Hi everyone!
So, I have been working pretty hard since the last time I wrote...I think...So, after the guardian shelter funding was approved, I worked with the technical college and district hospital to set up everything to get the foundation finished before the students left for break. I had a few meetings and everyone was really excited. I got to watch the students learn how to "set out" a foundation so we could then have someone excavate it. Just talking to the students made me really pumped to do this project because they were so excited to be given the opportunity to contribute to the community while building something so big! It was really cute actually. So, as of now, the chiefs have motivated the villagers to help pour the concrete for the foundation and it seems to be actually happening!
Let's see....since my cat, Mauwa, was run away by the new Medical assistant's dog, I ended up getting a new kitten. It is really little and cries alot because it was taken away from its mom too young. I named it "Namiwawa." It has become my oatmeal eating partner and has already proven to be a great warrior against many bugs in my house! It is a calico cat and super cute!
When I first got back to site after being sick in Lilongwe, Mrs. Mhango told me that I was no longer allowed to walk alone by myself because there were Portuguese who were killing people and taking their blood. Very interesting here in Malawi. Don't worry, we don't know anyone who has actually been killed by the Portuguese in my area, we just hear rumors about it.
On top of this fantastic story, one night when I was getting ready to go to bed, my nightwatchman called me out to the porch and showed me a "charm" from witchcraft that he found in one of the four holes dug in the four corners of my house. It had some wooden "needle" that they said was either for protection or death. Probably not the best thing that could happen. It was kind of funny because Mrs. Mhango and her kids were really worried that someone was out to get me. I think optimistically, so I of course thought it was to protect me from evil spirits! Nothing too bad has happened yet...so, we'll see!
I am actually writing this earlier than I had planned because 2 weeks ago, I was biking from my house to the tarmac and got in a bike accident and "slightly" tore my meniscus and lateral ligament in my right knee so I am in Lilongwe getting some physical therapy. I was going pretty fast and hit some loose gravel and fell to the right side. I got pretty beat up with lots of skin missing and gravel in my left palm as well as a decent amount of skin being left on the ground from my right forearm. I walked the 3-5km to the tarmac where I leave my bike with some blood flowing out of my body. I went to the health centre to get fixed...they poured sterile water and an iodine wrap on my wounds and some stuff like tylenol for the pain...right, like that was going to actually work. I went to Blantyre for a summer school meeting and went to the Blantyre Adventist hospital and they gave me some good pain killers. So, after going back to site and doing lots of crouching while bucket bathing, using the pit latrine, and washing dishes, I noticed that my knee was pretty bad. I went back to Blantyre and got some x-rays and a ct scan. Now that's why I am here...fun times...
Well, I am in for Thanksgiving, so I'm sure I will have plenty of fun stories to add on here later! I hope that you are all doing well!
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Under the weather and done with vacation...
Hi everyone~
So, I've been "under the weather" for the last week and have been put on medical hold until at least Tuesday...I have a horrible sore throat, cough, headache, and runny nose. It's been a kind of bad week for me. My really good friend, Brent, left the country on Wednesday and ended his contract early because he wasn't liking Malawi so much. It was one of the hardest things I've had to do, say goodbye to a great friend. At least he's from Montana and is thinking of moving to Portland, so maybe I'll get to see him when I'm done!
I said goodbye to my parents about a week and a half ago after their visit of 3 weeks. It was hard to see them go too. We had a great time, but the time went by way too fast. We traveled around Malawi (the Zomba Plateau) and at my site for the first week. It was kind of strange having them at my house and for them to see how I actually live. I'm not quite sure if they are put at ease or more worried for me now that they've seen it. I took them to a few of the youth club trainings that George and I do, as well as a community sensitization meeting. They got to meet all of the people I work with. One of the midwives wanted my mom to help her with antenatal clinic, but all we did was help hand out mosquito nets. Mom was surprised to see how little equipment we have in labour and delivery! We ate dinner with Mrs. Mhango and her children like I normally do. I think they handled that ok. They killed a chicken in honor of my parents visiting!
After being tortured in the village, we headed back to Lilongwe to catch a flight to Mfuwe, the town outside of South Luangwa National Park, Zambia. It was on a small cessna, so mom had to take some meds to get through that flight! We stayed at the infamous "Norman Carr" safari place. It was really nice. The rooms were great and so was the food. Our safari driver was really good at pointing out animals! We saw a leopard hunting a puku during the day (very rare), lions hanging out on the sand banks after feeding during the day, and 2 lioness and 3 cubs at night hunting a kudu. Besides those, we saw lots of elephants, kudu, buffalo, etc! We were really lucky with everything! From there, we headed to Victoria Falls, Zambia. We stayed at this really nice place called "The Zambezi Sun". It was so fancy that I kind of felt out of place. At dinner, there were so many utensils I didn't know what to do! My dad and I did this thing called a microlight flight where you go over the falls in this small motorized parachute aircraft thing. It was amazing to see the falls that way! No one can take a picture to capture how amazing this place was! My mom and I had full body massages overlooking the spray from the falls and I had a pedicure...it was so nice to be pampered and to not have village feet!
