Guardians Rush to be First

A quiet, overcast morning greeted the morning at the Namikango Maternity Hospital in Thondwe, as a light wind seemed to drift aimlessly with no purpose. People began to gather near the old guardian shelters veranda. Most of the people were there in order to care for a patient in the maternity clinic. Some came just to cheer their loved ones, or to bring food for the expectant mothers. Numbers of children accompanied them.

The Director, Bisani Mphongolo, accompanied by the Contractor, entered the new structure. Inside are fourteen fireplaces with steel rods to support cooking pots. Electrical lights and black painted stands are the final touch.

The guardians watched as the men moved to officially carry out the handing-over ceremony. They posed for the symbolic handshake outside the A-frrame structure. It marked the end of a long construction journey.

As word went out that the kitchen could be used, excited guardians rushed in search of firewood, matches, water and pots, each wanting to be the first to use the new kitchen. The situation could be more fitly called a competition. Each wanted to make a name as “the first woman to use the new Namikango Mission Clinic’s kitchen.” This wasn’t surprising. Every person wished to be associated with the best.

If it were a competition, Rashida M’baluku would have been declared the winnner. She quickly started a fire, and got her small pot ready. Rashida hails from Rifa Village of Tribal Authority Mulambe in Zomba District. She had been at the clinic for the past two weeks preparing food for her younger sister who is expecting a baby.

After using the old kitchen on several occasions, Rashida described the new kitchen as the best. “We’ll not be waiting for one another now.” The old kitchen only had six cooking stations. With fourteen fireplaces the new kitchen

will be able to accommodate all of the guardians at the same time. This will make a difference at peak times when the guardian shelter is filled with people taking care of their relatives in the clinic.

The woman pointed out additional advantages of the kitchen, contrasting it with the old. “When it’s raining, the rain splashes were making their way to the fire place. When it is hot in summer, coupled with the fire heat, it was unbearable.” The new kitchen definitely improves the living standards of both expectant mothers and their caretakers. The levels of hygiene will certainly improve following the strategic positioning of the kitchen that allows little or no dust to blow inside. There will be no waiting for them to cook, and the new kitchen has added beauty to the clinic’s face.

-Wilson Isaac Tembo

(The Malawi Project is proud to have the opportunity to provide the funding for the construction of the kitchen at Namikango.)

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In a good year, the harvesting season for maize starts in April, and it moves slowly north where planting season started later in the year. It is a happy time as it marks the transition from a time of major food shortage to a time of plenty. Malnutrition levels drop drastically. It is, however,  a time when many farmers face difficulty in transporting their produce from the fields to their homes. Farms are normally far from the village. Few farmers own ox-carts, or bicycles, and they must carry the grain on their heads.

In recent weeks the harvest has started. Namikango Mission is in the process of bringing in its harvest of maize. Unlike previous years, when the transportation of grain was a challenge, this year thanks to the Malawi Project and its timely and valuable donation of the Basic Utility Vehicle, the grain is being easily moved from field to warehouse.

The BUV is a multipurpose vehicle that can be used, not only for grain transportation, but also for expectant mothers to be transported to the nearby maternity clinic. In a country where much of the population lives on less that a dollar a day, acquisition of an ox-cart or bicycle is unachievable. This leads to countless challenges in transportation. When one visits Malawi for the first time one is likely to see thousands of people walking on foot, both in rural and urban areas.

The BUV has proven to work exceptionally well where road conditions are not good, and it can also play a role in bridging the communication gap in rural areas. It is a country where 80% of the population lives in extremely remote areas, and in adverse poverty. The major mode of transportation is walking for long distances. The availability of basic utility vehicles can transform people’s lives for the better.

The BUV, one of three units delivered by the Malawi Project, and the manufacturer, is drastically reducing total expenditures for the mission in terms of time, and provision of service that would be delayed with its absence. Maternal related deaths that arise due to delays in getting medical attention from the clinic are likely to be reduced in villages around the medical facility because of the availability of this vehicle.

- Wilson Isaac Tembo

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“’I noticed his body was swelling, including his face and legs, so I rushed to the hospital for health attention,’ his mother explained when I visited the clinic. Patricia did not know the exact disease that brought discomfort to her second born son. I found him lying on a neat disposable sheet that was displayed on the hospital bed donated by the Malawi project through Namikango Mission. Patrick’s body still showed signs that he had not fully recovered.”

