2nd February
Another day, another destination within this beautiful country. This morning we set off to visit one of Oxfam's projects which addresses the issue of HIV/Aids in a remote rural area but one that also is concerned with maternal mortality.
On the way we pass by huge tea plantations. We see a sign which reads "You are entering a child labour free plantation"! We see the tea pickers with huge baskets on their backs picking the shiny fresh green leaves of the tea we so love to drink. They truly are huge baskets. Pickers seems to be all men or all women but not both together.
Now we take a right turn off the main road and encounter people everywhere at a roadside market but only a few yards further on we pass Thyolo hospital sporting the sign on the gate "This is a Child Friendly Hospital" with a painting of a breast feeding woman at its side. A left turn past the hospital and we are on a dirt track which passes through an extensive tea plantation, "owned by someone in the UK" we are told. It is gated and we have to pass through with the permission of the two guards. Right in the heart of this plantation is our destination. The road is tortuous, and driving in anything other than a 4 wheel drive vehicle would be unhealthy never mind uncomfortable. We pass people gathering macadamia nuts from the many trees on the way.
As we arrive in the village we are greeted by many, many children all waving and smiling and a group of women welcome us with song. We are ushered into a low, darkish, building where seated in a line are the people who are in involved in the project. The welcome is delightful and long and everyone is applauded for their position and for what they do. The village head man gives an address and then the officer with the community based organisation working with Oxfam gives us a full run down of statistics and people in the HIV/Aids programme. Finally we come to the issue of maternal mortality and the women in the group begin to speak. One of them was a Traditional Birthing Attendant who is no longer allowed to work according to a government directive. And in his final address the village leader states categorically that there will be heavy penalties imposed on anyone continuing to work as a TBA. We are told later that the TBAs had only received basic training and would often take on more complicated births than they were able to cope, resulting in high mortality rates.
However, one of the main difficulties for pregnant mothers in labour is the ability to get to the hospital. The nearest is only 3 miles away, we passed it, but the road is so treacherous no pregnant woman, nor one in labour, should look at it let alone drive down it. The only mode of transport is a bicycle with a stretcher attached. One man says it is dangerous for the men to ride this bicycle down that road, especially in the dark night because that is when most women go into labour!
Unfortunately, the bicycle is no longer in working order, the back tyre needs attention and we are told later, when viewing the famous bicycle, that the last time it was used the poor lady lying on that stretcher died before she reached the hospital.
Transport is not the only difficulty when it comes to giving birth. A second problem is the question of who takes the decision that the woman should go to hospital and when. It is usually the husband and if he is not there, waiting can be too long and too late; at the same time no one else in the village might know a woman is pregnant - witchcraft of old is still thought of and not knowing whom might be your enemy causes you to hold your tongue! A third difficulty is that very often when a woman does reach the hospital ready to give birth there is no one to attend to her.
One broken down bicycle for the women of 11 villages. It is sad!
After handing out WI pens we move on to visit another hospital with a maternity wing.
Also the site of a college of midwives. This is St Joseph's hospital, a hospital set up in the 1950s by the Catholic Church. We meet one of the two doctors who works there; his colleague is GP trained. In the welcoming group there is also the chief nursing sister (both a nun and a nursing sister).
Here, women from a designated area are treated 'free of charge' and their particulars on the relevant form must come with them to be passed to the government who will then pay the costs. Any woman from outside the area would be treated but payment would be expected. Dr Banda who trained in tropical medicine in the west tells us he came back to work in Malawi because he wants to help those less fortunate.
We are shown the maternity wing beginning with the check in room and the delivery suite. Our standards at home seem sky high in comparison! Then we go to the ward where tiny newborn babies lie in the middle of the beds with their mother. They are to stay for several hours only and while they are there their families must feed them. There is a compound outside the ward where families stay.
