A Mother Crawls in the Dirt
Posted on | December 16, 2011
Thondwe, Malawi … Mary Saikolo cannot walk. In fact, she has never been able to walk, because of paralysis in both legs. She is both physically challenged, and a single parent. She starts each day by crawling in the dust from her small dwelling house, to a place where she can find enough food for three children, four grandchildren, and her 81-year-old mother. On a good day, Mary builds a fire, and prepares some food for her family. She bakes some mini scones to sell by the roadside. This is the way she raises money for her family. On Sundays, the kids help her travel for 15 minutes, in her wheelchair, to attend Sunday services. Mary is fifty-nine years old. In spite of her age Mary is not only taking care of her three children, she has also taken on the responsibility for caring for her granddaughter, Chisomo Rodrick (her name means Grace), her brother Dziwa 15, sister Merch 12, and a younger sister. Their mother died in 2010.
At five years of age, Chisomo attends an orphan nursery school near her village. But, it takes more than Mary can provide. Not only can she not keep up, the problem is getting more serious. The family is running out of money and resources. She looks at the visitor with deep concern. There is no work in the area for the older children. Malawi has an employment problem with 50% of its people out of work.
“You can see I have stopped baking the scones,” she says. “I do not have the capital,” She was embarrassed that she could not provide food for the visitor during his visit to her home. She had no food in the house that day for anyone, not even the children. “What will happen to them? Who will provide what I cannot give?”
“I understood her problem, and was unable to answer her question and the plea it contained,” noted Wilson Tembo as he left to prepare his report for the Malawi Project web site. “I don’t know what is to become of her, and the children, including little Chisomo.”
Tags: Employment Rate > Family Life
I’ve Had a Painful Day
Posted on | December 4, 2011
“The most painful part of my work is telling children like Fredson we do not have wheelchairs, then watching them crawl away – helplessly.” Wilson Isaac Tembo
I met a 9-year-old village boy who has a burning desire to be educated and crawls to school. Fredson Mtentha of Nkanda Village is the boy, and he has never walked. While some of us complain of worn out shoes, old-fashioned clothes, and boring channels on television, Fredson’s worries about how he can get to school. His burning desire propels him to crawl a 4-kilometer stretch of dusty road in order to reach school each day. Even though he tries in his classes, he lags far behind, and at the age of 9, Fredson remains in the first grade of a primary school. His case is a symbolic representation of many young boys and girls who are struggling with being unable to attend classes due to mobility issues and a lack of suitable wheelchairs.
At Namikango Mission each day is different from the others, and each day brings its own new challenges. Today I had to tell a 9-year-old boy that, at least for now, we do not have a wheelchair for him to go to school. It’s been a painful day.
Report by Wilson Isaac Tembo
Tags: disabled in Africa > free wheelchair mission
Medical Doctor Calls for Supplies
Posted on | December 1, 2011
We have celebrated Thanksgiving in America, and we are entering the Christmas Season. Despite our current economic woes, we remain a land of plenty, of choices, of wealth, and frankly of opulence. We should all be grateful; but more than that, we should feel the responsibility to share with others.
If you haven’t visited Developing Countries, it becomes difficult to understand the “lack” of things. Just the simple act of traveling around and you’ll notice the lack of what you consider basics: drinkable water, toilet paper [even proper bathrooms], trash cans, mirrors, “rest stops” with all the amenities, and on and on. Now multiply these simple examples by a thousand fold and you’ll begin to understand the lack of things.
This deficit of “essentials” extends to healthcare. Being a physician who’s worked in rural Africa for many years, I am acutely aware of the lack of necessary supplies. And I’m talking about very basic supplies here: bandaging and casting materials; proper suture [for stitching]; needles for starting IV’s; IV fluids; proper antibiotics and other medicines; etc. How about oxygen – do you consider this basic? Once in Tanzania we went five months without any oxygen because of some government snafu. How necessary simple oxygen is for newborns who are struggling, for severe pneumonia, for heart failure, and other cases! At this same time, my wife’s aunt in Texas had two oxygen concentrators – one at her home and another at the home of her daughter. [America: the Land of Plenty]
I haven’t even gotten into needed supplies for proper surgery – with all the instruments and other supplies. Trying to “make do” without proper instruments is like trying to change spark plugs without a spark plug wrench. And like surgery perhaps it can be done – but with difficulty, not well, and often with complications. When I first started doing skin grafts for burns in Africa, it was awful – “whittling” off skin with a knife, little pieces at a time. Then I received a dermatome from America [instrument for taking off large sections of skin with the proper thickness] – the difference was like ‘daylight and dark’.
Proper medical care is all about having proper SUPPLIES, SUPPLIES, SUPPLIES!! “The Malawi Project” is about sending supplies, medical and other, to needed areas. I can totally attest to the phenomenal needs that exist in developing countries. The resulting gratitude of the recipients is overwhelming and most humbling. Those of us with plenty should give to those who have little!
