“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

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Into this empty void came the worst famine Malawi had experienced in over 50 years, and the need for food, medical supplies, and other critical goods hit the top of the needs list for the nation. The Malawi Project was new, and had little knowledge, resources, or contacts through which to aid the people who were dying of starvation, malaria, HIV/Aids, and a number of other problems that could be relieved with the simple solution of trailers of supplies going to the hospitals, schools, villages, and trading centers throughout the nation.  The Malawi Project faced a bleak future without aid assistance. Enter Universal Aide from western Canada.

Contact between the Malawi Project and Universal was made, and the first trailer of medical supplies was off to Malawi at the height of the great famine. “This will be the only one. I can send you only one,” Shirley Gremyachev, the Director for Universal, said to Suzi Stephens on the phone. It was the beginning of a long and prosperous relationship that has added Malawi to the map of people’s hearts all over the world. World events, and the influx of other good intentioned Samaritans in recent years has also added Malawi to the international consciousness, but it was Universal and its assistance to the Malawi Project that raised the profile of the Malawi Project to a national level in the tiny African republic.

With a trailer of medical supplies valued in excess of a quarter of a million dollars, the Malawi Project, with the support from Universal, set out to “change the healthcare of the nation”. Universal was up to the challenge. Joining with its own network of suppliers, Universal Aide put the Malawi Project directly into the heart of famine and medical relief. After offering the one shipment in 2002, an additional 8 shipments were added to the list. In 2003 the number of trailers earmarked to the Malawi Project went up to 25. In 2004 the total added another 10 to the list, and the relationship between Universal, the Malawi Project, and the goal of changing the healthcare of the nation grew to include increasing the educational resources of the nation, influencing the agricultural output of the farm community, and generally helping to raise the quality of life for people throughout the three regions of Malawi. Because of Universal the Malawi Project gained national reputation in the highest levels of tribal and national government circles, and was given open doors in many areas with which to extend aid that could make a difference in the lives of the people.

“One never knows where one phone call can lead you,” notes Richard Stephens, one of the founders of the Malawi Project. “Imagine if Suzi had not made that phone call to Shirley on that most important day back in 2002. And, imagine if Shirley had not been available or tied up with something else, and unable to take the call? We might still be looking at the critical need, watching people die needlessly, finding ourselves hopelessly empty handed, and feeling the deep despair of not being able to do anything to help them.”

Concerning the way this all came about, Suzi notes, “May God be glorified by the way He brought these two organizations together to bring aid to Malawi. He is just so magnificent in the way He touches hearts to accomplish His goals.”

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Reaching the Balaka District Hospital

It was another of those interesting life experiences visiting two referral hospitals who have received medical aid from the Namikango Mission, through the Malawi Project. It was still morning when I reached Balaka District Hospital about 100 kilometers north of Namikango Mission in Thondwe. The temperature was very humid the two of us were soaked in sweat. There was no option to the intense heat.

At the beginning of my visit I met with some of the senior staff of the facility, and learned about the problems they face.

Can you imagine a villager having a toothache and needing urgent medical attention, yet the doctor has to tell you to wait until he borrows a dental chair from a nearby private hospital for you? He has no dental chair in the entire hospital.

Can you imagine walking into a hospital only to be told the hospital is running out of drugs, and no one knows when more will arrive?

Just imagine being admitted to a hospital, and being told to sleep on the floor because of a lack of both beds and mattresses.

The list goes on and on, as they list the challenges this hospital faces. The Balaka District Hospital opened in 1996, and has a capacity of 140 beds. The facility currently admits over 250 patients at a time, meaning the additional patients spend their time sleeping on the floor.

Serving Over 300,000 people
The district Hospital serves a population of 317,000 people in its catchment area who directly or indirectly seek medical attention from this hospital. The district has a total of 14 health centers (clinics), which refer the complicated cases to this district hospital. Out of the budgeted amount for procurement of drugs this financial year, the hospital only received half, hence the drug, equipment and supplies shortages, explained two of the senior members of the staff at the facility.

