His Excellency President Bingu wa Mutharika

On July 21, 2010, Peace Corps Malawi Volunteers and Staff attended a formal luncheon at the President of Malawi's estates in Lilongwe. President Bingu wa Mutharika (rhymes with Metallica) hosted a spectacular event for some 100+ PCVs. The luncheon took place within a large air-conditioned tent with three huge chandeliers. The three course luncheon included soup, traditional Malawian fare, and dessert plus South African alcohol :)

President Bingu graciously thanked PC for the 40+ years of service in Malawi. After his speech, he invited us onto the dance floor with his wife, First Lady Callista.  Afterwards, he posed for a picture with us (see below).

You probably can't see me, but I'm the gorgeous gal in brown to the far left, second row ;)

Keep in mind, this was during many third week of training. It was a real treat that PCTs got to attend this event during our intensive pre service training period. It was also a nice respite from language classes and health technical demonstrations.

That day, the event was broadcast on Malawian TV and radio stations as well as newspapers. People know of PCVs as the ones who partied with the President :)

You can read about the event here: http://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.media.press.view&news_id=1599

Afterwards, all trainees were bussed back to Dedza (our training site). The good mood ended there...on the trip back, the bus I was riding on hit an elderly man crossing the street. Motorvehiclar accidents are unfortunately very common in Malawi, the third leading cause of death. No matter how common, it is still upsetting to witness. Needless to say, July 21 was both the best and worst day so far in Malawi.

Sorry

Kuna ku Malawi (Here in Malawi), Malawians switch the letters R and L. In America, I was known as Sally (or Stally by my Emory friends). In Malawi, I'm known as Sorry, so I've already changed the name of my blog to match my new Malawian name.

I'M ALIVE!!!!!!

Hey World,

I'm safely in Malawi currently more than halfway done with PC training. I'm happy to report that I will be working with FHI in Salima, Malawi, which is close to Lake Malawi! I'm learning Chichewa and have a final examiniation before Swearing In. I've finished homestay and am off to visit my future home. I'm proud to say that in the 6 weeks that I've been in Malawi, I've been up close to both the President and Vice President of Malawi!! Anyway, I'll write more in the future :)

Malawi or bust!!!

This is my final communication until post-training sometime in September. I promise to have African photos in my future blogs. Tomorrow morning, I embark on a 24 hour journey to the Warm Heart of Africa-- Malawi.

Of course, I'm bringing too much stuff, but I figure I'll need most of this stuff during the next 2 years. I'm mainly bringing camping equipment, hiking boots, some professional clothing, lots of books, Scrabble, Uno, and piles of personal hygiene items. I'm limited to 80 pounds and one of my bags is 68 pounds when the limit is 50 lbs for one bag. But this super kind gentleman at the airline waived my fee when I pleaded my case as a Peace Corps volunteer!!!!!

Today was a very busy day of saying goodbye to my loved ones, traveling to Philadelphia, Peace Corps orientation, and meeting new friends. I'm looking forward to the new experiences and relationships I will share with this amazing group of people :)

Tisanganenge (we shall meet again)!!

Message for friends and family from PC Malawi

Dear Malawi Trainee: Please give this letter to your family & friends, and ask them to hold on to it for as long as you are in Malawi.

Dear Families & Friends,

Greetings from the Malawi Desk in Washington, D.C.! It is with great pleasure that we welcome your family member to the Peace Corps/Malawi training program. During the past year we have received many questions from Volunteers and family members regarding communication, mail, and travel plans. As we are unable to involve ourselves in the personal arrangements of Volunteers, we would like to offer you advice and assistance in advance by providing specific examples of situations and how we suggest you handle them. Peace Corps service certainly impacts more than just the trainee and we hope that this information will help ease some of the uncertainty which affects the families of Volunteers.

The Peace Corps experience can be an exciting, intimidating, and amazing experience for both the Volunteer and family. The Volunteers will learn a lot about Malawi during their preparation for service and throughout their service of two years. This is also a great time for you to learn more about Malawi, which may alleviate some of your concerns.

