We’ve now been in Malawi for 10 days and have travelled the
length and breadth of the country with our driver Penjani and his pick-up,
feeding him coke and cake so he stays awake on the long drives. Singing 'It's Lilongwe to Malawi' to the tune of 'It's a long way to Tipperary...' has kept us laughing along the road.
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| The car over-heated yesterday but thankfully some water in the radiator and a quick prayer did the trick! We have hired the car and driver from the Aids Project at Ekwendeni Mission Station. It's good to know that the money is helping a good cause |
We’ve stayed with families on mission stations in the north
and the south, visiting hospitals, clinics and midwifery training schools/universities
and meeting anyone who can tell us something about midwifery and professional
associations in Malawi. We’ve met donors
and NGOs, doctors, midwives, nurse and students. We’ve seen some really impressive buildings
and heard of great achievements but we’ve also been trying to dig deeper and
see the reality behind the facades and hear the stories of people on the
ground.
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| Kamuzu College of Nursing, Lilongwe. We also visited the Blantyre Campus in the South |
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| Student midwives learning normal delivery skills on the 'Mama Natalie' mannekins |
Now we’re back in the capital, Lilongwe, to join the
Association of Malawian Midwives (AMAMI) at their AGM today. We’re looking forward to hearing the
achievements and challenges of the past year and their plans for the future. We hope to meet the Ministry of Health, the
Nurses Trades' Union, the Nurses and Midwives Council and to make a return visit
to the British Department for International Development before heading home on
Friday.
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| Meeting Alice Kandango, Midwifery Teacher at Kamuzu College of Nursing's Blantyre Campus |
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| Labour Ward in a Township Health Centre in Blantyre |
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| Midwife Ruby, Matron Modesta and Clinical Officer Frank at Ndirande Township Health Centre where they have 10 deliveries per day, no operating theatre and no doctor. They have 4 midwives though they should have 9. They are currently building a theatre and hope it will be staffed. I hope so too. |
One of the personal highlights of this trip was meeting with Dr Patrice White from the American College of Nurse Midwives who happened to be in the same town in the same country at the same time as me. We used to share a house in Cambodia many moons ago and now have similar roles in our respective professional associations. Such a treat.
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| a very jet-lagged Patrice |
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| With Patrice in Blantyre, after delicious curries at the Malawi Sun Hotel |
Once our trip is complete we’ll be writing our report for
the trip’s funders and hopefully putting bids together to continue supporting
midwifery in Malawi in some way.
Thanks for reading
