Building and Sweating
By: Tom Sears

When sweat equity started 10 years or so ago, digging and trenching and laying blocks was a challenge but doable by most of the participants. It is now 10 years later and some of the participants are finding that the heavy slugging is more than a challenge. It is a frustration. So how do we solve the problem. We team up with the communities with whom we are working and work as their assistants. This is much less frustrating – never mind the aching bodies - and it is great to get to know our new friends in Malawi.

We have been working at a small village called Kachere with a wonderful group of local residents who have great ownership on the building on which we are working. We cannot believe how strong the women of the community are. They carry the water, the sand, mix cement and carry the cement to the brick layers – really they are quite incredible. Then they turn around and cook a great (and safe ) local lunch for us .. Usually all this is accompanied by spontaneous singing and dancing. THEY ARE WONDERFUL.

Our other work location is at the Nanasalami school which is located at about a 45 minute drive from our hotel. This school has 8 levels Standard 1 to standard 8. There are 1675 students and 8 teachers - YES thats right - a pupil teacher ratio of about 200 to one!!

Steve, Jeff and Tom have put in a couple of days doing some cement work on the floors and preparing for the arrival of more team members on Thursday to do some painting. It is very interesting to see the impact of termites on mud brick structures. We are sure however that the students and the parents will appreciate the improved physical atmosphere when the return from their March break period. Its great to see the chidren around the school and it is a constant reminder of the importance of the school to these communities. We have had the participation of a number of the teachers and they have given us an insight into the educational program. Believe us – they need help and the government has no resources.

It has been a wonderful and eye opening experience for us and we look forward to completing our two projects next week

Dignatas & Zomba Regional Hospital
by Joanne Stewart and Diane Allen.


On Tuesday April 14th Diane Allen and I visited the Dignatas Office and HIV clinic, also the Zomba Regional Hospital. Our tour was conducted by Rose who works for Dignatas and is a Registered Nurse. Rose explained the process from the very first visit right thorough to the management of HIV/AIDS. Their system is very thorough and well documented. Their philosophy is to train patients so that they may enter the community and educate the people in their villages. The system works very well for many reasons, particularly because the Government is on board with the cost of the ARV medications. The Zomba Hospital is a Government Hospital and treatment is free to all patients. The Malawi people although very poor are receiving some health care. Of course the problem still exists in the fact that so many people live in rural areas and do not have transportation. The CBO program (community based organization) is providing much needed training to many individuals in the outlaying areas and those people are in turn training others in their villages. HIVAIDS is such a large problem here. The Dignatas Clinic and the Hospital work extremely well together, there is little to no duplication with illness that often accompany HIV/AIDS. Dignastas is such a well run NGO and respected in the Zomba District, it made me proud to a Canadian and to be associated with them. .

The Zomba hospital is in many ways very similar to some of our hospitals. There is over crowding which can fluctuate on a weekly basis, as well as limited resources. But the staff seem very dedicated to their patients and are willing to share their learning opportunities with others. The nursing staff consists of different levels as well as nursing students.
While the Dignitas clinics seemed confusing, at first glance they were well thought out and patients flowed from the HIV/AIDS testing area to staging and to the councilling area. Each patient is followed closely and their records can be obtained quickly so that the clinician is able to have a clear picture of their health status with each visit. The community is very receptive to these clinics and Dignitas is pleased with the response. This was a very informative visit and we were pleased to see how well both facilities were being run.

IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM US TO EVERYONE BACK HOME:

Thanks for your comments on the blog. Everyone here is alive & well, & living in beautiful downtown Zomba! Emailing is proving difficult, so please don’t be upset if we don’t get around to emailing you, but you can keep up with us on the blog.

A RECIPE FOR A KACHERE LUNCH:
By Diane Allen & Widit McLean.

Today, our 1st work day, some of us helped prepare the noon meal at Kachere, (a CBO Community Based Organization with it's main purpose to identify and treat HIV/AIDS cases) down a very bumpy dirt road not far from Zomba. Kachere is also the location of a new CBCC -Community baced Child Care Centre, where we are helping with construction & brick-laying.
First, I thought we’d go to the IGA that we saw mentioned in our notes from Dignitas---OOPS---IGA stands for Income-Generating Activities!
Next option: pick some pumpkin leaves (& flowers) & scoop up some dried maize.
Get a 30 litre pot (doesn’t everyone have one?), fill from the one “town water” tap in the courtyard, & put it on to boil on one of the 3 fire spots.
While waiting for this oven to heat, prepare greens by stripping all the little fuzzy things off the stems & leaves of the pumpkin greens, then cut into fine pieces, while trying to avoid your fingers.
Add chopped onions, tomatoes, pieces of beef, chicken& lots of salt (!) & place in separate pans to cook over moderate fires which have been pre-lit by the kind ladies of Kachere.
Of course, the piece de resistance is the sima (corn meal mush), made from the ground corn, mixed with copious amounts of boiling water, & stirred vigourously. When it seems thickened enough, add even more ground corn, to make it almost impossible to stir. (I know! I did it. And because the ladies of Kachere always entertained us with song, I did it while singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”, much to the delight of the locals. I’ve been practicing my dragon boat stroke in the sima pot!)
Even after all that, it really was delicious. There’s no truth to the old adage that too many cooks spoil the broth.

EASTER SUNDAY IN MALAWI

By Jackie Davies & Brian Edwards

On Easter Sunday morning 12 members of the team attented the University of Malawi Interdenominational Christian Council service. When we arrived the singing had begun as a call of welcome.

A youth leader led us into the spirit of Easter Sunday with the resurrection of Christ with the singing of He Lives, How Great Thou Art and Shine Jesus Shine. Their joy radiated from their faces. We were moved to join them in song, to clap and sway with the music.

We observed that at one point during the service each person recited their own prayer. At first it was disorienting. When we realized that each person was offering a prayer personal to them. It was quite moving.

We had communion with a wafer and a small sip of juice to represent the body and blood.

As we filed out to the sunshine we were greeted by the pastor and members of the choir who thanked us for attending and gathered for pictures. It was a wonderfull start to a bright and suuny day.

Malowi Team #1 Arrived

Well, after 22 hours of travel, we are here in Zomba Malowi. We are all tired and it's up at 7:am tomorrow for a full day. The rainy season has ended and everything is very lush. The corn is being harvested and the sugar cane. The road sid markets are plentifull. Paul Jones from Emanual Int. and Sandy from Dignitas picked us up and took us to Annies, home for the next 2 weeks. What a pile of lugage 1500 pounds of supplies for distribution.

Looking at our itinery for the next two weeks confirms we are going to be very busy and tired. We will be puting a blog on every night as long as we have power. should be interesting so stay tuned.

By Jim Stewart

Malawi "Group 1" Ready to go

Hi Sweat Equity Blog followers. We are getting ready to set out on our next venture to Malawi, Zomba district to work with Emanuel International on water wells and Dignitas at there medical centre. We are also going to work with some schools and do some village sanitary training and home-based care. We have a lot on our agenda for group 1 and group 2 and are now getting excited about the challenges ahead.

Chris Snyder and Tom Sears will be leaving this week as the advance team to make all the final arrangements for the team 1 leaving April 9th and team 2 leaving April 23rd. We hope to have a blog of interesting daily activities posted each day while there and hope they will be of interest to our friends, family and fellow Rotarians.

Just so we don't forget our own weather just a few weeks ago, I am posting some photo's as a reminder. The rainy season should now be over in Malawi and the weather should be good.

By Jim Stewart