Music to My Ears

One of my favorite things about living right next to St. Andrews church and school is being able to hear different choirs  practicing while I am in our kitchen cooking, or out for a walk with Remus. Music is such a large part of life here in Malawi and it is one of the things I miss the most when I’m back in the States. It seems like just about everyone here sings: young, old, male, female and everyone in between. 

Groups form and will spend a few hours a week practicing not only the notes and words, but also movements that go along with all the songs. Choirs will often wear matching outfits while they perform, which can range from matching traditional fabrics tied around them, or full matching outfits made by a local tailor. Choirs from CCAP churches all over Malawi travel to minister to fellow Christians through song. 

One of my favorite things about the music here is everyone seems to know the words to all the songs. In chapel on weekday mornings a group will be in the front singing beautifully, when all of the sudden I realize that group is being supported by the voices of the entire student body as well. Even if the music isn’t perfect, and harmony is slightly off, the listeners are so supportive and encouraging of those sharing their talents to praise the Lord. The songs here unite the people in such a joyous and beautiful way.

“Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). This is the perfect piece of scripture to describe just what the music here represents. It is amazing to see and hear the people of Malawi singing for the joy of the Lord. I can’t accurately describe the beautiful music that is everywhere here. So please take about three minutes out of your day to sit back and listen to the sounds of Malawi. Let it be music to your ears and food for your soul.

Hospital Visit: Mulanje District Hospital

No matter how many times I have visited Malawi, one of the things that is always eye opening to me is seeing the local hospitals. The people of Mulanje are fortunate enough to have two hospitals in the district. There is Mulanje District Hospital that is owned and run by the government and Mulanje Mission Hospital, which was opened by Scottish Missionaries in 1896 and has been updated and added to periodically ever since.  These two hospitals serve a population of 550,000 in the Mulanje area.  Recently we were given a tour of the District Hospital by our friend Deliwe Chikuwo who is a Nurse Supervisor at the hospital. Having her show us around the hospital and explain different aspects of how the hospital is run was such a blessing. 

Because Mulanje District Hospital is run by the government, anyone can come in and receive free care. Although this sounds wonderful, logistically it causes some problems. It is not uncommon for the hospital to run out of certain medications, for example malaria medications. During peak malaria season most government hospitals run out of medication needed to treat malaria due to the high number of cases that come in. When this occurs patients are told to go to local pharmacies to try to buy the medication they need. In some cases the medication is too expensive and the patient will go without it, sometimes leading to more serious disease, or even fatalities. 

At the District Hospital there are currently only two doctors on staff. There are also clinical officers (similar to Physician Assistants or Nurse Practitioners) and a full nursing staff. Health care here in Malawi is very different than it is in the United States. There are no primary care physicians, so any health care that is needed is done at the local hospitals; this includes treatment and care for chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and HIV. Since there are not electronic medical records, and the hospital staff is always changing, Malawians all carry health care record books that are called “health passports” where all illnesses, treatments, conditions, weight and height are tracked. In order to reduce infection rates, children are weighed using their mothers’ own chitenges that are hooked onto the scale. 

With the hospitals being the main source of care for the residents of the district, the hospitals tend to be very crowded and are often totally full. A major factor of this is HIV. The Mulanje district has a higher than normal rate of HIV (20% as opposed to the national average of 14%). This has a huge impact on health services in the district, with 60% of hospital admissions being HIV related.  

When a patient is admitted to the hospital, they are given a bed with just a mattress. Many of the beds and other hospital equipment has been donated by organizations in the United States, replacing worn out equipment.  It is the responsibility of the patient’s family to feed and take care of the patient during their stay in the hospital. It is very common to see women doing laundry, so you see clothing and fabric hanging out to dry around the hospital. Families can also be seen cooking and feeding their family members.

There are a few ambulances in the district, but many of the remote villages are not accessible by car. Because of this patients will have to walk for miles and miles in order to come into the hospital. There are also bike ambulances which are able to reach some of the more remote villages. They are used to help patients travel to and from the hospitals.  Since some of the villages are so far from the hospital, women will travel to the hospital weeks before they are due to have a baby, to ensure they are safely within distance of a hospital when their delivery time comes. New buildings have been constructed to house these awaiting mothers, which hopefully will decrease the rate of infant mortality due to birthing complications. 