With the rain finally falling we are shown across the yard to the school of midwifery where Rose, the principal tells us that in the third year they have 54 pupils but in the first year the have only 3. This is because the government has withdrawn funding as of September 2009. Now students have to pay their own fees. This means that would-be students have to find over 1,000 pounds per year. They cannot do this. Speaking later with 4 third year students, two of them, young men of 22 and 21, tell us that they wanted to be midwives because they wanted to do something to stop the deaths of mothers and babies, wanting to help those less fortunate and one whose twin brother died of asthma who wants to be able to help avoid such deaths. The three year course qualifies them as a general nurse too.
The day is over. We drive back in torrential rain - thank goodness, the rains will help the maize to grow. May it pour all night.
Monday, 1 February 2010
Hello Malawi!
31st January 2010
Hello from Malawi!
27 hours of travel and we arrive in Blantyre. The Sunbird hotel awaits at the end of our 4 hour road journey from Lilongwe, passing through the most deprived and poorest of areas. Of course, the heart is tugged by barefooted, beautiful children in rainbow hued clothes and young women holding out bowls of their home-fried insects which come with the rainy season to sell to passing travellers. Yet we all thrill at the sight of artistically piled turrets of tomatoes, potatoes and mangoes in the roadside markets.
Maize is planted in every available space within the deep orange earth of the lush green landscape which reminds me of the Brecon Beacons - without the gorse. And the villages of grass roofed huts speed past as well as hundreds of rectangular buildings - homes, looking as if deserted but not so; and there is the very odd smart one too. But everywhere, familiar signs - "Blueband, the spread" and "OMO for good dirt" Incongruity and beauty - an adventure waiting.
1st February 2010
We hear it is snowing back home but here in Blantyre it is very warm and humid and before long it is HOT. Our day begins with a visit to the Oxfam office, just beside the hotel. We are given a brief overview of the work it is carrying out and hear of the earthquake that struck Malawi in December- 6.3 on the Richter scale. Malawi is used to dealing with flood and drought but earthquakes of this magnitude is new. 3,000 people are in camps and house rebuilding is desperately needed.
We learn that the rate of HIV/Aids is still very high here but that it has fallen from 14% of the population affected to 12% as antiretroviral drugs are now available and free. This and a lot of education has helped the situation and continues to do so.
But we also learn that 1 in every 100 women still die in childbirth and this is the crux of why the WI has come to Malawi.
Maternal mortality is an issue within Millennium Development Goal no 5 - Female Health. So we set off to a village where we are to meet pregnant ladies. We are so graciously received with the sleeping mat put down on the bare earth for us to sit.
Our hostess has 3 little boys, the youngest not much more that a year old and baby number 4, whom she hopes will be a girl, is due - she does not know when! She goes to a hospital close by every month, but she has to take a taxi as she is still breast feeding her baby and walking is not easy. For a fee she could go to a nearer hospital.
She wants no more children after her baby is delivered and will take contraceptive advice after the birth. She didn't want her husband to know. We are invited into the family hut which is pitch dark even when our eyes become accustomed to it. We are told her older child sleeps with the grandmother across the way. Very happily the family pose for photographs.
A very short walk to another village and we are introduced to a second lady, a first time mother of 18. She brings out the upholstered dining chairs on which the men usually sit as well as the sleeping mat. I sit on one of the chairs with our hostess. She seems somewhat bewildered by the whole process of maternity but is glad that she has learned what it all means from the health worker in the hospital as she had been frightened by what she had learned of giving birth from the women in her village. When asked what her hopes for her baby might be she said first that she hoped it would be a boy and that he would grow up to be a male nurse. She had hoped to be a nurse herself but had to leave school, having reached Grade 5 only, when she became pregnant and married. Perhaps she will return to education one day. I hope so.