After the fun in the sun in Zambia, we came back to Malawi on a grueling and not so fun turbulence flight and headed up north to Nkhata Bay. We stayed at Mayoka village (a favorite of mine, if you haven't guessed already). Dad and I snorkeled and got to see some great bright blue chiclids! They made some amazing food and we met some interesting random people from the UK and Australia. It seems like everyone is here in Malawi to help in some way or another. I was able to show my parents the Nkhata Bay district hospital. That was a real shocker to my mom. She couldn't believe that this is the top level and best healthcare available to Malawians. She was like I was when I first came to Malawi.
Even though my parents favorite part of the trip was going to the village, mine was being spoiled in Zambia. Its so different than village life and it was a nice break...enough so that I can make it through the next 9 months!
OH! I GOT FUNDING FOR THE GUARDIAN SHELTER! I have a real project now! It's going to be weird managing so much money and being in charge of a construction project...it will turn out amazing, I'm sure! The community is so excited!
I guess that's it for now! I miss you all and hope that everything is going great!
So, I've been "under the weather" for the last week and have been put on medical hold until at least Tuesday...I have a horrible sore throat, cough, headache, and runny nose. It's been a kind of bad week for me. My really good friend, Brent, left the country on Wednesday and ended his contract early because he wasn't liking Malawi so much. It was one of the hardest things I've had to do, say goodbye to a great friend. At least he's from Montana and is thinking of moving to Portland, so maybe I'll get to see him when I'm done!
I said goodbye to my parents about a week and a half ago after their visit of 3 weeks. It was hard to see them go too. We had a great time, but the time went by way too fast. We traveled around Malawi (the Zomba Plateau) and at my site for the first week. It was kind of strange having them at my house and for them to see how I actually live. I'm not quite sure if they are put at ease or more worried for me now that they've seen it. I took them to a few of the youth club trainings that George and I do, as well as a community sensitization meeting. They got to meet all of the people I work with. One of the midwives wanted my mom to help her with antenatal clinic, but all we did was help hand out mosquito nets. Mom was surprised to see how little equipment we have in labour and delivery! We ate dinner with Mrs. Mhango and her children like I normally do. I think they handled that ok. They killed a chicken in honor of my parents visiting!
After being tortured in the village, we headed back to Lilongwe to catch a flight to Mfuwe, the town outside of South Luangwa National Park, Zambia. It was on a small cessna, so mom had to take some meds to get through that flight! We stayed at the infamous "Norman Carr" safari place. It was really nice. The rooms were great and so was the food. Our safari driver was really good at pointing out animals! We saw a leopard hunting a puku during the day (very rare), lions hanging out on the sand banks after feeding during the day, and 2 lioness and 3 cubs at night hunting a kudu. Besides those, we saw lots of elephants, kudu, buffalo, etc! We were really lucky with everything! From there, we headed to Victoria Falls, Zambia. We stayed at this really nice place called "The Zambezi Sun". It was so fancy that I kind of felt out of place. At dinner, there were so many utensils I didn't know what to do! My dad and I did this thing called a microlight flight where you go over the falls in this small motorized parachute aircraft thing. It was amazing to see the falls that way! No one can take a picture to capture how amazing this place was! My mom and I had full body massages overlooking the spray from the falls and I had a pedicure...it was so nice to be pampered and to not have village feet!
After the fun in the sun in Zambia, we came back to Malawi on a grueling and not so fun turbulence flight and headed up north to Nkhata Bay. We stayed at Mayoka village (a favorite of mine, if you haven't guessed already). Dad and I snorkeled and got to see some great bright blue chiclids! They made some amazing food and we met some interesting random people from the UK and Australia. It seems like everyone is here in Malawi to help in some way or another. I was able to show my parents the Nkhata Bay district hospital. That was a real shocker to my mom. She couldn't believe that this is the top level and best healthcare available to Malawians. She was like I was when I first came to Malawi.
Even though my parents favorite part of the trip was going to the village, mine was being spoiled in Zambia. Its so different than village life and it was a nice break...enough so that I can make it through the next 9 months!
OH! I GOT FUNDING FOR THE GUARDIAN SHELTER! I have a real project now! It's going to be weird managing so much money and being in charge of a construction project...it will turn out amazing, I'm sure! The community is so excited!
I guess that's it for now! I miss you all and hope that everything is going great!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Done with vacation and back to work...
Hey everyone!
So, I am just getting back from spending 6 weeks of vacation and one week at Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World)...