Below are a few links to get you started in your discovery:

The World Factbook – Malawi: http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/mi.html

The Lonely Planet: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/africa/malawi/

The Malawi Nation newspaper: http://www.nationmalawi.com/

Friends of Malawi: www.friendsofmalawi.org

1. Irregular Communication. (Please see #3 for the mailing address to Peace Corps' office in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi) The mail service in Malawi is not as efficient as the U.S. Postal Service; thus, it is important to be patient and understanding. It can take three to four weeks for mail coming from Lilongwe to arrive in the United States via the Malawi postal system. From a Volunteer's site, mail might take 1-2 months to reach the United States. Sometimes mail is hand carried to the United States by a traveler and mailed through the U.S. postal system (Volunteers should bring some US stamps). This leg of the trip can take another several weeks as it is also dependent on the frequency of travelers to the U.S. There is a truism that you may wish to embrace as uncomfortable as it is, “No news, is good news!”

On average, it takes approximately four weeks for letters mailed from the United States to reach Lilongwe, and may take an additional six weeks to reach the Volunteer’s site. We suggest that in your first letters, you ask your Volunteer family member to give an estimate of how long it takes to receive your letters and then try to establish a predictable pattern of how often you will write to each other. Also, try numbering your letters so that the Volunteer knows if they have missed one. Postcards should be sent in envelopes – otherwise they may be found on the wall of the local post office! By the end of the Volunteer’s Pre-Service Training they will be able to send you their specific site address.

For the first 8 weeks in country, your family member will be living in a village near the training site (about one hour drive south of Lilongwe) and participating in an intensive, immersion style training program where they will begin to learn language, cultural and technical skills necessary to be a safe and productive Peace Corps Volunteer. During this time, they will NOT have access to email/Internet but can certainly receive and send letters. Receiving mail during this intense period is most welcome and appreciated. Once they are sworn-in as Volunteers, they will have access to the Peace Corps computers in the office and can reestablish email communication. However, you must remember that NO Peace Corps Volunteer in Malawi has daily or even weekly access to email so you should have limited expectations as to immediate replies to any emails you will be sending.

Volunteers often enjoy telling their “war” stories when they write home. Letters might describe recent illnesses, lack of good food, isolation, etc. While the subject matter is good reading material, it is often misinterpreted on the home front. Further, given the lag time in communication by the time you receive certain news, weeks if not months have passed and the Volunteer has moved past a particularly sad moment when they miss you, or that specific illness, and don’t understand why it is that you are so concerned anymore! There are two extremely competent Peace Corps medical doctors at the Peace Corps office in Lilongwe. In the event of a serious illness, the Volunteer is sent to Lilongwe and cared for by our medical staff. If the Volunteer requires medical care that is not available in Malawi s/he will be medically evacuated to Pretoria, South Africa or the United States. Fortunately, these are rare circumstances.

If for some reason your normal communication pattern is broken and you do not hear from your family member for an abnormal amount of time, you may want to contact the Office of Special Services (OSS) at Peace Corps Washington at 1-800-692-1470. The Office of Special Services will then contact the Peace Corps Director in Lilongwe and ask him to check up on the Volunteer. Also, in the case of an emergency at home (death in the family, critical illness, etc.), please do not hesitate to call OSS immediately, so that we can inform the Volunteer. Tell the operator your name, telephone number, and the nature of the emergency and the Duty Officer will call you back.

2. Telephone Calls. The telephone system in Malawi is relatively good and service in and out of Lilongwe to the United States is fairly reliable. In the interior of the country, where most of the Volunteers are located, there are fewer phones and service is more sporadic. Your Volunteer family member, however, will undoubtedly buy or bring a GSM cell phone for use while they are here in Malawi. Cell service is quite good, reliable, and available in most parts of the country. Some Volunteers may have to climb a small hill or walk a distance from their home, but it is a far cry from having to travel several hours or days to get to a working phone as it once did. Volunteers will mostly use text messaging in country, and you may be able to send and receive messages with them.