“Young Patrick Dandaula hails from Nyangwara village in Traditional Authority Mwambo east of Zomba Town in southeastern Malawi.  It was obvious to the attending physician that Patrick was not getting some of the nutritional food elements his body needs. ‘The problem is very common among children under five years of age because they are sometimes not given all the required food nutrients,’ explained the nurse in charge, Mrs. Kajanga. I noticed that Patrick was comfortably laid on a very neat new disposable sheet and was given a new blue basin to be used in washing and bathing. All of this came from the Malawi Project.  These supplies are changing patients’ lives for good. For children like him it is becoming easy to take care of them because of these disposable sheets. ‘When children urinate on a sheet the blankets around them don’t have to be destroyed because the sheet protects them. Infection prevention is now a reality because each patient is given his/her own basin to use,’ Mrs. Kajanga further pointed out.”

Patrick will receive vitamin enriched foods at the clinic under the doctor’s supervision until his health picks up. Patrick is just one example of many children that are currently facing food shortage as witnessed by their body’s food deficiency signs. Some research from other sources indicates that less than 10% of Malawians receive adequate protein. This lack of adequate nutrition can lead to diseases like Kwashiorkor in Patrick and other children.  Patrick’s life, and the lives of other children, are being saved with treatments of protein and vitamin rich supplements.

“The mission staff is there to extend all the donations to the required needy groups of people like Patrick. They may seem simple, but to Patrick, the basin is a lifetime gift that will help make his life better. Just think, if Patrick were sharing one basin with other fellow patients for bathing and washing, more diseases could be transferred from one patient to the other thereby increasing chances of death threat,” Tembo points out.

By: Wilson Tembo, Namikango Mission & Maternity Hospital, Thondwe, Malawi

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    Thondwe, Malawi … Reaching Malawi on Thursday late afternoon board members Dick and Suzi Stephens were taken to the Namikango Mission and Maternity Clinic for the evening. Reports on the progress of the Mission were reflective of so many ministries that rely on western funds in order to carry out their work in third world nations. Funds are down, programs are slowing, and aid to so many of the worlds poorest people is taking a major toll on those who can go no lower on the economic ladder before a sickening crash at the bottom. Mark Thiesen reports, “The trip we just returned from to the states gave little results. The recession is hitting us harder than most. We are cutting back as far as we can go.”

    The same is seen in the shipments reaching Malawi from the Malawi Project. The slower pace of funds, supplies, and equipment hast taken a drastic downturn as the recession cuts deeply into the aid being sent.

    In spite of the problems one of the bright spots can be seen in the efficient way Wilson Tembo, the Warehouse Manager at the building on the Namikango Mission site is handling the warehousing and distribution. The site, located in Thondwe, Malawi, about 40 minutes east of the commercial center of Blantyre serves as a drop site for supplies to the southern region of Malawi. An early morning inspection of the facilities indicates a high degree of efficiency and professionalism in the way the supplies are being handled, inventoried, and distributed.

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Help Needed to Build Safe Kitchen

At First It Looked Like Rubbish

    Thondwe, Malawi… From a distance it almost looks like a pile of metal stacked up near a clearing waiting to be thrown away. But as one walks along the path near the Namikango Maternity Clinic, and reaches a point near the rusted metal panels, it is obvious that it is something more than a pile of rubbish. It is actually a kitchen for the guardians of hospital patients to use for cooking meals for their relatives who are patients in the hospital. Because of so many more critical needs for the funding that is always in short supply (and especially so during this economic downturn) the “kitchen” is in last place when it comes to repair. In order to assist with the funds to construct a new kitchen the Malawi Project is giving this report. It is important to realize how little it will take to help the people who spend days at the clinic caring for relatives who cannot care for themselves. Mark Thiesen, the American administrator at the Mission writes,

    “One courtesy offered by Namikango Maternity Clinic, that we often fail to mention, is the accommodation we provide for family members of patients. Like our other services, room and board is free for people who come to take care of their mothers, wives, and daughters during their stay in the clinic. They look after their loved ones’ needs during this period. One of the most important of these needs is cooking their meals for them.”