So, let me fill you in on my vacation...I met up with Paul in Dar es Salaam and my luggage was lost by Kenya Airways...then, I find out that his luggage was lost by US Airways, so not the best way to start off our vacation...we spend a night in Dar and then my luggage shows up and we head to Zanzibar! We find out that we are luckily there at the right time (it was the Zanzibar International Film Festival). We spent a few days in Stonetown to see the sights and ate some good seafood that the fishermen sell from their days' work. Then we headed up north to Nungwi to try to do some diving, but Paul and I were unfortunately still fighting our head colds that we got somewhere on a plane...so we headed back to Stonetown and Paul was feeling up to diving and I snorkeled...he saw a sea turtle and I saw a dolphin! Heading back to Dar on a ferry, I got really sick to my stomach and felt awful...The next day, we spent 13 hours on a big bus to get to a town to stay the night before we crossed the border to Malawi. We headed to Mzuzu, Malawi the next day. After that, we went to Lake Malawi in the town of Nkhata Bay (where I was for Christmas). It was a much needed break and time for relaxing after all of our long days on public transport. After a few days at the lake, we headed south to the capital, Lilongwe for a few days...we managed to get Paul some shirts at the market (so that he had more than 2) and he got to meet some of my Peace Corps friends and co-workers. From there we headed to my site for a few days and Paul got to meet my Malawian family, go to a community sensitization meeting, meet George (the guy who I go with to all of the youth club trainings), and eat lots of Malawian food with his hands! I think he liked it!
Then came the fun travel to Mozambique...we headed to the border from Blantyre and got to the Malawi customs to find out that the Mozambiquian border 5 km away that we decided to walk (probably one of the worst decisions I've made). We took a bus to Tete and stayed the night. The next day (a Sunday) we went to the regional airlines' ticket place and they told us they had a flight to Maputo (the capital) but we couldn't get tickets because they can't print out tickets on Sundays...so we went to the airport and waited for standby. We got on and arrived in Maputo...it was like a real city in America! I ate some pizza and Thai food! It was so nice, but I was sort of overwhelmed by all of the sights! We headed north at 4am on a small bus to Praia do Tofo (Tofo Beach). It was beautiful white sandy beaches and turquoise waters. I did a SCUBA refresher course and then we did a dive on a coral reef. We couldn't see alot because of bad visibility and not a lot of animal life. We were supposed to do a 2 tank deep dive to see the manta rays (what this beach is known for), but they cancelled it because of bad conditions. So that was kind of frustrating...we headed up more north to a town called Vilanculos to stay for a few days. It was also amazingly beautiful with turquoise waters and white sandy beaches. We stayed at a really cute place. We did a 2 tank dive at the 2 mile reef off of the Bazaruto Archipelago. It was so cool. We saw a huge sting ray, devil rays, a sea turtle, lots of reef fish, and a white tip shark! For part of this dive package, they drop you off on an island made of sand dunes to eat lunch...there are no inhabitants on this island, so me and Paul were all alone for 2 hours on this beautiful island. We found this place that delivered food for free so we ate a lot of "New York Pizza" and good food from them. We ended up meeting this 50-60 year old New Zealand backpacker who we hung out with from Tofo all the way to Malawi. We traveled to Chimoio and stayed the night so that we could head back to Malawi at 4 am. It took us the whole day and part of the night to get back to Blantyre...from there, we headed to Cape Maclear for a few days in a rental car because we were tired of public transport...we did one dive in Lake Malawi at a site called the Aquarium. It was perfectly named because we were surrounded by small bright blue aquarium fish! It was a beautiful dive. From there, we headed to Malawi's premier game park, Liwonde. We camped there and did a night drive. On the night drive, we saw 7 hyenas! It was kind of scary because they got really close to our open land cruiser. We also saw lots of herds of elephants, hippos, impala, etc. We did a day drive at 6am and then did a boat safari. It was really cool and it has wetted my appetite for the safari stuff that I'll be doing when my parents come!
We spent just a day in Lilongwe before Paul flew out. It was really hard to see him get on the plane. I just wanted one more kiss, one more hug...but that won't happen. I miss him SO much. It is going to be another LONG year before I see him again. It has been hard without him, I see little things that remind me of his visit.
I spent a few days in Lilongwe getting things ready for Camp GLOW and headed up north to Kamuzu Academy to get ready for teaching and facilitating Gender and Health Days. It went so well! We had 58 girls from all over Malawi attend! I think they learned ALOT. We discussed some really important topics like: women's rights in malawi, sexual violence, male and female anatomy, addressed sexual cultural practices, and much much more! There are so many myths surrounding sex in Malawi and it was very beneficial for the girls to get some things clarified! I had a great time and all the work put into it was definately worth it! The girls were amazing and so sweet. OH! I forgot, I also taught them a hip hop dance as a morning activity and they were amazing at it! It was really cute!
Wow, this is a long entry...I guess that's what happens when you haven't written in 2 months...but now I should be back on track with all of this...My parents come on Sept. 6th and leave the 25th or 26th, so I don't know if I will be able to write again any time soon...I need to get some proposals written for the guardian shelter and the TBA training (yes, I have finally gotten the 25% community contribution) and get back to site for a few weeks before I am on some more vacation! I hope that everyone is well! I love and miss you all LOTS!
So, I am just getting back from spending 6 weeks of vacation and one week at Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World)...