Please be aware that the Peace Corps staff in Lilongwe and Washington are not able to assist in arranging calls. Your family member will be able to inform you of the actual telephone numbers once they arrive in-country and to their site. The Malawi Desk is in regular communication with the Peace Corps office in Lilongwe. However, this communication is reserved for business only and we cannot relay personal messages. All communication between family members and the Volunteer should be done via international mail, e-mail, or phone calls.

3. Sending packages. Family members and Volunteers like to send and receive care packages through the mail. Please be advised that packages can often take 1-2 months, but sometimes as long as 4-6 months. Unfortunately, sending packages can be a frustrating experience for all involved due to the high incidence of theft and heavy customs taxes. You may want to try sending inexpensive items through the mail, though there is no guarantee that these items will arrive. We do not recommend sending costly items through the mail. It is recommended that packages be sent in padded envelopes if possible, as boxes tend to be taxed more heavily. Even though many Volunteers choose to get local post office boxes, you may always use the following address to send letters and/or packages to your family member:

For lightweight, but important, or time sensitive items (e.g. airline tickets), we recommend using an express mail service. DHL is one possibility and other courier services may operate in Lilongwe. For more information about DHL, please call their toll free number, 1-800-CALL-DHL, or visit their web site at www.dhl.com. We advise you to shop around to find the best prices and service options.

MALAWI

Trying to send cash or checks is very risky and is discouraged. If your Volunteer family member requests money from you, it is his/her responsibility to arrange receipt of it.

Travel Plans

July 1, 2010

~ Departing NW Arkansas at 6am to Chicago, then Chicago to Philly 

~ Staging stuff from  in Philly

July 2, 2010

~ early from Philly to JFK airport in NYC

~ flight from JFK to Amsterdam

July 3, 2010

~ Amsterdam to Nairobi

~ Arrive in Lilongwe, Malawi after more than 24 hours of travel...eeeeks

PC Assignment Description

Country: Malawi

Program: Health Personnel Development

Job Title: Health Personnel Trainer

Staging Dates: July 1-2, 2010 in Philadelphia

Pre-Service Training: July 4 - Sept. 2, 2010

Dates of Service: Sept. 3, 2010 - Sept. 2, 2012

Health Personnel Development volunteers serve as health trainers in one of the health training institutions. I will be assisting the health trainers in these institutions. These institutions train health personnel in various disciplines such as nursing and other allied health sciences, and offer in-service trainings to address specific subject and administrative needs, resource mobilization and the development of health personnel. PC presence in Malawi's health training institutions will help improve the standard of healthcare that is provided to community members.

Volunteers are placed throughout Malawi in small towns and villages. Volunteers live in simple housing, usually on health institution grounds. Most houses have no electricity or running water. Health institutions may lack teaching and learning materials, trainers may not have teacher certification and are usually few as compared to the number of students. Although this may sound discouraging, you have the opportunity to collaborate with qualified and experienced fellow trainers to develop teaching resources and help unqualified health trainers and students attain their health training goals.

HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM

The program provides the much-needed technical assistance in the country's development work. Malawi, once a British protectorate know as Nyasaland, is a small country in southeastern Africa. Known for its natural beauty and its warm, hard-working people, Malawi is peaceful and is also considered a success story in African political development. In 1994, after 30 years of one-party rule dating back to independence from Britain, Malawi quietly and peacefully elected a new government committed to multi-party democracy.

Malawi has one of the highest numbers of AIDS cases in the world; therefore, HIV/AIDS is one of the major components of the PC health sector. Malawi has made great strides in certain areas of health improvement and promotion since the mid '90s. However, the health sector is currently facing a crisis in the numbers of qualified health workers in the country. The issues needs to be addressed if the Ministry of Health (MOH) is to achieve the objectives it has set for itself in terms of improving quality and aces of healthcare for people with special attention given to vulnerable groups, poor women and children. The government of Malawi has requested that the PC bring in health worker trainers, in answer to the staff shortage that the MOH is facing presently.

Health trainers will serve as teachers and outreach workers by helping MOH to increase the numbers of trained health workers and improve upon the quality of health for all Malawians.

