Bicycles, NOT Wheelbarrows

Bike Ambulance Delivery - Salima District

Last week I had the opportunity to deliver bicycle ambulances donated by Silver Spire Church in Canada to 3 rural communities in Malawi. It was really special to meet the volunteers who will be using the bike ambulances to transport people living with HIV who need medical attention to clinics.

The stories from the recipients convinced me that the bikes and stretchers will make a huge difference:

The group in Nkhotakota said that a patient had died at home the day before because they couldn't transport him to the hospital.

In Dowa they explained that they have 8 bedridden patients that they can now transport to the clinic. They also said that having the bike will allow them to visit many more patients in one day.

In Salima district, the distance that we drove from the main road to the village spoke for itself (almost 20km on dirt road to the clinic). 

Delivery to Alinafe Hospital, Nkhotakota

Why bike ambulances?

If a Malawian living with HIV or AIDS needs medical attention and is unable to walk, getting to the clinic can be very difficult.

The bicycle ambulance is an innovative response to the needs of rural communities in Malawi. Due to extreme poverty, few health centres and high HIV infection rates, it is very challenging for sick people to get to the clinic. Many are carried, pushed in wheelbarrows or die bedridden because safe and dignified transport is not available.

Bicycle-ambulances provide a much safer alternative. By attaching a lightweight trailer and removable stretcher to the back of a bicycle, patients can be transported to clinics without risking further injury along the way. The relatively simple design enables the trailers and stretchers to be made locally with available materials. The ambulances also can be used to transport pregnant mothers and people who have passed away to the health care centres.

The bicycles can be used alone as well so that carers can visit more patients per day or carry out income generating activities to raise funds for their organizations.

Why home based care organizations?

In Malawi, community-based volunteers trained as HIV and AIDS educators, caregivers and/or advocates travel to neighboring communities and homes to care for those affected by the virus. Their ability to serve people is limited by their lack of transportation. By using a bicycle, a health care worker can see up to 5 times as many patients.

The home based carers really blew my mind. They work HARD as volunteers in grueling conditions. Many have very little but they choose to persevere for the wellbeing of their communities. They showed up to receive the bike ambulances singing and dancing and I found their gratitude overwhelming. A big thank you to both the home based care groups and Silver Spire Church for the difference that they are making.

Home based care volunteers, Salima District

Bike for AIDS Campaign

The World University Service of Canada runs the Bike for AIDS Campaign through which the ambulances and bikes are donated. Since I've arrived here in Malawi, the campaign has received support from my friends and family in Canada which has resulted in 5 ambulances (includes bike and stretcher) and one stand alone bicycle to be provided to home based care organizations in Malawi.

A big thank you to Christ Church United, Silver Spire Church, Aunt Pat & Uncle Max, Aunt Mary & Uncle Sandy, Beth, Michelle, Deb, Heather and my parents.

If you are interested in learning more about Bike for AIDS or making a donation, please check it out here!

My Malawian music video debut

Malawi has a very special brand of music video that I haven't seen anywhere else in the world.

It is quite common for churches to raise funds through producing their own music video DVDs featuring Malawian gospel music with chitenje-clad women dancing and singing.

I had the privilege of accidentally winding up in one such video.

Driving through Nkhotakota boma (trading centre), I saw a row full of women singing and dancing beside the petrol station. Curious as to what was happening, I got out of the car to go check it out.

I stood with the crowd of spectators and asked them what is happening. They point to a man holding a video camera akin to the one my Dad used 20 years ago when filming our birthday parties. They explain that the Anglican church is putting together a music video DVD as a fundraiser.

The women finish up their song and the videographer spots me and waves hello. I greet him in the Malawian tradition, shaking his hand and asking him if he has woken up well. He then asks me if I care to join the women for the next song. I admit that I am a bad dancer and decline.

As I watch the women practice their moves for the next song I have two thoughts:

1. This dance does not look too difficult
2. How often does a mzungu get chance to be in a Malawian music video?! This is once in a lifetime stuff.

I tell the videographer that I can give it a try after all and he ushers me to join the row of women. True to Malawian reputation, the women are warm and welcoming and show me the moves, tie a matching chitenje around my waist and give me a handkerchief which is used to emphasize arm movements in the dancing.

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We start filming and I try to keep up with the dance moves and look serious. The randomness of ending up in a Malawian gospel music video in Nkhotakota really tickles my sense of humour and I find myself smiling broadly as I stumble through the moves. I must have looked incredibly silly, but after the filming the women embrace me and tell me their names anyways.