And finally today, off to a Health Centre proudly welcomed by the Health Worker and his caretaker/assistant. Daily 500 patients are expected and received - and treated. A few patients were in the waiting area - an open-sided room with hard benches. One small boy looking unwell was led from the surgery by his mother. We were told that now is the time when there is much Malaria. Mosquito nets had been given out in the past but this year they had not. To this health centre people come for diagnosis of HIV/Aids but they are treated at the hospital some distance away.
Everyone seemed so very pleased to see us and were happy to welcome us into their homes and work place. The day's excursions felt positive - but where we found ourselves was remote by our standards and there are people living in far more distant places who do not have access to much healthcare at all and certainly not anti-natal or post-natal services.
There is one exciting thing I have to tell you - we have our first WI in Malawi! Well, not strictly, but in one village, with the dedication and foresight of one man in a voluntary capacity, he has set up a place for the women, with their children, to go. This group were saying that they have time to meet together and they want to talk about all sorts of subjects, but they need a leader. Needless to say, I easily identified the president and the committee! And through the translator it was felt that the WI model was for them. Who knows where this might lead but if the structure of the WI can help these women find their voice then no one is happier than yours truly, Ruth
Hello from Malawi!
27 hours of travel and we arrive in Blantyre. The Sunbird hotel awaits at the end of our 4 hour road journey from Lilongwe, passing through the most deprived and poorest of areas. Of course, the heart is tugged by barefooted, beautiful children in rainbow hued clothes and young women holding out bowls of their home-fried insects which come with the rainy season to sell to passing travellers. Yet we all thrill at the sight of artistically piled turrets of tomatoes, potatoes and mangoes in the roadside markets.
Maize is planted in every available space within the deep orange earth of the lush green landscape which reminds me of the Brecon Beacons - without the gorse. And the villages of grass roofed huts speed past as well as hundreds of rectangular buildings - homes, looking as if deserted but not so; and there is the very odd smart one too. But everywhere, familiar signs - "Blueband, the spread" and "OMO for good dirt" Incongruity and beauty - an adventure waiting.
1st February 2010
We hear it is snowing back home but here in Blantyre it is very warm and humid and before long it is HOT. Our day begins with a visit to the Oxfam office, just beside the hotel. We are given a brief overview of the work it is carrying out and hear of the earthquake that struck Malawi in December- 6.3 on the Richter scale. Malawi is used to dealing with flood and drought but earthquakes of this magnitude is new. 3,000 people are in camps and house rebuilding is desperately needed.
We learn that the rate of HIV/Aids is still very high here but that it has fallen from 14% of the population affected to 12% as antiretroviral drugs are now available and free. This and a lot of education has helped the situation and continues to do so.
But we also learn that 1 in every 100 women still die in childbirth and this is the crux of why the WI has come to Malawi.
Maternal mortality is an issue within Millennium Development Goal no 5 - Female Health. So we set off to a village where we are to meet pregnant ladies. We are so graciously received with the sleeping mat put down on the bare earth for us to sit.
Our hostess has 3 little boys, the youngest not much more that a year old and baby number 4, whom she hopes will be a girl, is due - she does not know when! She goes to a hospital close by every month, but she has to take a taxi as she is still breast feeding her baby and walking is not easy. For a fee she could go to a nearer hospital.
She wants no more children after her baby is delivered and will take contraceptive advice after the birth. She didn't want her husband to know. We are invited into the family hut which is pitch dark even when our eyes become accustomed to it. We are told her older child sleeps with the grandmother across the way. Very happily the family pose for photographs.
A very short walk to another village and we are introduced to a second lady, a first time mother of 18. She brings out the upholstered dining chairs on which the men usually sit as well as the sleeping mat. I sit on one of the chairs with our hostess. She seems somewhat bewildered by the whole process of maternity but is glad that she has learned what it all means from the health worker in the hospital as she had been frightened by what she had learned of giving birth from the women in her village. When asked what her hopes for her baby might be she said first that she hoped it would be a boy and that he would grow up to be a male nurse. She had hoped to be a nurse herself but had to leave school, having reached Grade 5 only, when she became pregnant and married. Perhaps she will return to education one day. I hope so.
