Ankoor has arrived in Malawi and we are headed away for the romantic getaway at the beautiful Lake Malawi. We will be back on Tuesday, so don't expect any posts until then.
Have a fabulous weekend.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Numbers
Here are some numbers to make you think:
38 - The life expectancy for the average Malawian
4- The number of ICU beds in the public hospital for all of Southern Malawi
690 - The average per capita income in Malawi in US dollars
12 - The amount, in US dollars, that the government of Malawi has to spend on each citizen per year
6,714- The amount, in US dollars, that the US government spends on each citizen per year
114 - The number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births
46 - The percentage of people that are under the age of 15 in Malawi
I knew most of these numbers before I came to this beautiful country, but they mean nothing until you see the faces of the Malawians and the suffering that is going on here.
Everyday I am faced with unthinkable poverty and then I go home to a comfortable house where we have a gardener, a cook, guards, and someone to clean up our messes. We have 3 computers, wireless (slow) internet, and a movie projector. It is hard to reconcile these two worlds. The patients in the hospital are dying from diseases that no longer exist in the US and most of the people in their 20s and thirties have AIDS. Nearly 90% of the people admitted to internal medicine in the hospital have AIDS.
I am finding it hard to talk about the thoughts that I have each day, but I find comfort in my music and my readings. I will leave you with a fantastic Matt Henry song that I like to listen to when I'm having a difficult day (I hope he doesn't mind).
"In One Peace" by Matt Henry
Here today, gone tomorrow,
There's not enough time to wallow in the sorrow,
There's not enough time
To gargle the guilt.
Gotta swallow that now along with my pride,
Get some energy to move my hands from my side
With apathetic arms, nothing is built.
In one peace, we will learn
That compassion means more than preaching concern
If our friend's in the fire, our fingers must burn
If we believe in one peace.
Interrupt inconsistency
Otherwise just join the insistence
That injustice is ignored.
We, the few, hoard (whored) the necessities
Stolen from the rest so we can have accessories
Our greatest fear is being bored.
In one peace, we will learn
That compassion means more than preaching concern
If our foe's in the fire, our fingers must burn
If we believe in one peace.
Greed is good, if you're an idiot
The cries of the voiceless sound quite hideous
When they interrupt our nap.
Will we wake up to our responsibility
To let all live to the best of its ability
Or will we keep hiding in our crap?
The imbalance is quite ridiculous
The causes aren't quite inconspicuous
Yet, complacency and apathy work by stealth.
If we progress, magnify the gold,
I'll still have more than you can hold
You've got a problem with poverty?
You've got a problem with poverty?
You've got a problem with wealth.
In one peace, we will learn
That compassion means more than preaching concern
For the heart of Truth, our hearts all yearn
And we believe in one peace.
So here we are, it's so amazing,
Our hearts could burst, just gazing
At the awesome gifts of God's caring hands.
Do we give thanks for the chance to be pieces
For your beautiful grace never ceases
To bless us more than we understand.
In one peace, we will learn
That compassion means more than preaching concern
As we dance in the fire, foes into friends turn,
And if a friend is in love, then of love we will learn,
As we believe in one peace.
38 - The life expectancy for the average Malawian
4- The number of ICU beds in the public hospital for all of Southern Malawi
690 - The average per capita income in Malawi in US dollars
12 - The amount, in US dollars, that the government of Malawi has to spend on each citizen per year
6,714- The amount, in US dollars, that the US government spends on each citizen per year
114 - The number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births
46 - The percentage of people that are under the age of 15 in Malawi
I knew most of these numbers before I came to this beautiful country, but they mean nothing until you see the faces of the Malawians and the suffering that is going on here.
Everyday I am faced with unthinkable poverty and then I go home to a comfortable house where we have a gardener, a cook, guards, and someone to clean up our messes. We have 3 computers, wireless (slow) internet, and a movie projector. It is hard to reconcile these two worlds. The patients in the hospital are dying from diseases that no longer exist in the US and most of the people in their 20s and thirties have AIDS. Nearly 90% of the people admitted to internal medicine in the hospital have AIDS.