    Mark continues, “As our facilities continue to age, the kitchen used for this purpose has deteriorated to such a degree that its very stability is now threatened. The structure’s supporting beams have decayed to such a point that the kitchen presents a real danger to the family members who have come to help our patients. The kitchen must be rebuilt if we are to provide a safe decent environment for our visitors.  At a cost of $3,614.00 we can totally rebuild it to continue serving the people of our community with confidence.”

See More Photos: Click HERE

Or Mail Contributions can also be mailed to:

Malawi Project – Namikango Kitchen Fund
12526 Clearview Lane
Indianapolis, IN  46236

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    It’s appropriate that we honor mothers this Sunday – let’s take them out and make it a high class affair.  "High  Class" – that’s exactly how one Malawi government inspector described the new equipment at the Namikango Maternity Clinic recently arrived.  "High Class" – clean new blankets – an incubator – latex gloves – birthing tables – life saving equipment.

  Bisani Mphongolo of the Mission staff describes the scene when a Malawian Government official inspected medical equipment delivered recently, "Thanks to the shipments we received from loving brethren in the USA, the inspector indicated she had not seen such high class equipment and linen in a rural maternity clinic in Malawi. I could not resist sharing this news and the pictures.  What a happy mother in a nice warm blanket!"

    Bisani continued, "This is wonderful! Excellent linen for the clinic…thanks to the shipments received! The inspectors from Nurses and Midwives council admire the beautiful high class delivery couches!"

    These results came from recent shipments of supplies to the facility by Project C.U.R.E headquartered in Centennial, Colorado, the Eastside Church of Christ in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the Malawi Project in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Government inspectors review the new improvements.	Mother and baby  warm under a new blanket.	The new mother’s ward decked out with the new blankets.

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Ox Cart Going Out as an Ambulance

    Pregnant women on the way to the hospital often reach their destination on the back of a bicycle, or in the back of an ox cart. It is not unusual in third world nations, and Malawi is no exception. In mountainous parts of the nation the problem is compounded because of limited access to the remote village areas.

    This situation is true in the southern part of Malawi where some of the highest mountains in the region are located. For the Namikango Maternity Hospital in Thondwe this problem is ever present, and the calls for help in an emergency often cannot be quickly met because of the terrain.

    To help with this problem the Malawi Project has purchased another Basic Utility Vehicle (BUV) that will serve as an ambulance. These units are manufactured in Indianapolis, Indiana, and two have already been delivered to the central region of Malawi. The basic utility vehicle is custom made to accommodate a seriously ill or pregnant patient and a caretaker. It can reach a remote area and bring the patient to a medical facility in a timely fashion.

    Mark Thiesen, Director for the Namikango Mission, when presented with the idea and specifications for the until, observed, "This vehicle is ideal for moving quickly over village trails to remote locations to quickly bring expectant mothers to the maternity clinic. We are delivering 75 – 80 babies a month, and almost without exception they are coming from isolated rural areas where no other type of vehicle can reach. Women do not begin the journey, a trip that can be a number of kilometers away, until they are already in labor."

Suzi Stephens, the Medical Director for the Malawi Project states, "Statistics have indicated a mother-baby mortality rate that is sometimes recorded as high as 1 in 7, which qualifies this region as having one of the highest in the world. This unit can help reduce the number of infant deaths at birth."

Shipment of the BUV will take place in the first quarter 2009.

    The unit obtained by the Malawi Project is similar to the one pictured at the right.

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  “He brings a level of specialty that we absolutely need as we begin a new ministry,” according to Mark Thiesen of the Namikango Mission in Thondwe, Malawi. Mark continues, “The Malawi Project, a church-related ministry based in Indiana, has begun sending shipping containers of medical supplies that will bless not only our maternity clinic, but also other area clinics and hospitals.  The problem confronting us was that we had no experience with this type of ministry, and no one on staff had the expertise to organize the huge volumes of equipment we will be receiving soon.”
 