I promise to buy their video when it is released and am happy for the adventure.

You never know what a day in Malawi will hold!

Battling depression and enjoying the scenery

I haven't blogged for quite some time now.

I could say that I've been busy and haven't had time to write, but it wouldn't be true.

There have been many times when I've come home from work and wanted to write but have stopped myself.

The truth is that I think that I've been depressed.

When I started this blog, I decided that I wouldn't write about certain things. I believe that the Western world is bombarded with images and stories about Africa that don't do justice to such a complex, beautiful region of the world. I didn't want to jump on the 'Africa is hunger, flies and AIDS' bandwagon because there are already so many sources telling that story. Although I see a lot of malnourishment, HUGE flies and work with the organization representing people living with HIV and AIDS in Malawi, there is so much more that I've wanted to share about a very special place. It's for this reason that I've wanted my posts to remain positive and been holding back writing when I haven't been feeling in a positive mindset.

I received a call from my Mom last week. She said that a woman from the church called her to ask if I was OK. She was worried because I hadn't posted for a while. This news made me feel wonderful because I didn't think that anyone would really notice if I stopped blogging. I resolved to post something immediately, but was so stuck on posting something positive that I didn't write anything at all. In a place where people choose to be happy with so little, how could I be sad?

The next day I was in Nkhotakota , a lakeside town in rural Malawi. It was Friday night and I was visiting my boyfriend, Daniel and some friends from South Africa.

We were on our way back from a concert - a rare treat in a place where Malawi's big names don't usually visit.

We had danced to the light kwasa kwasa beats late into the evening. The music was beautiful, the night was full of bright stars and people were having a wonderful time. Despite all of the ingredients for a perfect night, I found myself pretending to have a good time while secretly trying not to cry.

This feeling of disoriented upset had become quite constant the past months and I had been pushing it back.

Sitting in silence on the way back from the concert, Daniel gives me no option but to face up to my feelings. His voice pierces the darkness of the car's interior as he explains in his mild scandinavian accent that I'm having a tough time. He tells our friends that:

'Sometimes when you are living long term in a place like this, working in development, you just hit a point where you can't make sense of things anymore. I think that Lesley is going through that right now and I think it would be good for her to talk about it'.

I suck in the warm lakeside air, feeling it hit my lungs sharply. At first I want to punch him – how dare he put words in my mouth and expose me like this? The anger passes quickly and I allow hot tears to roll down my cheeks. It feels good to let go and cry. I start to feel less disoriented as I allow his words to situate me.  

I've hit a point where I just can't make sense of things anymore.

Since that in-car intervention, I've started feeling better and realizing that my real challenge hasn't been feeling disoriented and faithless. It has been acknowledging it.

I'm living in a gated compound where the high walls are decorated with shards of sharp glass and an electric fence. It isn't safe to be alone at dark in Lilongwe and sometimes I feel afraid. I've also been scared to let go emotionally and have put up walls so as not to find myself doubly in the dark in a foreign place.

But isn't feeling lost the first step to getting back on track?

In acknowledging that I can't make sense of anything and that I'm not in control anyways, I have released myself to put aside my fears and embrace experience again. This past week has been tiring but wonderful as we've been doing organizational capacity building work with a small NGO. Seeing the participants desire to better their communities has left me feeling excited and engaged although there is no certainty that our work will make a difference.

I've started feeling interested in people again and enjoyed asking them questions about their lives and hearing their perspectives. I've gone outside at night for no particular reason and felt small looking at the stars, in the same way I did as a child. I've cried a lot but it has been worth it to feel alive and joyful.

Sure, I still feel like I'm on a journey in a very foreign place and that someone has snatched my map and left me grappling to find direction. The difference is that I've stopped pretending that I know where I am and where I'm going. Instead, I'm using my energy to observe what is around me so that I can sketch a new map - and at the same time enjoy the scenery. 

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Some pictures from enjoying the scenery of last week:

Sunset over Cape Maclear, Lake Malawi

Breakfast with veg fresh from the garden and cheese from Lilongwe :)

Young women can do it! In last week's training session.

The Warm Heart of Africa , in Cape Maclear

Taking a break from governance training, Nkhotakota Youth Organization

Participants dancing in gender training, Nkhotakota youth organization

Children in Nkhotakota, Malawi

Ferry stop from Mozambique - Nkhotakota