hope all is well with you there, but really i have missed you. i was a bit quite because i was at Malingunde Health Centre for the past ten weeks. i came back yesterday.
i was asked to work there temporarily to take care of some of the challanges there. i should here admit that what i saw there was really unbelievable.
i found the health center without running water, the pit latrines were filled to the brim, the toilets drainage/sewege system was completely blocked, one nurse on duty working day and night against an average delivery of 85 babies per month, the guardians using an old demolished building as their bathroom, the pharmacy had been abandoned and drugs were being stored in a large wooden box, everything just looked completely messed up, it was worthy running away from the situation but i decided to confront the task head on, i had to pray and work with determination. iam glad to tell you that during the ten of my stay water has been re-installed, the drainage system rehabilitated, three new pit latrines and three guardians bathrooms constructed e.t.c... still more work needs to be done but i could no longer be there as i had to prepare my school departure, it was an adventure truly.
Dear Britta,
i want to let you know that iam now into the program and fully settled now.
this an interesting place and is full of students much far from what i had imaginened. the college is having about 14 other allied courses. we are 40 in our programme though the other 4 have not yet reported. imagine i happen to be amongst the youngest in the whole class so far because most of my collegues have worked for more than 10 years.. other have even a 20 year working experience, this just shows how hard it is to get this oppotunities.
the campus is much closer to mount Kilimanjaro, the nearest mountain ranges streching to the pick are as near as 7 km from here. we are always looking at mountain with its snow capped top on every clear day. the weather is cool not much different from that of Nkhoma though i hear that its extremely cold especially during the months of June and July.
The Hospital is big and a referral centre for most cases. has departments such as Urology, with dialysis being done and has a Cardiology department with a local Cardiac Surgeon, some minor heart surgeries are done.. the construction of the more complex center still in progress.
they are alot of western students doing their attachments. most of the lecturers in the allied programmes are from U.S and Europe. most of the projects at the hospital are supported by the westerners, missioneries, just like in Nkhoma. The cases so far more similar to the Malawian pattern.
We are currently only 4 foreign students who have managed to enroll out of the expected ten. we are given our own fully furnished kitchen where it is intended that we should feel free to prepare our traditional meals. iam in a company of two Zambians and a Cameroonian. we have just followed the old trend whereby the cooking is done together since our foods are similar and their is an old cook whom the students themselves pay out of their stipend, but the Cameroonian prepares his own FUFU dishes. We are given a room each, but the indiginous students share. this is part of the accomodation charges on the tuiton fees. but the food we source on our own and that is part of the stipend they mentioned on the admmision letter, so as they estimated it to be at 180 $US per month is really almost exact. all the other payments were settlled until next school year in october 2010 for the final tuition fee payment.
we will be doing the basic sciences for the next 8 weeks then we will be going to the hospital in the morning then classes in the afternoon until the end of our course in 2011.
Once again iam so thankful for the support and this great priviledge that you have given me that i study at this magnificent learning institution..
i wish you all the Godly Blessings in all your activities.
yours
savel.
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