Sweating in an internet cafe listening to AKON

As I write this, I'm sitting here listening to AKON, the rapper. For some reason, its making me laugh.

We have officially had our orientation and it is a bit overwhelming because there is so much that could be done that it is almost difficult to begin. But, we are starting to settle in and figure out where we can be of best use. It is hard not to get pulled many different directions and before you know it, you have overcommitted yourself. It looks like we will spend at least M-W at the health clinic assisting with wound care and assisting the midwife. This has already been quite an experience which I will expand on later. I am going to help teach some lifeskills classes at the secondary school which will include things like HIV, reproduction, first aid, etc. I also am planning to do some first aid training to the primary school teachers and make sure they have a first aid kit. A few afternoons, I am going to help with some of the after school clubs such as the art club and Health club. So, we should be pretty busy soon.

I had my first day at the clinic on Monday and it was quite an experience. We arrived at the same time as the midwife, Janet. (She was actually on our matola, minibus taxi) There was a woman in labor so Janet set to work assessing her while May and I stood around unsure what to do. After about 90 minutes, I walked back into the room after seeing some sick babies and May was wiping down a babygirl. It reminded me how lucky we are to have the resources that we have for childbirth. Here, there was no pain medicine, no running water, no pediatrician to assess the baby. Janet had to stitch the mother with no local anesthetic even! Then, within 30 minutes, the mother had to get up and walk to the postpartum room which consists of several beds for women who have delivered. No bathing offered to the mother, just rags placed on her. The family of the new mothers are supposed to care for them so they must bring food and water. They also brings cloths to wrap the baby in as nothing is provided by the clinic. Although, they do get a mosquito net to take home which is a huge bonus. Later in the morning, I asked the midwife if she would check on the baby, but she said that since the grandmother is there, she was not concerned. There is no formula available anywhere so the mother must figure out how to feed her baby. No lactation consultants here. Also, if something goes wrong, there is not much you can do because the nearest hospital is 30 minutes away and there is only one ambulance for the entire area. Thank you, Lord, that I was born in a time and place where I can choose whether to have kids and having multiple birth options and medical expertise around me. Apparently, most women here go to a traditional birth attendant (TBA) rather than the clinic. The government is trying to stop this because of problems with unhygeinic practices, etc, but most women still go to them. You have to pay the TBA and if you have a girl you pay 400 kwacha, but if you have a boy, you pay 500 kwacha. I wonder if they think that the TBA has special power to cause you to have a boy? I don't know if this is true, but its possible.

I am learning tons as always about cultural differences, the inequity of the world, etc. I am also struck by how everywhere people are still the same. I went to a netball (like basketball) and soccer game on Saturday. It was really fun and much of the community seemed to come out. I was impressed that the girls played netball in skirts with no bra and no shoes for the most part. The boys played soccer mostly without shoes. They were really good and had their own cheerleaders and peanut sellers.

I am also learning to live with insects. Definitely, the negative of this experience. Part of the reason we go to bed so early (7:30-8) is because it is dark and the insects are definitely out. I have learned to do a quick scan of the bathroom before using the stall. The bathroom in communal and outside. It is really nice, but not fully enclosed so easy for insects and snakes (so I have heard) to get into. Last night, I was about to use the 3rd stall before spotting a huge turantula like spider near the sink. Another volunteer told me to only use this stall as a last resort. The 2nd stall had a big cockroach on the top of the toilet, so I went for the 1st stall which passed my visual sweep. I really don't understand why God created certain things. My mom would be proud of me because I am finally making my bed. This is to prevent insects from getting into my sheets. So, I tuck in my sheets tightly and put the mosquito net tightly around the bed. There is great comfort in using a mosquito net.

It really is a great place to come and experience even despite the insects and I would friends to come out. Is anyone interested??

A quick update on my feet: I was pretty concerned about coming here because my feet have bothered me a lot and there is tons of walking. Before I left, lots of people prayed for my feet and I am happy to report that they haven't been painful at all!! Its so exciting because they were seriously hurting for the past year. So, God is faithful and I haven't had any problems with the walking.The view from our deck.A few girls on the trail walking homePlaying netball in skirts and no shoes.