“When Balaka became a district, the hospital was extended to suit the status of a district hospital, but no additional equipment was provided’’, according to Mrs. Zuza, the District Nursing Officer. She highlighted the fact that hospital beds, mattresses, linen, oxygen concentrators, surgery beds and packs are critically needed at the hospital. The hospital has one aged oxygen concentrator that does not function properly.

Hospital with Only One Doctor
This hospital has 1 doctor, 87 nurses and 27 clinicians (some of whom work for the health centers). They register exceptionally high cases of malaria, with HIV/AIDS running second. Maternal related complications are third on the list of the most common cases that the hospital registers.

The needs for both preventive initiatives and continued medical supplies to help those that are suffering are a must. The government’s effort to ensure availability of necessary supplies and drugs for its people cannot keep up with the demand. The facility needs more support.

“We really appreciate the donations that we get from the Malawi Project through the Namikango Mission. They are changing people’s lives for the better. You must know that we had only one damaged dental chair before you came. Now, that we have received our own dental chair, we hope to improve our service delivery to our clients,” she concluded.

On this trip more supplies have been given to the hospital, sheets, pillows, crutches, walkers, and gowns have been provided courtesy of those who are supporting this effort. Somehow as we started back toward the mission the intense heat of the African summer did not seem to matter as much.

Wilson Tembo
Namikango Medical Distribution Site
Thondwe, Malawi

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

No sooner had she got outside her parents’ house that she collapsed and fell prostrate onto a bare ground which made a landscape of their tiny house.

The mother ran, picked up the girl and laid her on a reed mat by the verandah. This was followed by fanning and massaging. There were signs of life, but how much, no one could tell. The body was hot with fever. No one had a thermometer to tell the rise in temperature. No one had a lactometer either, to measure blood sugar levels.

A local village headman organized some young men to ferry the girl to a nearby hospital. The quickest mode of transport was by foot since the terrain of the land and the poor condition of an existing road was virtually impossible to drive through. The girl was put on a “hammock” and carried to hospital, which was about an hour of walking distance from the village.

On arrival, a doctor immediately attended to Linda. Her body registered a temperature of 104 degrees F. She was breathing spontaneously but with difficulty. She lay motionless on the examination couch and could not speak. Blood Pressure was 80/60 mmHg; Blood Glucose read 86mg/dl. A quick sample of blood was sent to the laboratory for a malaria smear and a complete blood count. A lumbar puncture was done too for a CSF sample to exclude meningitis.

No malaria parasites were identified in the blood sample sent to the laboratory. However there was a rise in the white cell count of the blood sample sent for a complete blood count. Also of note were markedly raised PMN’s in the CSF sample.

The girl was immediately started on intravenous antibiotics and some analgesics also given. Her labored breathing warranted assisted ventilation but there was no mechanical ventilator available.

The poor parents waited outside with all hope for the best. They had confidence in the medical team that was dealing with Linda. On the other hand, the medical team wished they had a mechanical ventilator nearby; for without it the prognosis was poor.

The breathing deteriorated. All that ought to have been done had been done except for assisted ventilation.

In such moments, tears are first noticed in the eyes of those battling to sustain life. Tears of frustration and anger for failing to achieve what one could have easily accomplished were it not of being handicapped. Frustration because you know that all efforts will eventually be fruitless because of the absence of one piece of equipment. With it this death would not have taken place.

We saw the body turn blue and finally there was no more breathing. How do we break the sad news to the waiting parents?

This is not the end of the story because this is just one of those many children and adults who could have made it, but failed to pull through when they got too tired to continue breathing on their own.

Dr. Smith Chibaka
Lilongwe and Blantyre, Malawi

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Recognizing the vast problems faced by the orphan situation many community-based organizations are mushrooming across the country. These village community groups work towards helping underprivileged children who lack necessities in life by sourcing aid from other organizations and individuals, while at the same time trying to create self-help activities that will generate income. To so many of these orphans clothes, food, school fees, shelter are not part of everyday life.