As hard as seeing parts of the hospital can be, my favorite part of the visits is always seeing the newborn babies. This time as we walked through the nursery we saw two sets of twin boys that were just two days old! Walking through the nursery, you will not see any of the fathers of the children. In Malawi it is not customary for men to be present during the birth of children. These little babies that are all wrapped up, or snuggled against their momma’s chests are beautiful reminders of the bright future Malawi has.

Seeing a hospital in a developing nation such as Malawi after working in health care in the United States is heartbreaking. It seems so unfair that we have all sorts of life saving medications, procedures, facilities, and professionals readily available to us. Today I hope you join me in praying for justice in our world. Pray for the sick patients here in Malawi receiving the best care they have available to them. Pray for the families who have lost a loved one from an illness that would have been taken care of in a developed country. Pray for the health care workers here and all the challenges they face in order to bring their patients help. Pray for healthcare in Malawi.

Subsistence Farming

It may be hard to remember as the ice and snow bear down on you this time of year, but not so long ago it wasn’t uncommon to step into the backyards of someone’s house and see a small vegetable garden growing in the heat of summer. I know my Mom and I enjoy spending time planting, watering and tending to our little gardens, and we certainly enjoy the fruits that come from our labor. Growing fruits and vegetables in Pittsburgh is enjoyable, but what I have come to realize is how blessed I am to be able to garden for fun as opposed to here in Malawi where gardening/farming is life. 

As the rains continue to fall here, the crops continue to grow (thank goodness). A good rainy season is often the key to a good harvest in April. Before the rains come, months of back breaking work go into ensuring a good harvest for the year. Hundreds of hours are spent doing the incredibly hard work of creating mounds by hand to put seeds in. Most of this work is done in the hottest part of the year under the African sun right before the rains begin.

Farming is such an integral part of the Malawian culture. Almost everyone here in Malawi has a garden/farm where they grow crops.  75% of the food that is consumed in the country comes from subsistence farming, which means each family growing their own crops that will feed their families.  The crops that are grown provide the main source of food, and also may provide the only source of income for many families when they are able to sell some of their excess crops at a local market.

Like most things in Malawi, farming has its challenges. The first challenge that it faces (besides being dependent upon a good rainy season) is simply lack of land. 20% of Malawi is covered by the lake. Of the remaining area, only 1/3 of the land is suitable for farming. The rest of the land is covered by mountains, forests, or other rough pastures that are not conducive to good farming.  With Malawi’s fast growing population, the lack of farming area is a serious problem.

As a result of the lack of land many issues arise.  One of the main problems that lack of suitable farming land creates is deforestation. In order to create more farm land, many forests and trees are cut down, resulting in huge deforestation problems across the country. Without wood from these forests, building structures, making fires to cook on, and all other activities that require lumber and wood are not affordable or attainable.  Deforestation also causes problems such as soil erosion.  Another problem that arises because of the lack of land is that families have to go much farther away from their homes in order to find land suitable for growing crops. Individuals may travel miles on foot in order to reach land that they can farm. It is not uncommon to see crops growing on steep hillsides and other marginal lands as a result of these issues. 

If a family does overcome the first obstacle of finding someplace to farm, there are still other hardships they will face. Because the same crops are planted year after year, the soil becomes less fertile. Less fertile soil means the crops will not be as plentiful.  As a result of these issues and others, the government began to subsidize different seed varieties and fertilizers for crops to ensure good harvests in 2005. These measures were put in place after several years of droughts and poor harvests that caused massive food shortages throughout the country. 

Obstacles such as lack of rain/drought, lack of farm-able land area and decreased soil nutrients are what farmers here in Malawi face every season. Fortunately, steps are being taken to improve the farming environment. All of my students here at St. Andrews take agriculture all four years they are here in order to teach the next generation proper ways to build a farm, ways to rotate crops in order to keep soil fertile, and ways to maintain an environment that is supportive of farming (such as avoiding deforestation). 

As hard as it is to see the many struggles that farmers in Malawi face, I am encouraged and amazed by their resilience and hard work. They work incredibly hard to ensure their family has a way to survive. So as the ice and snow continue to fall this week, I encourage you to remember your summertime garden, and as you do please lift all those facing the many obstacles of farming here in Malawi up in your thoughts and prayers.