So, let me fill you in on my vacation...I met up with Paul in Dar es Salaam and my luggage was lost by Kenya Airways...then, I find out that his luggage was lost by US Airways, so not the best way to start off our vacation...we spend a night in Dar and then my luggage shows up and we head to Zanzibar! We find out that we are luckily there at the right time (it was the Zanzibar International Film Festival). We spent a few days in Stonetown to see the sights and ate some good seafood that the fishermen sell from their days' work. Then we headed up north to Nungwi to try to do some diving, but Paul and I were unfortunately still fighting our head colds that we got somewhere on a plane...so we headed back to Stonetown and Paul was feeling up to diving and I snorkeled...he saw a sea turtle and I saw a dolphin! Heading back to Dar on a ferry, I got really sick to my stomach and felt awful...The next day, we spent 13 hours on a big bus to get to a town to stay the night before we crossed the border to Malawi. We headed to Mzuzu, Malawi the next day. After that, we went to Lake Malawi in the town of Nkhata Bay (where I was for Christmas). It was a much needed break and time for relaxing after all of our long days on public transport. After a few days at the lake, we headed south to the capital, Lilongwe for a few days...we managed to get Paul some shirts at the market (so that he had more than 2) and he got to meet some of my Peace Corps friends and co-workers. From there we headed to my site for a few days and Paul got to meet my Malawian family, go to a community sensitization meeting, meet George (the guy who I go with to all of the youth club trainings), and eat lots of Malawian food with his hands! I think he liked it!
Then came the fun travel to Mozambique...we headed to the border from Blantyre and got to the Malawi customs to find out that the Mozambiquian border 5 km away that we decided to walk (probably one of the worst decisions I've made). We took a bus to Tete and stayed the night. The next day (a Sunday) we went to the regional airlines' ticket place and they told us they had a flight to Maputo (the capital) but we couldn't get tickets because they can't print out tickets on Sundays...so we went to the airport and waited for standby. We got on and arrived in Maputo...it was like a real city in America! I ate some pizza and Thai food! It was so nice, but I was sort of overwhelmed by all of the sights! We headed north at 4am on a small bus to Praia do Tofo (Tofo Beach). It was beautiful white sandy beaches and turquoise waters. I did a SCUBA refresher course and then we did a dive on a coral reef. We couldn't see alot because of bad visibility and not a lot of animal life. We were supposed to do a 2 tank deep dive to see the manta rays (what this beach is known for), but they cancelled it because of bad conditions. So that was kind of frustrating...we headed up more north to a town called Vilanculos to stay for a few days. It was also amazingly beautiful with turquoise waters and white sandy beaches. We stayed at a really cute place. We did a 2 tank dive at the 2 mile reef off of the Bazaruto Archipelago. It was so cool. We saw a huge sting ray, devil rays, a sea turtle, lots of reef fish, and a white tip shark! For part of this dive package, they drop you off on an island made of sand dunes to eat lunch...there are no inhabitants on this island, so me and Paul were all alone for 2 hours on this beautiful island. We found this place that delivered food for free so we ate a lot of "New York Pizza" and good food from them. We ended up meeting this 50-60 year old New Zealand backpacker who we hung out with from Tofo all the way to Malawi. We traveled to Chimoio and stayed the night so that we could head back to Malawi at 4 am. It took us the whole day and part of the night to get back to Blantyre...from there, we headed to Cape Maclear for a few days in a rental car because we were tired of public transport...we did one dive in Lake Malawi at a site called the Aquarium. It was perfectly named because we were surrounded by small bright blue aquarium fish! It was a beautiful dive. From there, we headed to Malawi's premier game park, Liwonde. We camped there and did a night drive. On the night drive, we saw 7 hyenas! It was kind of scary because they got really close to our open land cruiser. We also saw lots of herds of elephants, hippos, impala, etc. We did a day drive at 6am and then did a boat safari. It was really cool and it has wetted my appetite for the safari stuff that I'll be doing when my parents come!
We spent just a day in Lilongwe before Paul flew out. It was really hard to see him get on the plane. I just wanted one more kiss, one more hug...but that won't happen. I miss him SO much. It is going to be another LONG year before I see him again. It has been hard without him, I see little things that remind me of his visit.
I spent a few days in Lilongwe getting things ready for Camp GLOW and headed up north to Kamuzu Academy to get ready for teaching and facilitating Gender and Health Days. It went so well! We had 58 girls from all over Malawi attend! I think they learned ALOT. We discussed some really important topics like: women's rights in malawi, sexual violence, male and female anatomy, addressed sexual cultural practices, and much much more! There are so many myths surrounding sex in Malawi and it was very beneficial for the girls to get some things clarified! I had a great time and all the work put into it was definately worth it! The girls were amazing and so sweet. OH! I forgot, I also taught them a hip hop dance as a morning activity and they were amazing at it! It was really cute!
Wow, this is a long entry...I guess that's what happens when you haven't written in 2 months...but now I should be back on track with all of this...My parents come on Sept. 6th and leave the 25th or 26th, so I don't know if I will be able to write again any time soon...I need to get some proposals written for the guardian shelter and the TBA training (yes, I have finally gotten the 25% community contribution) and get back to site for a few weeks before I am on some more vacation! I hope that everyone is well! I love and miss you all LOTS!