Tembo brings four years of experience managing a similar warehouse at Blessings Hospital in Lumbadzi, near the capital, which has received a large number of containers from the Malawi Project in previous years. Thiesen adds,  “The special training Wilson received both on the job while he was at Blessings, and through the management courses he took in Purchasing and Supply should have prepared him well to help us serve the people of this area.”    

                
     Thiesen notes that having Wilson Tembe with them also has yet another value to the mission. “He has come with his wife Alice, who has joined our team at the maternity clinic.  She has special medical training and experience that we believe will enable us to do a better job of improving the health of women and small children.”

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Media Covers the Arrival
A reporter and photographer from the Malawi News Service, the assistant district health officer, all of the top officials from the Kachere Orthopedic Hospital, the Chief Medical Director from Queen Elizabeth Hospital and two of the board members from the Malawi Project gathered early behind the orthopedic hospital where the 40-foot shipping container had been parked. When the container doors were opened a cheer went up from a crowd that had swelled to 40 people.

Estimated at $400,000.00
Estimated at somewhere around $400,000 by Project officials, the shipment included medical supplies for the Kachere Orthopedic and Queen Elizabeth Hospitals in Blantyre, Dzidalire Community Development Agency in Dedza, the Namikango Maternity Clinic in Thondwe, and the Sacred Promise Clinic in Lilongwe.

Arrival of the Village Tractors
Topping off of the shipment were two V-tractors to be used for agricultural programs in the southern and central districts. The reporter, photographer and many in the crowd were amazed to see the two prototype farm tractors that had never been seen before.

The shipment was made possible through a joint program including the L. T. Rich Manufacturing Company in Lebanon, Indiana, Universal Aide Society of British Columbia, Canada, and the Malawi Project.

Pictured is the District Health Officer as she observes thousands of dollars in medical supplies being offloaded.

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The custom designed units, V-Tractors for short, are part of a bold new incentive in research and development by Tom Rich of the L. T. Rich Manufacturing Company with the cooperation of Richard Stephens, Executive Director of the Malawi Project. As the doors of the overseas container were opened outside the Kachere Orthopedic Hospital in Blantyre representatives from the Malawi News Service started taking notes and snapping photographs. A crowd gathered, including Kachere and Queen Elizabeth Hospital administrators, church leaders and representatives from the two agencies chosen to receive the first units. The Dzidalire Community Development Agency in Dedza, and the Namikango Maternity Clinic in Thondwe are the recipients of the first two tractors. The Universal Aide Society of Vancouver, Canada, and its contributors supplied the cost for the transportation of the two units from central Indiana to Malawi.

Thought “V” was for the Shape
Mark Thiesen, the Director for the Namikango Mission and Maternity Clinic in Thondwe made this comment about their new tractor. “At first I thought the “V” stood for the shape of the tractor. But when I learned it actually stood for “village tractor”, and how the tractor had been invented exactly for a developing county, it all made sense. I was impressed with its easy and simplicity of operation, along with its versatility to do so many different jobs. Anyone, even if you have never operated a motorized vehicle before, as is the case of most village farmers, can now cultivate their fields. A farmer who previously cultivated only 1 or 2 acres will now be able to gain production from ten or twelve, while having more time to do other tasks. This can easily make the difference between mere survival and enjoying a complete escape from poverty.”
It’s an All-In-One Unit

Samantha Ludick the proprietor Cool Runnings Lake Resort, scheduled to receive the next unit that is currently being prepared for shipment to Malawi, “This is exactly the right tractor for us at this time in our development. Having an all-in-one unit is just the thing we need. Now the kids can go to school. They have always had to work in the fields along with their parents, but now the V-Tractor can do it all. It does everything. It can run a generator, turn a concrete mixer, plow the field, disk, harrow the ground, pump water, haul water, just everything, just everything. Now that is really cool.”

It Will Revolutionize Farming
As the first tractor started its field trials Stephens noted, “Today is a memorable day in Malawi. A single person sitting on this tractor is doing what it would take two or more men a month to do, and this one man will do it in just a couple of hours. This will revolutionize farming the same way the small John Deere or Farmal tractor changed America from a horse drawn system to a mechanized world. That led America to world success in farming. It will change Malawi as well.”

Just then the first tractor reached the far end of the field, turned and started to carve out two more rows of crusted soil.

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