I am finding it hard to talk about the thoughts that I have each day, but I find comfort in my music and my readings. I will leave you with a fantastic Matt Henry song that I like to listen to when I'm having a difficult day (I hope he doesn't mind).
"In One Peace" by Matt Henry
Here today, gone tomorrow,
There's not enough time to wallow in the sorrow,
There's not enough time
To gargle the guilt.
Gotta swallow that now along with my pride,
Get some energy to move my hands from my side
With apathetic arms, nothing is built.
In one peace, we will learn
That compassion means more than preaching concern
If our friend's in the fire, our fingers must burn
If we believe in one peace.
Interrupt inconsistency
Otherwise just join the insistence
That injustice is ignored.
We, the few, hoard (whored) the necessities
Stolen from the rest so we can have accessories
Our greatest fear is being bored.
In one peace, we will learn
That compassion means more than preaching concern
If our foe's in the fire, our fingers must burn
If we believe in one peace.
Greed is good, if you're an idiot
The cries of the voiceless sound quite hideous
When they interrupt our nap.
Will we wake up to our responsibility
To let all live to the best of its ability
Or will we keep hiding in our crap?
The imbalance is quite ridiculous
The causes aren't quite inconspicuous
Yet, complacency and apathy work by stealth.
If we progress, magnify the gold,
I'll still have more than you can hold
You've got a problem with poverty?
You've got a problem with poverty?
You've got a problem with wealth.
In one peace, we will learn
That compassion means more than preaching concern
For the heart of Truth, our hearts all yearn
And we believe in one peace.
So here we are, it's so amazing,
Our hearts could burst, just gazing
At the awesome gifts of God's caring hands.
Do we give thanks for the chance to be pieces
For your beautiful grace never ceases
To bless us more than we understand.
In one peace, we will learn
That compassion means more than preaching concern
As we dance in the fire, foes into friends turn,
And if a friend is in love, then of love we will learn,
As we believe in one peace.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Pictures from the trek
I must start by saying that I was wrong about the Shire valley being part of Mount Mulanje. Apparently Blantyre, the city where I am living, is in the Shire valley and I have been in Hobbit town this whole time. I was told that some of the Lord of the Rings Movie was filmed on Mount Mulanje, but I haven't checked the validity of this statement.
I figured out an easier way to upload photos, so enjoy! I'm off for our Oscar watching party...taped from last night.
Me on the hike up to the hut
Our hut. I slept on the porch and watched the stars - no city lights in sight.
The view from the hut of the peak that I climbed - Namasile (8,779ft)
Me, Angela, Tom, Shant, and our guide Terry at the top of Namasile
Niamh and I on the way to the hut
One of the awesome views - pictures don't do it justice
On the way up again
The village children at the starting point who waved and laughed at us
I figured out an easier way to upload photos, so enjoy! I'm off for our Oscar watching party...taped from last night.
Me on the hike up to the hut
Our hut. I slept on the porch and watched the stars - no city lights in sight.
The view from the hut of the peak that I climbed - Namasile (8,779ft)
Me, Angela, Tom, Shant, and our guide Terry at the top of Namasile
Niamh and I on the way to the hut
One of the awesome views - pictures don't do it justice
On the way up again The village children at the starting point who waved and laughed at usSunday, February 22, 2009
Home safe from Mount Mulanje
I am home after a peaceful and strenuous trek up Mount Mulanje. We set off from a village where many children chased after our car to greet us before we started the ascent. The children fun to joke around with and extremely excited to see pictures of themselves. They are so very similar to the poverty stricken children that I have been blessed with many times in my life. They were amazing.
We paid 4 men to carry our food and supplies up the mountain. I felt very strange about this, but they were very happy that we had come and this is the only income that they have, and we definitely could not have made the trip with out them. We arrived at our hut in the Shire Valley (where Tolkien apparently got his inspiration) after climbing many stone steps, jumping across rivers, and seeing several waterfalls. It was breathtakingly beautiful. We spent our first night taking a much needed dip in a small waterfall and water pool about a half hour hike from our hut. The hut was positioned in between 2 peaks of Mount Mulanje (apparently there are around 52 peaks). We slept out on the porch beneath the milky way and very unfamiliar constellations.