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Busy busy busy before vacation...
Hi everyone...
Just wanted to do a quick update before I go on vacation for a few weeks with Paul...he is coming to visit me for 6 weeks at the end of June! I can't wait! I haven't seen him in over year! I am so excited! We're going to meet up in Dar es Saalam in Tanzania and then ferry over to the island of Zanzibar for a few days of diving...other planned activities include travelling through Malawi, visiting my health center and village, and going to Mozambique for some great diving as well.
So, what have I been up to lately? Well, I have met with the chiefs, principal of the technical college, and people from the district hospital to talk about building a guardian shelter for the women who come to the health center with women in labor. It is important for these women to have somewhere to sleep and eat while taking care of women who are working so hard to deliver a baby! I now have to search for funding...I think I can find some through USAID...I worked with the head of maintenance to come up with a budget based on the guardian shelter that we are copying from another health center...It sounds like it is going to be HUGE (12.5 metres x 6.4 metres, aka 23,000 bricks!). I am sort of stressed about finding the funding for it, applying for the funding, and gettting construction started and completed before the rainy season in November...since things move so slowly here, I think it might be pushed until after rainy season... :-(
So, my best friend and Malawian mom is getting transferred to another health center. She's moving about 70km away from me in the completely opposite end of the district. I am so upset about this. When she told me I didn't believe her. I felt like I got the wind knocked out of me! It is unsure when she will be transferred exactly, but hopefully not until after the guardian shelter is built since she is the main person that I am working with on it.
I am in Lilongwe now working on figuring out proposal stuff and then I will help teach the new health volunteers who just arrived in Malawi on May 31st about forming youth clubs and teaching LifeSkills. I'm really excited about that! I am also going to go to 2 other health PCVs' sites to see what they are doing at their health centers! I will then go to my own mid-service training and then head off for vacation with Paul!
I love and miss you all so much! I hope that you are all doing great!
Just wanted to do a quick update before I go on vacation for a few weeks with Paul...he is coming to visit me for 6 weeks at the end of June! I can't wait! I haven't seen him in over year! I am so excited! We're going to meet up in Dar es Saalam in Tanzania and then ferry over to the island of Zanzibar for a few days of diving...other planned activities include travelling through Malawi, visiting my health center and village, and going to Mozambique for some great diving as well.
So, what have I been up to lately? Well, I have met with the chiefs, principal of the technical college, and people from the district hospital to talk about building a guardian shelter for the women who come to the health center with women in labor. It is important for these women to have somewhere to sleep and eat while taking care of women who are working so hard to deliver a baby! I now have to search for funding...I think I can find some through USAID...I worked with the head of maintenance to come up with a budget based on the guardian shelter that we are copying from another health center...It sounds like it is going to be HUGE (12.5 metres x 6.4 metres, aka 23,000 bricks!). I am sort of stressed about finding the funding for it, applying for the funding, and gettting construction started and completed before the rainy season in November...since things move so slowly here, I think it might be pushed until after rainy season... :-(
So, my best friend and Malawian mom is getting transferred to another health center. She's moving about 70km away from me in the completely opposite end of the district. I am so upset about this. When she told me I didn't believe her. I felt like I got the wind knocked out of me! It is unsure when she will be transferred exactly, but hopefully not until after the guardian shelter is built since she is the main person that I am working with on it.
I am in Lilongwe now working on figuring out proposal stuff and then I will help teach the new health volunteers who just arrived in Malawi on May 31st about forming youth clubs and teaching LifeSkills. I'm really excited about that! I am also going to go to 2 other health PCVs' sites to see what they are doing at their health centers! I will then go to my own mid-service training and then head off for vacation with Paul!
I love and miss you all so much! I hope that you are all doing great!
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Busy busy busy
Well, I haven't written on here in a while, so I thought I should fill everyone in on what I've been up to for the last month...Well, I spent a few weeks at site doing lots of youth club activities like teaching them about STDs and HIV/AIDS. It has gone really well! I also went to a lot of nutrition outreach clinics with the NGO, InterAide. They are an amazing organization who does more work than the district that I work for! I love helping them out because they are so genuine and really want to help the communities around my area.
At the end of April, I went in to Lilongwe to meet with a bunch of people to discuss my TBA training funding (I need to now try to find 25% community contribution which will be very difficult and more frustrating) and talk about my new involvement with a community based organization (aka a local NGO). They recently asked me to be their "Technical assistant and project advisor." I'm not really sure what all of that will entail, but sounds like they basically want me to re-organize their whole organization, so we'll see what I can help them do! I also went to the new environment volunteers' swearing in at the ambassador's house! It was nice!
I am back in Blantyre this weekend as I was asked to help facilitate a Hope Kit training for the PCVs in the southern region since I went to the Hope Kit training in February and am teaching these activities to the youth clubs at site. It went pretty good. I think I might be asked by the training staff of the new health group that comes in at the end of May to train them on the Hope Kit! I'm excited about that! I also have another Gender and Development meeting this afternoon to discuss our fundraiser of making these really cool handbags that all PCVs eventually get made on their own!