Located just inside the southeastern district of Zomba is the One Voice Community Based Organization. It focuses on reaching out to underprivileged children in 14 surrounding villages. The organization is caring for a total of 160 orphans. These children receive basic education in a grass thatched shelter erected 12 kilometers west of the district capital. These children get porridge for breakfast each morning before they receive basing academic principles at the centre.

Two of the 160 children, Ester Thabu, 9 and Hamadu Dauda, 10 are physically challenged. Besides facing the lack of clothes, food and good shelter, Ester cannot walk to and from preschool. This forces her mother to carry her on her back. In view of this, the CBO’s director sought a wheelchair for the little girl. Meeting Ester and her friends for the first time, the realization of their needs was clearly visible With help from the Malawi Project, a donation of T/shirts and pencils was given to each of the 160 children.

In addition, two wheelchairs were given to little Ester and Hamidu to help them freely go to and from school. This donation was made possible through the joint efforts of Malawi Project and Free Wheelchair Mission. These two children were attacked by cerebral malaria earlier in life.After receiving the wheelchair, Ester’s mother expressed happiness and thanked God for the help to her daughter. “She was attacked by cerebral malaria when she was 2 years old and from that time on, she has been unable to walk”. She spoke with tears flowing down her cheeks, as she remembered how it all started. Ester hails from Nkawa village of Traditional Authority Mlumbe-Zomba. She expressed how important the wheelchair will be as she will no longer have to carry the young girl on her back to get to school and back home.

Formed in 2007, One Voice Community Based Organization is registered with the Malawi Government’s social Welfare and the District Health Office to carry such activities as peer Education, Advocacy, Vocational Training, Community Based Child Care (CBCC).

In his remarks, as he received the donation from the Namikango Mission, Shadrick Tambala said it is pleasing to note that the Mission has considered helping these orphans in a shortest notice. “We are pleased that the Namikango Mission has gone that far by helping these orphaned children. As a village organization, we lack a lot of supplies to help these children with and it’s of great help that the Mission has donated these clothes, Pencils and Wheelchairs that will go a long way in making these children self reliant in future”.

Village headman Nkawa 1, in whose area the organization is located, expressed not only happiness to witness the orphans in his area receiving the assorted items, but was touched that aid from an International Organization was channeled to his village. “As a village headman, it is for the first time to witness such a big donation being given to my subjects, more especially orphans. These orphans lack a lot of things and it is my hope that Namikango Mission will continue considering these children.”

As we left the centre, we were all witnesses as we saw little Ester going home on a new wheelchair with a new T/shirt and a pencil that she will be using at school the following morning and indeed in future.

- Wilson Isaac Tembo & Richard Stephens

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Upon our arrival we watch as Agnes’ mother picks Agnes up on her back and labourly sits her in the wheelchair, in order to greet the guests. Agnes must weight at least 200 lbs. and her mother not over 100. Her mother explains to us that Agnes was born in 1992, and in time she was able to use her legs to walk, her mouth to a talk, and her hands just as anyone else. This was true for the first four years of her life. Then, unnoticeable, a hungry mosquito landed on the young girl’s innocent body. Little did Agnes, or her family know that she had been injected with malaria giving parasites, but it was even worse than that. It was soon determined that she had cerebral Malaria, the worst from of malaria. “From that time on she could not walk, or talk or handle anything with her hands,” her mother explained to Malawi Project’s Richard Stephens and his guests. Despite several attempts by the parents to help Agnes recover, all the efforts have lead to a fruitless destination. Because of a simple mosquito bite, Agnes’ life has gone though unspeakable pain and anguish. She spends her everyday at home – alone and lonely, from all of her friends.