This morning (Sunday) I made the rather unwise decision to climb to the top of Namesile (8,779 ft). Only half of the group decided to undertake this voyage. The peak is not well travelled (only 3-4 groups make the hike each year), so we were trail blazers. We went through groves of aloe plants, strange trees, and wonderful smells. We scaled rocks and jumped across deep crevaces. We reached the top just when the clouds rolled in and obscured our view of the Shire valley. We got a few peaks through the clouds as they rolled quickly through the valley and up the mountains. It was fantastic, but the trip down was a bit more than I bargained for. By the time that I got to the car I was sure that my legs would give out. I am already sore. I am tired and should rest, but I will try to post pictures tomorrow.
We paid 4 men to carry our food and supplies up the mountain. I felt very strange about this, but they were very happy that we had come and this is the only income that they have, and we definitely could not have made the trip with out them. We arrived at our hut in the Shire Valley (where Tolkien apparently got his inspiration) after climbing many stone steps, jumping across rivers, and seeing several waterfalls. It was breathtakingly beautiful. We spent our first night taking a much needed dip in a small waterfall and water pool about a half hour hike from our hut. The hut was positioned in between 2 peaks of Mount Mulanje (apparently there are around 52 peaks). We slept out on the porch beneath the milky way and very unfamiliar constellations.
This morning (Sunday) I made the rather unwise decision to climb to the top of Namesile (8,779 ft). Only half of the group decided to undertake this voyage. The peak is not well travelled (only 3-4 groups make the hike each year), so we were trail blazers. We went through groves of aloe plants, strange trees, and wonderful smells. We scaled rocks and jumped across deep crevaces. We reached the top just when the clouds rolled in and obscured our view of the Shire valley. We got a few peaks through the clouds as they rolled quickly through the valley and up the mountains. It was fantastic, but the trip down was a bit more than I bargained for. By the time that I got to the car I was sure that my legs would give out. I am already sore. I am tired and should rest, but I will try to post pictures tomorrow.
Friday, February 20, 2009
The End of Week One
The Group: Angela, Tom, Shant, Kim, Katie, Niamh, Sammie, and meI am learning a lot, but I am still processing and deciding how best to share it with you without being too full of doom and gloom, so for now enjoy a short blog and a picture or two. I was able to post a couple pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/EmilyGeib/Malawi#, but I can't seem to upload them to here.
Tonight, we are preparing for a trek up Mount Mulanje. We are packing 4 large backpacks for the 8 of us and hiring "shirpa's" to carry it up the mountain to the hut where we will reside for the night. It is supposedly the 4th tallest mountain in Africa, but we won't be going up to the tallest peak. I'll do my best with pictures when we're through because it is said to be very beautiful.
Funniest shirt: "Beer is the only reason I get up in the afternoon" - worn by a very pregnant lady.
Funniest shirt: "Beer is the only reason I get up in the afternoon" - worn by a very pregnant lady.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
I caught my first Baby!
The big event: Today, at 11:02am I helped to deliver a beautiful baby boy. He weighed 2.5kg, the average weight for Malawian new borns. All ready for the delivery, and noticing that the baby's head was crowning, I called for the midwife. She came over, but did not put on any gloves. This left me and a Malawian medical student in his second week in the hospital to catch the baby. The midwife talked me through it, and I did everything. It was awesome! Mother and baby both are doing great. It was her first baby(she had had 2 miscarriages) and she pushed him out in 7 minutes. She was incredible. The baby was almost immediately placed on the mother's stomach and she was breastfeeding within 30 min.
More about births in Malawi: Here, women often refuse any pain medication as they believe it will prolong labor. In my 3 days here, I have seen it given 1 time. Most women deliver their baby's with very little screaming. Resources are definitely lacking, and nothing is wasted. Today they had to decide who should get operated on first, as only one operating room was available; a women with an ectopic pregnancy that was about to rupture, endangering her life, or a woman that had a fetus in destress with a head too large to deliver vaginally. It seems that about half of the woman that deliver here are HIV positive. Thankfully, the baby that I caught today has an HIV negative mother.