Last weekend, I met with the Sub Traditional Authority and a senior head chief to discuss another exciting project of building a guardian shelter at the health center for the women who take care of the women in the labor ward. As of right now, they cook their meals under a big tree and sleep on a concrete slab in the wind and cold (its fall here now). The chiefs seemed really excited and supportive of this project, so now they will "rally the troops" in their villages, as well as get support from other chiefs in the area! I think it will work out really well!
I guess that's it for now until the end of this month when I'll be in Lilongwe again for meetings and seeing the new health group come in! I hope you are all well! I love and miss you lots!
At the end of April, I went in to Lilongwe to meet with a bunch of people to discuss my TBA training funding (I need to now try to find 25% community contribution which will be very difficult and more frustrating) and talk about my new involvement with a community based organization (aka a local NGO). They recently asked me to be their "Technical assistant and project advisor." I'm not really sure what all of that will entail, but sounds like they basically want me to re-organize their whole organization, so we'll see what I can help them do! I also went to the new environment volunteers' swearing in at the ambassador's house! It was nice!
I am back in Blantyre this weekend as I was asked to help facilitate a Hope Kit training for the PCVs in the southern region since I went to the Hope Kit training in February and am teaching these activities to the youth clubs at site. It went pretty good. I think I might be asked by the training staff of the new health group that comes in at the end of May to train them on the Hope Kit! I'm excited about that! I also have another Gender and Development meeting this afternoon to discuss our fundraiser of making these really cool handbags that all PCVs eventually get made on their own!
Last weekend, I met with the Sub Traditional Authority and a senior head chief to discuss another exciting project of building a guardian shelter at the health center for the women who take care of the women in the labor ward. As of right now, they cook their meals under a big tree and sleep on a concrete slab in the wind and cold (its fall here now). The chiefs seemed really excited and supportive of this project, so now they will "rally the troops" in their villages, as well as get support from other chiefs in the area! I think it will work out really well!
I guess that's it for now until the end of this month when I'll be in Lilongwe again for meetings and seeing the new health group come in! I hope you are all well! I love and miss you lots!
Monday, April 09, 2007
Peanut butter, condom demos, and dancing, OH MY!
Hi everyone!
So, it's been about a month since I last wrote on here...let me fill you in...So, I met with the Ministry of Health's Reproductive Unit and talked with the "official" person about doing initial TBA trainings. She said that she supports them, but wishes that I would spend the money I can find on something else to benefit women. She understood why I feel it's important for these women in Zomba to be trained. That made me very happy because now I am just working on getting the budget lowered so that I can find some funding and get everything set up for this training! This is something that I have been spending the bulk of my time on in Zomba.
Another thing that I have been busy with is working with youth clubs in my area. I have gone to quite a few lately and really enjoy the enthusiasm of the youth and giving them important information about HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, and how to use a condom. I did my first condom demonstration with a marker since I was unprepared. It was definately funny to watch, I'm sure! I also participated in a "sensitization" meeting with a community. It was really neat because ALOT of people showed up. The youth club performed dances, songs, dramas, and gave lots of information in exciting ways about HIV/AIDS. I took some good pictures and talked about STIs and their relationship to HIV/AIDS.
OH! Something that I am really excited about is my meeting with a women's group! I taught them how to make peanut butter from scratch and they absolutely loved it! We had so much fun with everything! I did lots of booty shaking dancing (traditional dancing) and singing. They performed a skit about santitation and hygiene and were so cute! The whole afternoon I borrowed a woman's baby and practiced wrapping it to my back. The baby was so cute...it fell asleep while on my back. Being in this country definately makes my biological clock tick just a little bit faster, but I won't be adopting or having any kids for quite some time!
I spent last week with a counterpart at an EDZI Toto club workshop (No AIDS club). It was awful and didn't really help me out with learning anything new...oh well...
Update on Camp G.L.O.W.: I am co-coordinating 2 days, health and gender, with my friend Catherine. I am excited about the responsibility of arranging guest speakers and activities for these girls! I will keep you posted!
I guess that's it for now with me! I'm headed back to site for a few weeks and then have more Camp GLOW and GAD meetings! I love and miss you lots! Fill me in on what you've been up to!
So, it's been about a month since I last wrote on here...let me fill you in...So, I met with the Ministry of Health's Reproductive Unit and talked with the "official" person about doing initial TBA trainings. She said that she supports them, but wishes that I would spend the money I can find on something else to benefit women. She understood why I feel it's important for these women in Zomba to be trained. That made me very happy because now I am just working on getting the budget lowered so that I can find some funding and get everything set up for this training! This is something that I have been spending the bulk of my time on in Zomba.
Another thing that I have been busy with is working with youth clubs in my area. I have gone to quite a few lately and really enjoy the enthusiasm of the youth and giving them important information about HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, and how to use a condom. I did my first condom demonstration with a marker since I was unprepared. It was definately funny to watch, I'm sure! I also participated in a "sensitization" meeting with a community. It was really neat because ALOT of people showed up. The youth club performed dances, songs, dramas, and gave lots of information in exciting ways about HIV/AIDS. I took some good pictures and talked about STIs and their relationship to HIV/AIDS.