Witnessing the suffering that Agnes’ mother experiences from early morning to late at night, as she tries to move Agnes from one place to another Brent Gourley, a visitor with the Malawi Project, could not hide his emotions when he saw the scene in front of him. His eyes were swimming in tears as he saw Agnes’s mother struggle to pick up Agnes, and how helpless Agnes was without the wheelchair.

“The time will come when Agnes will join all of us in heaven with able legs. She will be able to walk, and all of the pain will be gone. In the meantime God has given us an opportunity to help this girl,” Richard Stephens encouraged Agnes’s family members.

It is evident that by making mosquito nets and repellent available to children less than five years old could eliminate malaria in this third world country. In the meantime reports indicate that 40% of all people in Malawian healthcare facilities are suffering from malaria, the largest percentage being children under five years of age.

Short of ending the plagues of malaria, polio, and other diseases and accidents that bring us so many people with disabilities, the need for the wheelchairs will continue on a massive scale.

Wilson Isaac Tembo & Richard Stephens

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

“Visiting Malawi for the first time I was unsure what to expect,”

“We left the capital city going south. The landscape was breathtaking, and I could hardly wait to experience it all. As we entered the trading center the streets were lined with people selling their wares. I could hardly believe there could be so many people in such a small area. Turning off the main road we headed down a bumpy, partially paved road into the gated entrance to the hospital. As we pulled up in front of the hospital it was crowed with people sitting around outside waiting to be seen by a medical person. What hit me almost immediately was the smell. It was like rotting flesh and urine, and it seemed to follow us all along the hallway. ‘Oh God,’ I pleaded silently, ‘please do not let me get sick over here, so far from home. How could there be a place like this in such a beautiful country of such beautiful people?’

“We went into the kitchen, and found there was only one spigot for cooking water, and rinsing hands for food preparation. There were only two cooks, and they were busy preparing meals that would be carried into the main hospital in buckets transported in old wheelchairs. By no means was this kitchen sanitary by western standards, and it was very clear we  were not in a western hospital.”

“Back in the states, just before leaving for Africa, we were preparing for our accreditation audit at my hospital. One of the rules relative to the storage of medical supplies is that nothing can be stacked nearer than 18 inches from the ceiling. It must be neat and orderly, with everything plainly labeled. But, as we entered the central stores I found myself in a totally different world. Due to the lack of funding, and adequate building materials this hospital’s central supply area resembled one big stack of boxes stacked as high as one can reach. It appeared to be in no certain order. I kept thinking, ‘How does one find anything in this mess?’

“As we walked to the main building I noticed the pot-hole laden driveway, and thought of those poor mothers coming in an ox cart or ambulance to give birth. They would be bounced all over the place. Again, the plight of poverty in Malawi was beyond imagination from the perspective of a westerner in this strange land.”

“Next, we reached the children’s ward. We were greeted by a friendly, warm, smiling charge nurse. As we talked she described the critical shortage of medications. They dilute their IV medications, a common practice across the land, by as much as 10 to 1. Most of the patients suffer from pneumonia, some with complications from HIV, and others with malaria and malnutrition.”

“Two of my favorite memories come for the children’s ward. The first was a young boy when I squatted down beside his bed. He had never seen a white person before. He reached out and took my hand. It seemed for a minute that he was saying, ‘I’m glad you are here. Thank you for visiting.’ He looked in wonderment at me. His little eyes sparkled as he took my hand. I remember how soft his hands were, yet I could feel each bone in his tiny fingers. Being careful not to squeeze too hard, I took his hand between my fingers and just held his hand for what seemed like the afternoon. I did not say a word, but we communicated a great deal.”

“The second moment was a young girl sitting on the floor, a complete no-no by western standards. But it was perfectly alright in this part of the world. She was suffering from dehydration and malnutrition due to the Cholera outbreak throughout the nation. I remember getting down by her and clapping every time she took a drink. The fluid in her cup as said tot be liquid nutrition. However, it resembled warm milk that had been left on the counter too long, and was beginning to curdle. Even the smell turned my stomach. But this was what she needed to drink to replenish herself. She had not been drinking that day. To my wonderment every time I clapped she took a sip, and it became a game to her. I was happy to play with her.”

