For those that do not know, we were able to hit my GoFundMe goal before I was even able to blog about it!! I set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise my share of donations to send Patricia, a hardworking Malawian woman to nursing school. I was able to raise my share + more in just about a week. I have no words to explain how thankful I am to those who donated and continue to donate! I have raised my goal and will continue to collect donations to help with the overall group goal and to account for incidentals over the course of the next few years. Here is the link if you would like to contribute! Your support means the world to me! https://www.gofundme.com/send-patricia-to-nursing-school
Meanwhile, I attended my third and last overnight, where we go to 4 clinics over 2 days. I have had great luck when it comes to overnights, and I feel like I always have great experiences with the kids! This time was no different, but I also had a pretty heart-wrenching experience as well. One of the girls in our SAM program (Severe Acute Malnutrition) was basically skin and bones, really shocking to see. We see some sick kids, but this was worse than anything I have seen so far. Since she was old enough to stand (she was about 6 years old, with stunted growth), her limbs were barely sticks and her ribs and spine were pushing through her skin. She had blisters all over her body and was crying in pain whenever touched or moved. Her breathing was labored and rough. Turns out she had been diagnosed with tuberculosis (indented and wide fingernails/”nail clubbing” was an original clue as that can point to a pulmonary or cardiovascular issue) and had just finished treatment. She was also HIV positive (supposedly on treatment) and it was very evident that her mother had been selling her RUTF and neglecting to feed the child. We sent the child to be seen by the clinician at the clinic, who diagnosed her with pneumonia. Any ONE of the conditions she had could have caused a downward spiral and she had them ALL. And almost all of the conditions could be entirely or at least somewhat improved with proper feeding, which the child’s own mother refused. She refused to take the child to the hospital and had accepted that the child would die soon. And there was nothing we could do further. The child would probably pass away, in pain, within a week. There are no laws protecting children from this type of neglect in Malawi. We were pleading with the nurses trying to figure out SOMETHING we could do to help, and there was nothing. We had to leave the clinic to go on to the next one. Really truly hoping for a miracle, and for the staff to see Cathereen at the next clinic in two weeks 😔
Now for some positives! I was able to cuddle a 1 month old who was too young for our program but was at the clinic. A couple minutes in I felt growing wetness on my hand and legs as she peed allllll over me 😂 Wearing chitenjes often acts as an apron, but only for minor incidents. The baby was so sweet and quiet though, so it was worth it! Good thing I brought clean pants and another chitenje! At Chikweo clinic the next day, I met Alice. She was about 6 months old and enrolled in our MAM (Moderate Acute Malnutrition) feeding program. Her mom went off to enroll Alice and her twin, so I got to carry the baby around for the rest of clinic! She ended up falling asleep in my arms and I fell in love with her, obviously. We (half-jokingly) asked the mom if I could take Alice back to America, and she laughed, but that wasn’t a no! 😂😍 Alice also did not pee on me, so we already had a strong bond 😉
To get to the bathroom, we walked through the maternity ward at the clinic. I am so in awe of the strength of Malwaian women. Epidurals do not exist, and they barely have a cot to labor/birth in. They give birth in huge rooms with a ton of other moms and people around, there is no privacy. The patient toilet was also a hole in the ground, so these (and all) moms are superheroes in my book! We met one mom who was sitting ON THE CEMENT FLOOR after giving birth two hours previously. She was just casually breastfeeding her infant on the floor. We all laughed because the newborn and I had the same skin color (the baby was THAT new to the world).
That’s all for now! Thanks for reading!
Project Postgrad 