 12 fingers and 12 toes. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with the infection but his right hand was huge. His mother told me that she took him to the gov't hospital before and then of course got Panado... The teacher there told me it's a type of skin disease that requires an injection if I understood her chichewa (local language) correctly... I'm bringing him antibiotics ointment and pills tomorrow.

The reality is that people from the villages can't even afford the transport to go to a bigger gov't hospital in town with many volunteer doctors from overseas. Given that, they can't afford to get treatment at any other private clinics of course. But it's a life-or-death matter. And in fact, so many children and adults die from malaria and diarrhea, completely treatable diseases. There is no way I could help everyone. I know. But can't there be anything I can do to change this situation?

If nothing gets treated, what's the point of having a hospital? I wonder...

Life without electricity and running water

Tomorrow marks the 14th day without electricity and running water.

Why no electricity and running water?

Someone stole the electricity cable which was from Germany and is no where to be found in Malawi. How is that even possible?! Well, the water tank in the area is run by electricity and thus I have no running water.

Luckily there is a water pump. But the thing is that over 200 people live in the same area and we have to share this one and only pump... I can't waste my day waiting in line just to get some water...

When did I bath??
Let's not think about that...

So yes, I finally came to town to check emails today.

Suddenly I wanted to ask if the electricity company is doing something about this problem.
The response from the administrator of the place I work is the following:

"NOTHING"

We're paying for electricity on the basis of consumption and not advance-payment. So, there is absolutely nothing we can do about it. How funny!

Okay, I should just get used to it. This is how majority of Malawians live everyday and I should experience their life style.

It's just amazing to see how dependant I am on electricity. I've talked about this already but it's just amazing. It really changes the productivity of work and above all, the hygiene! No wonder many children I see in villages have infections and what not.

Anyways, I'm proud of mastering charcoal cooking and carrying bucket full of water on my head.
That's something I would never learn if I weren't here.

Let's see how long this will last...

Biggest Accomplishment

"What has been your biggest accomplishment in Malawi?" my fellow volunteer friend posed a question yesterday.

It got me to think...

I thought of all the little projects including income generation activities and building of preschools and many more things that I started; but I don't feel like calling any of them as my biggest accomplishment.

As I was practising my daily ritual of listening to BBC news on radio through my cellphone last night, I realized that I do have something I can proudly call as my biggest accomplishment.

The numbers of death from HIV, malaria, malnutrition and so forth, now means something personal. It does something to my heart, just like when you hear a news about your hometown in another country.

When hearing news about hunger and malnourished children, spread of HIV, illiterate villagers, and fear of malaria, I know exactly what they're talking about. I can vividly visualize my preschools and children there. I can remember the faces of my friends from positive living club (those who are HIV positive) and their life stories of how they got HIV. I can feel the pain and fear of getting malaria or loosing someone important from malaria. I can remember the smell of villages and the color of beautiful sunsets in Malawi...

Though it may sound strange and I can't express myself well enough, I somehow feel proud of that.

May be this whole development work or volunteer experience is all about this, being able to relate the sufferings and events that happen in other side of the world. Or is that too selfish of an idea??

Less than one dollar a day...

The word "Extreme poverty" suddenly became something with a meaning to me.

The World Bank defined "extreme poverty" as "living on US $1 or less per day."
I can't recall how many times I came across this word in economics textbook I've read, in debates I participated, or in documentaries I've watched as a university student.

But the thing is, it meant nothing. It was a word without meaning. It didn't trigger any images or feelings. I simply failed to associate myself with this concept itself.


Yesterday, I had a small argument with a guy who was selling me roasted corns. He charged me MK30 [Malawian Kwacha](or 20 cents) instead of MK20 that he normally charged simply because I was azungu (the rich or non-Africans in Chichewa). My fellow volunteer friend was laughing at me saying how stingy I was for being upset over MK10 (12 cents) . The money wasn't the issue. It was the fact that he charged me more because of who I am-- I wanted him to consider me like anyone else in the village.

Suddenly, I realized how little he earned everyday and felt slightly guilty for accusing him for charging me MK10 more...

As I waited for the bus to come, I asked a lady who was sitting right by me how much she earned that day from the green vegetables she was selling for MK5. "MK135" she said. Less than a dollar. (MK150 = US $1)

Less than one US dollar for her whole-day work at the market.


1 tomato MK15-20.
1 egg MK25.
1 papaya MK50.
1 kg of rice MK150.
1 kg of groundnuts MK150.
100g bar of chocolate MK250.
1 litre of gasMK250.
1 litre of milk MK300.
1 chicken MK550-700.
and 1 bottle of wine MK2000...

No wonder so many children in the villages are malnourished.


It occurred to me that adjustability could sometimes be cruel. While I started recognizing the intangibles from the people I work with-- happiness, peace, and love regardless of the circumstances, I stopped feeling peoples' suffering here. I stopped seeing the poverty here. But there really are, right in front of me.


EXTREME POVERTY... Less than one dollar a day became real.

Kids with big bellies 栄養失調の子供たち

Have you seen a photo of a child with huge belly like this boy? Well, I have.

That was a typical image of African children in poverty often depicted by the media.

Here in Malawian villages, I see such "big bellies" literally everywhere.

It's not that they're starving but they're very very malnourished, which is why they have the big bellies.

I don't have any medical background but I got to know that the big belly is due to a combination of stomach worms and lack of nutrition, particularly that of protein. Kids here eat pretty much ONLY carb from maize flour.