Frank Black, M.D.,
Medical Missionary to Tanzania, Africa for 5 years, and short term
medical mission work in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Guyana and Honduras.
The Bigger They Get, The Harder the Challenge
Posted on | November 22, 2011
Mwanza District, Malawi … In a recent report about healthcare in Malawi, UNICEF noted, “Mwanza District Hospital, located near the southern border of Malawi, provides crucial care to many of the country’s most vulnerable families.” Through the Malawi Project’s supply distribution depot at the Namikango Mission in Thondwe, critically needed supplies are sent to the Mwanza District Hospital. Wilson Tembo, the Director for warehouse operations watches over the distribution of these supplies, then follows up to insure the supplies go to those to whom they are intended. After a recent trip to the small health care center at Msipe, he then set out to conduct a visit to one of the major facilities in the south, the district hospital at Mwanza. The following are his observations.
“Having a picture of a small health facility like Msipe, one may think the situation is better in some main hospitals of the country,” Wilson starts his report. “But contrary to expectations, these government run centers are in a critical situation with many challenges when it comes to acquiring drugs and equipment that are needed to deliver health care to the masses.”
“A few days after visiting Msipe in central Malawi, we made some donations to the southwestern district hospital of Mwanza. This hospital serves a population of 94,000 people, near the Malawi-Mozambique border. Like Msipe, it has a massive task in trying to serve the needs of the people because of inadequate supplies. The District health Officer, Dr. Bwanali Jereni confirms that with a 250-bed capacity, the hospital has over 350 patients at a time. This means that over 100 people sleep on the floor without beds and mattress.”
“Dr. Bwanali Jereni explains why there is such a high population count of patients at this hospital. ‘More patients come from neighboring Mozambique, and other districts like Chikhwawa and Neno, because of the geographical position of this area. It is impractical for patients to walk to the Chikhwawa District Hospital, or to other centers in Neno. As a result they flock to Mwanza, because it is accessible. The roads are poor and hilly in the other areas so people prefer to come to our hospital. This increases our count, and the need for more supplies goes up.’”
“Like Msipe Health Centre in Central Malawi, Mwanza district Hospital has a high number of cases of malaria, HIV/AIDS related cases, pneumonia, tuberculosis, measles and malnutrition. There is a critical need for oxygen concentrators, mattress, beds and Elite glucometers.”
“At the conclusion of our visit, Dr. Bwanali Jereni thanked the supporters for making available the donation of syringes, orthopedic supplies, beddings, walkers, toilet chairs, and other medical supplies. The doctor observed they will make a big impact on the people along the border region.”
Report by Wilson Isaac Tembo
Looking in on Msipe Health Care Center
Posted on | November 15, 2011
Thondwe, Malawi … One hundred and twenty kilometers north of Zomba is located the Msipe Heath Center, and it is to this location that supplies from the Malawi Project have been delivered by the Namikango Mission staff. Wilson Tembo, the Manager of the Malawi Project’s southern warehouse recently traveled to Msipe to look in on the staff, and the supplies that had been sent to the facility. Tembo gives this eyewitness report.
“I recently had the opportunity to visit the Msipe Heath Center, and now I have a better view of what they need, and how they are using the resources we have sent to them. On our trip to the facility we noted the roads were nearly empty, as most of the vehicles were sitting at empty fuel stations waiting for some unsure moment when more fuel will arrive. The fuel shortage in the nation is critical, and it is affecting all movement.”
“With a sufficient reserve of fuel in our tank we made our way to this 39-year-old facility, arriving at mid-morning. The buildings house maternity, general medical, nutrition, and outpatient. As we entered the facility most of the staff were quite busy caring for patients. The sister nurse in charge escorted me around, and shared the challenges they are facing. We passed the dressing room, and the consultation room (this later room also serves as the drug store). They were nearly empty, and looked hungry for supplies. The exam room was so old that it should not even carry that name. The nurse pointed it out with some regret.”
“I learned this facility serves a population area of 27,000 people, (the original plans were for it to serve only 10,000 people). It faces a continual challenge with supply shortages. As fast as we deliver, they use them for patient care. Msipe is near the top of our list of facilities receiving aid. This is true for several reasons.”
One is the fact they are using the supplies to help the very, very poor. This is a major reason we choose these types of facilities to receive aid. Second, if we can outfit these rural facilities with supplies the people will attend close to home and not overload the district facilities who are overwhelmed each time the rural facilities run out of supplies. Third, it is in a rural area. When these facilities run out of drugs people are forced to walk, cycle, or go by ox-cart to other facilities. There is a high chance that by the time they get there these other facilities will also be out of supplies.”
The trip through the facility begins to draw to a close, and Tembo concludes his report.
“The nurse said to me, ‘Our challenges are many. We generally lack drugs, gloves, exam couches, beds and mattresses, among other things.’ I noted this facility has only one medical assistant and four nurses. They are delivering 60 babies a month, and they admit 30 patients a week.”
By Wilson Isaac Tembo
Tags: medical supplies > Msipe Clinic