PRIMARY DUTIES

Health volunteers work with the Ministry of Health and Population (MOPH) and Christian Health Association of Malawi (CHAM) in the following areas:

1. To improve upon the services offered by the MOH by building the professional capacity of health workers and improving upon existing essential health care.

2. To collaborate with educators, school and health officials in the integration of HIV/AIDS education and basic health practices in school curriculum and extracurricular student activities.

3. To increase numbers of Malawian health professionals qualified to provide quality primary healthcare services in rural areas.

4. To assist communities increase their awareness, knowledge, skills, and positive attitudes prevention of health problems, including HIV/AIDS/STIs prevention and care, and mobilize them to assess and prioritize their needs.

You will function as a member of a Malawian health training institution training team. You will be posted to a health facility with a training institution managed by the government or CHAM. Your local supervisor will be the officer in charge of the training institution who reports to the Medical Officer managing the health institution. You may also be posted to a CHAM institution with a training facility. Your job is structured. You will need creativity in developing and implementing sustainable training programs.

Your counterpart will probably be a health trainer and you will work primarily in the health training institution. Most job activities will be focused on training health professionals and offering in-service training to clinical staff. Job activities may also include assignments with other members of the health team and extension workers to alleviate other community health problems.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Location of Job

PC health personnel trainers will be placed at a health training institution in towns or villages in one of the districts of the 3 regions of Malawi. The training institution is located at a local health center or hospital situation in a local training center surrounded by villages and serves a population of over 10-50,000 people. A typical health institution has in and out patient departments, and under five and nutrition clinic, a maternity ward, a pharmacy and a public health department. You will work with health trainers. The public health department provides community outreach activities such as initiating or strengthening villages health committees.

Work Hours

You will work a full day based on the standards of your organization, a typical work day being usually from 730am to 5pm on weekdays.

Cultural Attitudes and Customs in the Workplace

In Malawi, respect tends to come with age and experience. This reflects a society that favors older employees; therefore, younger volunteers sometimes experience initial difficulties gaining respect from their supervisors, counterparts, and clients. Your professional appearance and work habits along with the deference you demonstrate for your Malawian counterparts will go a long way toward gaining respect in the workplace.

Dress Code

Malawian people dress professionally on the job. Conforming to local clothing norms during and after work will make you a much more effective development agent, and will ease your integration into your community. Professional dress usually implies trousers, shirts for men, and skirts with blouses or dresses that cover the knees for women. Slips are essential in this country. The dress in the capital and some of the district is more formal that what you find in the more rural, smaller towns, where traditional clothing is more common. It is advisable to bring both sport sandals and hiking footwear.

TRAINING FOR YOUR JOB

You will receive 9 weeks of intensive training prior to beginning your assignment. Pre-service training prepares you for your work assignment while you adjust to life in a new culture. In addition, you will also study the Malawian language and culture and learn about a variety of topics including community development. During training, you will also receive a bicycle and bicycle training.

Your technical training will consist of familiarization with policies, programs, and organizations working in the health sector in Malawi, and practical exercises working in the health field. During pre-service training, you will also study the principles of community development and you will be taught how to conduct a community needs assessment. Before you start teaching, you will do 4-6 weeks of orientation in the clinical area to familiarize yourself with the conditions and disease in your area.

LIVING CONDITIONS

Houses in rural areas can vary. Some houses are constructed of bricks, concrete floors and corrugated metal roofs. Others are made of dried mud and have thatched roofs. Your host agency is responsible for providing your housing. Most volunteer houses at health centers are constructed of bricks, concrete floors, and corrugated metal roofs. Electricity and running water varies from one place to the other. One rural area may have running water and/or electricity, while another might have none. In areas without running water, water sources are available from community taps or wells. In areas without electricity, cooking on a wood fire is widely used. Expect to use hurricane lamps and candles, paraffin (kerosene) and Dover (wood) stoves for cooking/heating. For drinking, PC will provide a water filter and other forms of water purification. All areas have at lease the basic necessities such as locally grown staples and household goods.