OH! Something that I am really excited about is my meeting with a women's group! I taught them how to make peanut butter from scratch and they absolutely loved it! We had so much fun with everything! I did lots of booty shaking dancing (traditional dancing) and singing. They performed a skit about santitation and hygiene and were so cute! The whole afternoon I borrowed a woman's baby and practiced wrapping it to my back. The baby was so cute...it fell asleep while on my back. Being in this country definately makes my biological clock tick just a little bit faster, but I won't be adopting or having any kids for quite some time!
I spent last week with a counterpart at an EDZI Toto club workshop (No AIDS club). It was awful and didn't really help me out with learning anything new...oh well...
Update on Camp G.L.O.W.: I am co-coordinating 2 days, health and gender, with my friend Catherine. I am excited about the responsibility of arranging guest speakers and activities for these girls! I will keep you posted!
I guess that's it for now with me! I'm headed back to site for a few weeks and then have more Camp GLOW and GAD meetings! I love and miss you lots! Fill me in on what you've been up to!
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
LifeSkills training and fun conversations
Hey everyone!
So, I just got back from a weeklong LifeSkills training with my counterpart, an HSA that is going to teach with me at the secondary school. It went really well. I feel like my counterpart learned alot and really benefited from this training. We learned some very interesting and exciting ways to teach communities about HIV/AIDS prevention! There's an interesting tool called "the bridge model" which visually shows how people can reach their goals (avoid HIV, get a good job, etc.) by using a "bridge" like abstinence, being faithful, etc. to get over their challenges represented by crocodiles, hippos, snakes in a river. It seems like a very effective tool that I can use with many different type of people like high school kids, women's groups, health center staff, etc.
We also learned some creative ways to give condom demonstrations, which I will hopefully be doing plenty of in the year and a half I have left here at outreach, under 5, family planning, and antenatal clinics! Something that was really funny was watching the coutnerparts reaction to the pictures of STIs and then deciding how important the use of condoms are for preventing not only HIV, but STIs as well. Another funny topic was about what goes on in the bedroom of Malawians. It was kind of funny because some of them asked interesting questions regarding American relationships, which further led to more "touchy" subjects and made everyone laugh!
My counterpart and I have planned to teach the health center staff many of the activities we learned first so that they can go out and teach their villages. I am very excited about all that was gained from this weeklong training!
So, while at the training, I found out some pretty bad news for my TBA project progression. My Peace Corps boss, Edith, talked to the Reproductive health person at the Ministry of Health and they said that the government is longer allowing initial TBA trainings. So, basically all of the meetings and work that I have been putting into the TBA training has been a waste of time. I am going to try to meet with the same person that Edith met with, but I am still waiting to hear back to set up an appointment with her. So, hopefully I can convince this person to let me do this training. I am really stressed about this and hope that it will eventually work. I feel like this is one of the ways that I can help women in this country and make a strong impact on the health of the people in Malawi.
I guess that's a quick update on what I've been up to lately...I miss you all so much. I hope all is well!
So, I just got back from a weeklong LifeSkills training with my counterpart, an HSA that is going to teach with me at the secondary school. It went really well. I feel like my counterpart learned alot and really benefited from this training. We learned some very interesting and exciting ways to teach communities about HIV/AIDS prevention! There's an interesting tool called "the bridge model" which visually shows how people can reach their goals (avoid HIV, get a good job, etc.) by using a "bridge" like abstinence, being faithful, etc. to get over their challenges represented by crocodiles, hippos, snakes in a river. It seems like a very effective tool that I can use with many different type of people like high school kids, women's groups, health center staff, etc.
We also learned some creative ways to give condom demonstrations, which I will hopefully be doing plenty of in the year and a half I have left here at outreach, under 5, family planning, and antenatal clinics! Something that was really funny was watching the coutnerparts reaction to the pictures of STIs and then deciding how important the use of condoms are for preventing not only HIV, but STIs as well. Another funny topic was about what goes on in the bedroom of Malawians. It was kind of funny because some of them asked interesting questions regarding American relationships, which further led to more "touchy" subjects and made everyone laugh!
My counterpart and I have planned to teach the health center staff many of the activities we learned first so that they can go out and teach their villages. I am very excited about all that was gained from this weeklong training!
So, while at the training, I found out some pretty bad news for my TBA project progression. My Peace Corps boss, Edith, talked to the Reproductive health person at the Ministry of Health and they said that the government is longer allowing initial TBA trainings. So, basically all of the meetings and work that I have been putting into the TBA training has been a waste of time. I am going to try to meet with the same person that Edith met with, but I am still waiting to hear back to set up an appointment with her. So, hopefully I can convince this person to let me do this training. I am really stressed about this and hope that it will eventually work. I feel like this is one of the ways that I can help women in this country and make a strong impact on the health of the people in Malawi.
