Awesome Days with Partners in Health

Day 87

Today is the day!  The greatest day I’ve been waiting for since I learned I was coming to Malawi...a visit to Partners in Health in Neno!  PIH has been an influential organization in international health for years and it is a huge reason why I studied public health.  They have a hospital in Neno, one of the poorest and underserved districts in Malawi.  Christian and I arrived in beautiful, mountainous Neno in the early afternoon where we met the program coordinator (an RPCV from Lesotho) to talk about plans for the week.  It was really nice sharing Peace Corps stories and learning about the history of PIH at Neno.  We had an amazing family-style dinner with the volunteers at Neno and got to know more about the programs that were offered.

Neno became a district in 2006 when Malawi split the large district of Mwanza.  When this happened, Neno received funding to build a district hospital from Partners in Health.  PIH came in and created programs that could be helpful in the area, including distributing Toms Shoes and wheelchairs, as well as creating vocational programs for young men and women to create their own jobs.

Day 88

I worked with a program called POSER (Program on Social and Economic Rights) which goes out to individuals who have been identified as “needy” by the hospital staff.  POSER goes out on home visits to assess housing damage, poverty levels and family situations.  Typically these members of the community have on-going medical issues and POSER determines if PIH could potentially assist in some way.  We went on home visits meeting these members of the community – some had disabilities, some were suffering from HIV/AIDS related illnesses, some had dire housing needs, some required school fee assistance for their children, some lacked pit latrines, etc.  After the assessment was completed, paperwork would be submitted to POSER in order to be ranked in order of neediness and then they determine how they can most effectively help the families. 

We traveled all over Neno district and saw many challenges that people face in this highly impoverished area.  PIH takes a holistic approach to health; when someone is suffering from disease, they look at other contributing factors and determine ways to help those who need it most.

The highlight was when we crossed a low-flow river to meet with a family for five minutes only to return to a fast-paced river crashing over the path that we had crossed earlier.  The POSER worker we were with was getting frantic and she kept saying over and over that she did not want to drown.  Our heroes were a few women who came to try to help with the situation…we decided to ford the river with the women holding our hands to keep us from slipping into the rocks.  It was a wild adventure that left us soaking wet, but laughing.

Day 89

Neno is a new district, so a lot of the development came when the new hospital was built.  I chatted with locals about the changes and enjoyed lunch at a restaurant IGA that PIH helped set up.  We also talked with some of the volunteers from America who work with PIH in the boma.  We shared ideas about women’s groups, schools and vocational trainings, natural medicine gardens and youth friendly health services and I shared many files and stories that would be useful.  It was fun being in a new community and using ideas that I already have to help with some of the projects that the volunteers are currently working on.

Day 90

I visited the nursery school in Neno boma.  It was recycled, like my nursery school in Dwambazi, with no roof and few materials, but many happy 4 year olds.  We went out in the field with the Infrastructure Team to visit 4 health centers in the area.  At the first health center, they made repairs to the roof of a staff member’s house.  Another health center visit was made to determine if the staff was taking care of the new health center.

The best part of the day was when Christian and I sat at the edge of a cliff overlooking small villages in Mozambique.  The day was beautiful and the landscape was breath-taking. 

Day 91

We traveled with the Palliative Care Coordinator and some doctors who went on home visits to see two patients.  The Palliative Care unit takes time to identify patients who suffer from a debilitating illness and do not live near a health center.  The doctors took their time with each patient (45 minutes to 1.5 hours – you can’t get that kind of care anywhere!) and even addressed issues with other members of the community who were nearby, for example, children suffering from worms were given medicine.   They typically follow up once per month or more if necessary.  It was an amazing visit – watching these doctors diagnose the patients in such a holistic way – truly inspiring!