And finally today, off to a Health Centre proudly welcomed by the Health Worker and his caretaker/assistant. Daily 500 patients are expected and received - and treated. A few patients were in the waiting area - an open-sided room with hard benches. One small boy looking unwell was led from the surgery by his mother. We were told that now is the time when there is much Malaria. Mosquito nets had been given out in the past but this year they had not. To this health centre people come for diagnosis of HIV/Aids but they are treated at the hospital some distance away.
Everyone seemed so very pleased to see us and were happy to welcome us into their homes and work place. The day's excursions felt positive - but where we found ourselves was remote by our standards and there are people living in far more distant places who do not have access to much healthcare at all and certainly not anti-natal or post-natal services.
There is one exciting thing I have to tell you - we have our first WI in Malawi! Well, not strictly, but in one village, with the dedication and foresight of one man in a voluntary capacity, he has set up a place for the women, with their children, to go. This group were saying that they have time to meet together and they want to talk about all sorts of subjects, but they need a leader. Needless to say, I easily identified the president and the committee! And through the translator it was felt that the WI model was for them. Who knows where this might lead but if the structure of the WI can help these women find their voice then no one is happier than yours truly, Ruth
Wednesday, 27 January 2010
The snow stopped even the WI in its tracks earlier this month but at least my part of the country seems to be back on the trail again.
One of the first events I have attended in 2010 has been the City Food Lecture, promoted by the Livery Companies of the City of London and held in the Guildhall. The lecture was given by Sir David King, formerly Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government but now Director of Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford.
And what a lecture; “Managing the Earth’s Resources to Deliver Food for Nine Billion”. Sir David has been a keynote speaker at our own Climate Change Conference a couple of years ago and so much of what he said in this lecture could have been a synopsis of our environmental and health mandates over many years. His set of challenges for the world and the feeding of those nine billion as the 21st century progresses include mineral resources, climate change, safeguarding ecosystems, food security, water resources and energy supply; he also added conflict and terror to the list. And, he reckons that “if we work hard on female education, we can manage”.
Sir David also spoke of the deforestation that is still taking place but that if governments know the people are “behind them” they will take action to stop. We’ll be learning more on this in our Rainforest Conference to be held at our own Denman College in Oxford, on March 15th. when Tony Juniper, former CEO of Friends of the Earth, will be one of the eminent speakers.
And, then, a week from now I shall be in Malawi representing the WI to see just how far the world has gone in achieving its Millennium Goal No 5, maternal health; all linked with our Women Reaching Women project. From the cold of Denmark to the heat of Malawi – worlds apart!
One of the first events I have attended in 2010 has been the City Food Lecture, promoted by the Livery Companies of the City of London and held in the Guildhall. The lecture was given by Sir David King, formerly Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government but now Director of Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, University of Oxford.
And what a lecture; “Managing the Earth’s Resources to Deliver Food for Nine Billion”. Sir David has been a keynote speaker at our own Climate Change Conference a couple of years ago and so much of what he said in this lecture could have been a synopsis of our environmental and health mandates over many years. His set of challenges for the world and the feeding of those nine billion as the 21st century progresses include mineral resources, climate change, safeguarding ecosystems, food security, water resources and energy supply; he also added conflict and terror to the list. And, he reckons that “if we work hard on female education, we can manage”.
Sir David also spoke of the deforestation that is still taking place but that if governments know the people are “behind them” they will take action to stop. We’ll be learning more on this in our Rainforest Conference to be held at our own Denman College in Oxford, on March 15th. when Tony Juniper, former CEO of Friends of the Earth, will be one of the eminent speakers.
And, then, a week from now I shall be in Malawi representing the WI to see just how far the world has gone in achieving its Millennium Goal No 5, maternal health; all linked with our Women Reaching Women project. From the cold of Denmark to the heat of Malawi – worlds apart!
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