Other stuff: I'm slowly learning the local language (Chichewa). So far I know how to greet someone, say my name is, and see you tomorrow. The Malawians are very kind despite my poor accent and get a kick out of my attempts. My life
Funny T-shirt of the day: A very skinny man wearing an over-sized T-shirt saying, "Wide Load." (sorry, no pictures of this. I usually see them in passing and it would be strange to walk around with my camera out, but if I get a chance...)
Monday, February 16, 2009
3rd day in Malawi
The general stuff: Malawi is hot and moist right now which means that there is plenty of green and many flowers in bloom. The government is stable and it is safe to walk around (during the daylight of course). The Mango season is winding down, so I am enjoying the last couple of weeks of fresh, wonderful mangoes. I am living in a fantastic house with a porch that faces the sunsets. We have two rooms for 8 people and share 1 shower. So far everything is going well with the group and I'm enjoying everyone's sense of humor and unique experiences. Blantyre, the city where I live, is in a valley surrounded by 3 mountains.
The serious: The poverty here is overwhelming and the people are desperate. The hospital provides a unique experience that allows me to see some of the worst of it. Queen Elizabeth Hospital serves most of southern Malawi and is one of the only public hospitals in the country. This means that there are extremely sick people who have no where else to go. There is a malnutrition ward for the children, which is particularly depressing. There is hope in the eyes of the mothers behind the suffering and many do get better. Each patient is usually accompanied by at least one family member. The family usually gathers outside to clean the patients blankets and sometimes they cook over small fires. The physicians are knowledgeable and caring, but the resources are poor, and deaths are all too common. On my first trip to the hospital, I saw a "wailing." This happens after someone passes away. When the body is moved to the morgue, a group of mourners processes behind through the hospital, singing and crying to create an unbelievable sound that sends chills down your spine and brings tears to your eyes. It was beautiful and heart wrenching.
The strong: I saw women today that gave birth with no pain meds and then stood right up like nothing happened, cleaned up their belongings, and walked their new babies to the post-natal ward. I cannot believe the reserve that the Malawians have. Many survive unbelievavle odds and never complain. I have much to learn from them.
The Funny: Ever wonder where your old T-shirts go when you give them away? Well, I found a couple here. Many of the Malawians do not speak English even though it is the national language. They speak the native language Chechewa, so when they wear shirts with English writing, they don't know what they say. Today someone saw a man with a shirt that said, "I kissed your boyfriend on Spring Break." Another man was wearing a sorority shirt that had the caption "Golden Girls of Gateside." Sometimes its hard not to laugh.
Favorite Chechewa word so far: Poopsya - it means Danger
I should sign off and get some sleep. I'll write more when I feel like it.
The serious: The poverty here is overwhelming and the people are desperate. The hospital provides a unique experience that allows me to see some of the worst of it. Queen Elizabeth Hospital serves most of southern Malawi and is one of the only public hospitals in the country. This means that there are extremely sick people who have no where else to go. There is a malnutrition ward for the children, which is particularly depressing. There is hope in the eyes of the mothers behind the suffering and many do get better. Each patient is usually accompanied by at least one family member. The family usually gathers outside to clean the patients blankets and sometimes they cook over small fires. The physicians are knowledgeable and caring, but the resources are poor, and deaths are all too common. On my first trip to the hospital, I saw a "wailing." This happens after someone passes away. When the body is moved to the morgue, a group of mourners processes behind through the hospital, singing and crying to create an unbelievable sound that sends chills down your spine and brings tears to your eyes. It was beautiful and heart wrenching.
The strong: I saw women today that gave birth with no pain meds and then stood right up like nothing happened, cleaned up their belongings, and walked their new babies to the post-natal ward. I cannot believe the reserve that the Malawians have. Many survive unbelievavle odds and never complain. I have much to learn from them.
The Funny: Ever wonder where your old T-shirts go when you give them away? Well, I found a couple here. Many of the Malawians do not speak English even though it is the national language. They speak the native language Chechewa, so when they wear shirts with English writing, they don't know what they say. Today someone saw a man with a shirt that said, "I kissed your boyfriend on Spring Break." Another man was wearing a sorority shirt that had the caption "Golden Girls of Gateside." Sometimes its hard not to laugh.
Favorite Chechewa word so far: Poopsya - it means Danger
I should sign off and get some sleep. I'll write more when I feel like it.
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