I guess that's a quick update on what I've been up to lately...I miss you all so much. I hope all is well!
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Busy at site and with meetings!
Hey everyone...
I know its been a LONG time since I updated this but now that I have some "free" time I can fill you in on what I've been up to! So, I came back from Christmas break and stayed at site for a few weeks working with the health center staff. I was really frustrated with the people I work with because no one really wants to work on improving the community and doing projects besides what is normally required of them. I have spent alot of time in the labor ward with my neighbor, the midwife, observing lots of different deliveries and the complications that come with it. My nightwatchman's daughter had a baby. She decided that I would be the chosen one to name her. In Malawi, the parents don't name the baby, someone they respect or honor gets to name the baby. So, we had the "naming ceremony" where I presented some soap for bathing and washing clothes and some money and told them her name of Alalida, which is my midwife's name. It was really neat. I am now called the "naming mother." I will go to some ceremony where they cut off the baby's hair to mark their age. I can't wait to go and tell you all about it!
So, an update on how my projects are going...The TBA coordinator has finally given me a proposed budget for the untrained TBA training that I want to help with. The only problem is that it is way too high so I have to talk to her (aka argue) about how I can't find the amount of money they want. My friend in the central region is doing the same type of training and her budget is about 1/3 of what they are telling me mine should be. I am really frustrated. My boss from Peace Corps came through Zomba on Thursday and saw the budget and said that they were just taking advantage of me so we went to the district hospital to talk to the TBA coordinator, but she was out of the office. So, the next step will be to try to see her the next time my boss comes through Zomba in a few weeks. About my mosquito net for women delivering at the health center...I am still working on finding some organization to donate nets for free, but right now there is a hold on all of the places who give out mosquito nets from the Ministry of Health...On the teaching of LifeSkills at the secondary school, I have received the schedule of classes from the headmaster and will hopefully start teaching really soon (maybe next week!)...I have started working more with the NGO InterAide (french) and have been riding my bike a lot in the field to go to youth club meetings. I am going to be more involved with that! Last week we did an HIV training that was 18km away (biked all the way there and back). It went really good!...I am holding the first Gender and Development meeting for the southern region of Malawi next Saturday so that is why I am able to update this since I am in town to figure out what I'm going to do at the meeting...I am also going to be part of a Peace Corps "camp" called Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) that will be held in August. I am going to organize an entire day for the camp including guest speakers, activities, etc. I am very excited about it as well! It helps Malawian girls in their junior year of high school to see what things are available to them related to career, health, environment, etc in Malawi.
I guess that's it for now...I love and miss you all. I hope everyone is doing great!
I know its been a LONG time since I updated this but now that I have some "free" time I can fill you in on what I've been up to! So, I came back from Christmas break and stayed at site for a few weeks working with the health center staff. I was really frustrated with the people I work with because no one really wants to work on improving the community and doing projects besides what is normally required of them. I have spent alot of time in the labor ward with my neighbor, the midwife, observing lots of different deliveries and the complications that come with it. My nightwatchman's daughter had a baby. She decided that I would be the chosen one to name her. In Malawi, the parents don't name the baby, someone they respect or honor gets to name the baby. So, we had the "naming ceremony" where I presented some soap for bathing and washing clothes and some money and told them her name of Alalida, which is my midwife's name. It was really neat. I am now called the "naming mother." I will go to some ceremony where they cut off the baby's hair to mark their age. I can't wait to go and tell you all about it!
So, an update on how my projects are going...The TBA coordinator has finally given me a proposed budget for the untrained TBA training that I want to help with. The only problem is that it is way too high so I have to talk to her (aka argue) about how I can't find the amount of money they want. My friend in the central region is doing the same type of training and her budget is about 1/3 of what they are telling me mine should be. I am really frustrated. My boss from Peace Corps came through Zomba on Thursday and saw the budget and said that they were just taking advantage of me so we went to the district hospital to talk to the TBA coordinator, but she was out of the office. So, the next step will be to try to see her the next time my boss comes through Zomba in a few weeks. About my mosquito net for women delivering at the health center...I am still working on finding some organization to donate nets for free, but right now there is a hold on all of the places who give out mosquito nets from the Ministry of Health...On the teaching of LifeSkills at the secondary school, I have received the schedule of classes from the headmaster and will hopefully start teaching really soon (maybe next week!)...I have started working more with the NGO InterAide (french) and have been riding my bike a lot in the field to go to youth club meetings. I am going to be more involved with that! Last week we did an HIV training that was 18km away (biked all the way there and back). It went really good!...I am holding the first Gender and Development meeting for the southern region of Malawi next Saturday so that is why I am able to update this since I am in town to figure out what I'm going to do at the meeting...I am also going to be part of a Peace Corps "camp" called Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) that will be held in August. I am going to organize an entire day for the camp including guest speakers, activities, etc. I am very excited about it as well! It helps Malawian girls in their junior year of high school to see what things are available to them related to career, health, environment, etc in Malawi.
I guess that's it for now...I love and miss you all. I hope everyone is doing great!
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