The warm heart of Africa

I feel like I have so much to say that it will be tough to get it all down. Sorry but this may be a long one. :-> What a beautiful country! Before I came, many people told me that Malawi was beautiful and had friendly people, but it has surpassed my expectations. The first thing I noticed as we flew in was how green it was. And it has an intense green. Not dark green, like Oregon, but bright green. After spending our first night in Lilongwe, we headed out to Mwaya Beach. We were supposed to arrive at 3pm, but as is often the case in Africa, the bus was running a little off schedule so we didn't arrive until 8pm meaning it was dark. This made the 2.5km walk down to the beach a little more difficult. I am very glad May was with me. I think I would have stayed on the bus back to the airport otherwise. I had my directions from Ripple Africa out and my headtorch ready and we departed the bus at the police roadblock at Matete. All of the Malawians on the bus knew where we were going because for many stops we had been asking if it was the Matete police roadblock. So, when we arrived, they all stood up and said now we are there and laughed. We got off the bus and were quickly greeted by porters who wanted to help us get our bags down to the beach, but we were a bit nervous to just go off with anyone so were quickly relieved when a few men with headtorches came up to us knowing our names. They quickly grabbed our bags and we set off on the small dirt path throught the tall grass. Halfway to the beach, we saw a few more headtorches in the distance and were joined by two of the guys volunteering here who had come to help us. After a bit of puddle avoiding we arrived to Ripple Africa. Unfortunately because of the dark, we couldn't see the lake or much of anything since it is pitch black, but they had saved us some dinner and we sat around the table with lanterns meeting the other volunteers. There are 7 other volunteers and they are all Brittish. Two married couples, one woman, and two other guys. Really great people who I am really enjoying getting to know. All of them are working in the schools here and there is one nurse. (By the way for any of you older women who have always dreamed of coming to Africa, but are scared, both May and Bev are in their 50's and here, so you can do it!). There is no electricity here so when it is dark, it is very dark so we go to bed early around 7:30-8pm. It kinda feels like you are camping at a good campground because you have to brush your teeth with your headtorch. I have to admit, I don't love the dark, but I am sure I will get used to it. My main concern is snakes, but only a few have been seen (one in the kitchen cupboard!). Otherwise, I am trying to not look around much while getting ready for bed as my first night, I saw 3 fairly large spiders in the bathroom in a matter of minutes.

We woke up the next day to a somewhat rainy morning, but the view was incredible. We basically have our own private beach with just a few fishermen out in the water. The disappointing part is that because it is the rainy season, we can't really swim because the crocodiles have been flushed into the lake. Apparently, one was seen in the water near here recently, but none have been seen on the beach. We were told that if we really wanted to swim, we can between the hours of 10am and 3pm because they aren't active then or if other people are swimming, but to always have someone keeping a watch out for you for crocs. SO, don't think I will be swimming! I'm not quite sure what the look out person could do if you got taken by a crocodile so we are staying out of the water. I haven't heard of any of the other volunteers swimming. But, apparently during the dry season we can swim. Most of the locals stay out of the water unless they are fishing because they are unable to swim. It is beautiful here and the people are incredibly friendly. It is quite a change from Joburg where I felt I couldn't really trust anyone I didn't know. Here, it is safe to wander anywhere and everyone stops to ask your name and where you are from. It can take awhile to get anywhere because you have to greet everyone you encounter on the trail. There are mahy footpaths and I feel so blessed to be able to have this experience where I am living among the locals. Everyone knows that you are volunteering at Ripple and many of them are employed by Ripple. So they are extremely thankful and kind.
Now, for the depressing statistics and difficult part of being here. Malawi is among the top 10 poorest countries in the world. Average monthly income is around $6.00 per month! Infant mortality is around 68% meaning that 68% of children under the age of 5 years old die! It is incredibly hard to understand in a world where we have such incredible medical abilities and wealth that this is happening. It is mostly due to malaria. If people had mosquito nets, it would greatly decrease these numbers. The average lifespan is 38 years old. Many women have their first babies at age 14-16 years and the average number of children is 5-6. Imagine, that pretty much every woman has lost a child here. Employment is pretty much subsistance farming and fishing. There are no doctors at the clinics. I don't even know where the nearest doctor is. Very few medications. Laypeople are trained to dispense the few medicines they have and have very little training. My first experience with the clinic was yesterday. I had tried to prepare myself for it, but I think it is something you can not prepare for. There is no running water or electricity. Women are having babies there with no running water! They are not sterilizing equipment. They have almost no equipment to do wound care and no way to sterilize unless they bring water from somewhere else and boil it and there is no one being paid to do this so it doesn't happen. From what we could tell, no examinations are done on patients. They are only asked what the problem is and then given a medication if it is available. Yesterday afternoon, we went to a sick child clinic which was held outside in the dirt. No chairs for the patients and no table. Poor May had to kneel on the ground while trying to examine kids. We had only 3 medicines with us-Paracetamol (tylenol), cotrimoxazole (antibiotic) and oral rehydration salts. That's it! Unfortunately, time isn't really important here so the women didn't arrive until 4pm and so we could only see about 10 of the 40 kids before we had to leave. We are going to try again on Monday. We had to get going because it was a 5km walk home and it was very hot and we needed to get home before dark! It was an overwhelming experience and we came back and debriefed with the other nurse about how in the world we can make any difference. How can you work when you have no medication and don't know the language? So, I am trying to just relax and know that I can't change the world and that I just need to try to focus on small ways I can maybe help and be thinking about those things.