As I visit nursery or pre-schools almost every weekday, the site of malnourished children with huge bellies has become something normal. I managed to have nutritional supplement and porridge flour with lots of protein and vitamin donated but this is only a temporally solution. I help some preschools to have groundnuts and soy seeds planted but then again, this is not a long-term solution to provide sufficient nutrition intake on a daily basis.

My fellow volunteer who used to work in very poor province in Mozambique recently told me about a 7 year girl she knew. This girl was extremely malnourished, literally being about to die when she last saw here. So my friend tried to get an ambulance come. Unfortunately, this girl died in my friend's house, waiting for the ambulance that never showed up.

I often hear people say "That's just how it is" when someone passes away.

Is that really so? I wonder...

栄養失調が原因でおなかが膨れ上がった子供の写真を見た事がありますか？

メディアでよく見かける貧困地域に住む子供達の様子
――これが今マラウィの村に住む私が毎日目にしている光景。
彼らは飢え死にしそうなくらい食料が無い訳ではない。でも栄養失調は多くの子供たちが直面する問題。それが原因で、写真に写っているこの男の子みたいに、大きく膨れ上がったおなかの子供たちがあちらこちらに。

医学の知識はないけれど、このビックベリー（大きなお腹）については少し理解が増えた。原因は栄養失調（特にプロテイン）とお腹に住む寄生虫。この辺りの村では、トウモロコシの小麦粉からの炭水化物が主な栄養源。

ビックベリーの子供たちも、始めはショックを受けてたけれど、いつしか普通の景色になってきたように感じる。他のNGOから栄養補給の食料を寄付してもらう事ができたけれど、これは短期的なソル―ションで問題解決ではない。大豆やピーナッツの栽培を援助しているけれど、これも同様、365日毎日必要な栄養が取れる事にはつながらない。

つい最近モザンビークでボランティア活動をしていた親友からショッキングな話を聞いた。彼女も貧困地域で活動していたため、栄養失調の子供たちをどこでも目にする。彼女が出会った7歳の少女は過度の栄養失調のためいつ亡くなってもおかしくない状況だった。いつまでたっても来なかった救急車を待機している最中にこの少女は息を引き取ったとのこと。この親友の家で。

誰かが亡くなるたびに、「しょうがない、これが現実」、というような発言をよく耳にする。

でも本当にそうなんだろかっていつも自分に問いかけている。

Dear Anna

On Saturday, June 28th 2008 around 7:30pm, I lost my dear friend Anna, a fellow volunteer in Malawi.

Cerebral malaria took her life away. She was only 27 years old.

On Wednesday June 25th, her malaria test (from blood) showed negative but malaria was there in fact. Soon after, the parasites went into her brain and killed her.

We went through a tough 6-month training together in St. Vincent, Caribbean.

We laughed and cried together.

We shared the same passion for development and helping others in need.

She was a mid-wife.

She was a knitting specialist.

She was a person of love.

She was like a sun shine.

Always lighting up those around her.

Even if it's cloudy, shining behind the clouds.

Even if it's cold, warming all the life without discrimination.

Even if it's dark, lighting up the whole world first thing in the morning.

Now I hope to hard twice as hard for Anna.

Dear Anna, You will always be on my mind.

Thank you so much.

Mitsue

June

Another busy mouth is about to end.

I find myself too exhausted to sit in front of computer.

No TV to kill time. So I read or sleep.

Anyways, my laziness to update this blog is really becoming a problem.

Once again I tell myself to update it more often...

A lot happened this month.

A colleague of mine (a staff member working at teacher training college in Chilangoma) had a wedding. Oh yes, a short story to share. In Malawi, wedding day consists of two things- traditional ceremony at church or mosque, and the special reception. When I say special, it's very special. Basically, people dance to the music and toss cash into the basket. And THIS along lasts for 3-4 hours. THREE TO FOUR HOURS! Anyways, that was an experience. I could not stay longer than 1.5hour out of boredom and without enough money (lol).

Our piglets now have names -Eperque (the bigger one) and Uni (tiny one). And they're growing pretty fast. We had to find a vet because Uni was suffering from worms and as a result, not gaining weight. Mr. vet came and gave vaccinations. They were crying like no other. Then 2 days after we gave Uni the de-worming medicine, TWO long disgusting worms came out from her (excuse my words and image I give you in your mind) ass hole. No comment. We feed them madea (leftover maize after milling) and lots of vegetables. The house we built for them seems little too big for now. Next Tuesday, I'm organizing the first pig IGA meeting so I will update on that as well.

What else, oh yes, there have been lots of soccer games in Malawi. I went to the stadium for some of the games. Malawi miraculously beat Egypt and you can imagine the whole city going crazy from this victory.

As usual, we had our preschool teacher training day. We taught many things, one of them being poster making and classroom decoration. This time, we had those teachers draw human body to teach children body parts. They seemed to enjoy such activities. I have no talent to draw but I wish I could teach them better.

Four boxes of school supplies from the university I studied at finally arrived. Amazing. I can't thank my ex-boss and those students who were involved in collecting and shipping these materials. Children here will be so grateful.

And yes, one more thing. We bought a sugarcane juice machine with which we would like to start an IGA. The idea is to replace sugar with this juice so that the cost will be chapter for the village people. I demonstrated how this machine works and had them taste the juice. They seemed to have enjoyed it. I will see how it goes with the logistics.

Okay, now this is a lot again. I hope I can enter new blog within this week...