Sunday 2 April 2017

the simple things

Whew, it has been awhile.  I did a lot of traveling the last month and it was hard to just sit down and write.  I will probably post a few things over the next couple weeks though as my time here comes to an end. I want to post about traveling in Malawi and also some of the things I've learned here.

I don't know if it is a product of growing up in the U.S. or in western society in general that has given me the habit of being cynical with an underlying distrust for anyone asking for help/aid/money.  We learn that people work the system and take advantage of us.  I have seen Malawians help people out however they can, and this help is often not monetary.  Most people don't have much, but they will give you what little they have if it will make your life easier.  They will push your car out of a ditch, change a flat tire, or give you the string from their hoodie to make an impromptu dog leash (this actually happened), without thinking twice.  Driving is like having AAA, because you know if you breakdown along the way someone will be there to help you.

I hope this is something I can take home with me.  As Americans (or at least as me), we value our time and get impatient and angry when people waste it.  We forget people are people first.  In Malawi, you are greeted as a person first, regardless of what you came to do.  Everyone from the janitorial staff to the vice principal of the medical school gets asked, "How are you?" before anything can proceed.  You are acknowledged as a person before you go on to provide your services.  There is less suspicion that people are just out to get you.

I have spent some periods of my life in the past where I became obsessed with buying stuff. These were times when looking back, I was feeling alone and empty. So I tried to make up for it with material things.  When I work abroad, I realize this obsession is gone. I don't think about clothes (ok, I think less about clothes, its no secret I have a chitenje obsession over here), or shoes, or phones, or cars.  I am happy with simply having things that function well.  I am happy with what I need, and not thinking about everything I want, or could have.  I would rather buy a nice gift for someone and see how happy it makes them than buy myself something I don't really need (which is definitely not typical for me).   Not saying I am perfect and never buy anything or want anything, but it is different here. It isn't something that I think about on a daily basis of keeping up with everyone and the consumerism that is a part of our culture.  Hopefully a little bit of this will follow me when I come home.

I won't generalize, or pretend I understand everything about Malawian culture and its people, but I do think more value is placed on relationships and our ability to be happy with what we have.  Maybe I am not that important. Maybe my time isn't any more valuable than anyone else's.  Maybe I can't even change a tire on my own.

This week, I was lucky to meet some of the pediatric clinical officers (like physician assistants who have done extra training to specialize in pediatrics).  They are working out in the districts seeing sometimes over 100 kids on their wards, alone, as the sole pediatric clinician.  Despite this, their energy and enthusiasm is contagious.  Their questions ranged from what to do to with difficult diagnoses, to "How do I convince the government to fix our ward because the infrastructure is crumbling?"  Their brainstorming of how to solve huge problems they are faced with everyday (yet some how still keep smiling) was amazing.  At the end of the meeting, one of them added, "Oh and can someone here just steal me one box of urine dipsticks? No, seriously. We've been out of these for months now in our district."  Followed by laughter and everyone chiming in all the supplies they've been out of forever that they've given up on ever seeing again.

From this interaction, I wish I could have worked with people like this all year.  Not that the staff, trainees, and specialists in the tertiary hospital where I work don't care, but this is not where the need is greatest.  Support is needed out in the districts.  Out where being able to test a urine sample for infection is considered a luxury. Where one clinical officer has to juggle seeing patients, referring patients, calling specialists, working oftentimes with no electricity, no water, but still wanting to learn more so that they can help their patients as much as possible.  I honestly don't know how they don't get burned out and quit.  One of them asked if we could have training on how to advocate for children who they can tell are being abused or neglected when the parents lie and deny this as child protection laws (and their enforcement) aren't very strong nor clear nor enforced.  They are faced with some heavy shit on a daily basis.  I am hoping now that the central hospitals have been strengthened, more focus will be on supporting those out in the communities.  I wish I would have found ways of supporting them sooner.

Again, some photos of beautiful Malawian scenery:

mountain hut at mulanje

some cloud mist and wildflowers up on the mountain

The most fake-looking real picture ever taken

3 zebras staring me down

the zebra family that visited our campsite at Nyika

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