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Looking Beyond the Cane's End

Her name is Kusala, and if you are at the Namikango Mission you may see her. Every morning she goes with her mother to the market. She is a grade 2 pupil at Msamba Primary School, a school located less than 5 kilometers from the mission. Her family earns a living selling sugarcane, and during school holidays she joins her mother in carrying the cane to the roadside market and selling it. With six members in the family, Kusala’s mom earns about $4.00 a day. This means each family member lives on 66 cents a day. When asked how she feels carrying the cane on her head, Kusala says, “my family has no choice; we must eat, having clothing, and it totally depends on selling the cane. I don’t enjoy carrying them on my head, they are very heavy.” This business earns her a pen, a pencil, exercise books and soap.

Wants to be a nurse

Carrying sugar cane for 10 kilometers is not simple for a seven-year-old. However, she tries to look beyond the end of the cane’s length. “I want to be a nurse, so I work hard at school,” she explains with excitement. Her life, and future demands a lot on her if she is going to become a nurse. Malawi is the home  to many children like Kasala whose lives are subjected to adverse poverty due to the loss of parents who die of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases.

Growing up in a Yao tribe in southern Malawi, Kusala has a mountain to climb if she is to realize her dream. Many cultural practices lead to girls such as Kusala becoming sexually active long before marriage, and this can easily lead to HIV/AIDS, or other problems that will bring about the loss of any promise of a productive future. For her to realize her dream of being a nurse Kusala will have to look well beyond the end of the cane.

Reported by Wilson Tembo,

Namikango Medical Warehouse Manager

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Water is life. Having potable water for domestic use is a birth right. This is true to many People in the world. If only access to portable water is a birth right, then the residents of Chandiwo Village in central part of Malawi have few birth rights.  To get this precious and free gift that God gave the world, people in this village have to exchange it with more effort.  Laying parallel to a small stream to its east that also serves as a boundary with a neighboring village Chandiwo village is extremely rich with natural resources. Kawelawela River, to the east of the village, provides an abundance of water resource.
His name is Kondwani (Happy) Bwenzani and he was born thirteen years ago.  A third born son in a family of  six, Kondwani spends much of his time at home when he is back from a 9-km walk from school. Traditionally, girls are supposed to do all household chores when boys are helping their fathers with watering of vegetables in gardens and other duties like making hoe handles. On the contrary, Kondwani spends most of his time helping his mother with household chores. He washes dishes, draw water and even cook. This is uncommon for a Malawian boy. “His friends used to laugh at him for doing all this, but now they’ve stopped,” his mother explained.
Despite having water resources in abundance, just 450m away, the inhabitants of this small village lack clean and potable water. The reason is simple. They lack modern equipment and resources with which to treat the water. The village is a host to three dug wells that in rain season provide the water near people’s homes. In summer the wells run dry. Kondwani and his friends are forced to get the precious commodity down at the stream. This year however, has been described as the best, since the country received an abundance of rain. This has resulted in a rising water table that provides the water to the people through the wells during the summer.
This gives thirteen-year-old Kondwani no choice but to draw and use the untreated water for domestic use. Like many African and indeed many Malawian village children, Kondwani wakes up early in the morning to make sure he gets the water while it is clean. These water sources are breeding areas for mosquitoes that provide the parasites for malaria. Depending on such source of water for decades now, this village had its highest cases of cholera in 2001 when over ten people were seriously attached by the disease. Three died. For the good health and future of Kondwani and other children of this village, theirs is the need to have a mechanism in place to filter and treat the water from a nearby man made dam that lies along the Kawelawela stream just 450m from Kondwani home.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

“’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

Bookmark It

Hide Sites