Ripple Africa is doing incredible work here. They are employing tons of people. The entire organization is ran by locals except for the directors and a volunteer coordinator who live in the UK and come out a few times a year. Otherwise, it is ran by the locals who are doing, a wonderful job. Ripple has built a secondary school, library, employed teachers, etc. etc. I am so glad I chose this organization because I feel it is a good use of my time and money. You get the peace corps experience with some of the comforts of home. We have a cook to cook our dinner meal. We mostly have vegetables and rice with the occasional fresh fish when a fisherman brings us a catch. We have a couple of women doing our laundry. And we have running water and toilets. So, it is a different life, but very comfortable. And I think I will be kept very busy. Besides working at the clinic, I can also help at the schools with a health promotion club and lifeskills training. There are community English classes and after school tutoring. The manager here even offered me to help teach chemistry, which I had to explain to him isn't really my strength! Right now, it is all a bit overwhelming in that you feel like where to start? There is so much you could do, but maybe it was already done by another volunteer or it won't work. so, I am trying to just relax and wait and just observe for a bit.

I will hopefully get to internet every 1-2 weeks. It is only a 30 minute matola (minibus taxi) ride away. I feel very safe here so no need for anyone to worry! Hope everyone at home is well.

Conducting a sick child visit outside

May with a woman we bought papaya from


Our cook, Harry preparing our catfish dinner. You can't get much fresher. It was still breathing!

The wound room at the clinic. Sorry I can't figure out how to turn the picture so you have to turn your head. :=> Not the most sterile of environments.

Giving the medicine to the clinic.

A Bittersweet Good-bye

I really thought I would have the time in Africa to reflect on my life and what is next. I imagined that I would have lots of time to journal and pray and get comfortable with solitude. Instead, I feel like it has been a whirlwind since the first week until the last week in South Africa. This has been a blessing in a lot of ways. It's kept me from becoming homesick and it means I got connected into the life of the church quickly. There is such a need in the community that I could keep myself busy at all times. But, I am still seeking some of that alone time to force me to figure out the next step. I have the feeling that Malawi will be just the place for it.

My time here in South Africa has been "more" than I could have ever expected. More growing, more challenging, more fun, more rewarding. God has grown me hugely here and I won't be the same because of it. It has also been preparatory, preparing me for Malawi and the things I will encounter there as a nurse. I'm so thankful I came here first and that my time was extended. It will be hard to say good-bye to new friends, but I have a strong feeling that I will be back here. I'm not sure yet in what capacity or at what time, but I know that I will return.

My last week here will be just as busy. My dear friends, John and Erin, from Newberg arrive today continuing there around the world adventure. I get to spend 5 days with them before I leave and we plan to visit Soweto and some museums, eat great food, and catch up. This weekend is Cherish, a women's weekend here at the church, so I'm also hoping to go to that before heading out on Sunday to Malawi. I will hopefully post one more time before leaving.

A few pictures of my past few weeks:

The clinic threw a going away party for me. They were so sweet and I really appreciated it.

More clinic party.

Doing a training on blood pressure to the home based care team. Ignore how terrible of a picture this is of me. :->


Anna practicing taking a blood pressure. I did 4 trainings on how to take blood pressure and it's importance for the home based care team.

Mowing the lawn in the township. Takes a little longer than at home.