December 20^th – The Final Chapter

I left Nkhomo by car at 10:30 am Thursday.  It was around 85 degrees.  I arrived in Charleston at 4:45 pm Friday. It was raining as I started the one hour drive to Beckley and home. The rain soon changed to snow, driving conditions the worst I've experienced. At 6:30 pm, about ten miles from Beckley, traffic ceased moving. It is now 12:19 am Saturday and I am still ten miles from Beckley.  Traffic is moving some, but in the opposite direction that I want to go.

I am fine, a little hungry, but ok. I am a little surprised that no rescue vehicles have appeared with coffee and sandwiches, but so far none have appeared.  I have had a couple of much needed naps. At the moment, I think mitre napping is in my immediate future. WOW!!!  Surely I am dreaming!

Now 1:30 am, five hours into this nightmare. Snowing harder than ever, I think.

Now 5:13 am, more than twelve hours after getting off the plane in Charleston   Traffic southbound has not moved since 6:30 last night.  Some traffic is moving northbound.

10:15 am - Home!  The normally one-hour drive from Charleston to Beckley required a little more time this time, sixteen hours extra to be exact. But I made it, none the worse for the experience. I have to say that Africa seemed like a nice place to be about 3:00 am on the Turnpike.

This concludes my reports on a very rewarding and exciting mission trip. I hope Nkhoma Mission Hospital is a tiny bit better for my having been there.  I have been asked numerous times whether I would ever go back. My reply is always the same. Maybe.

Ron in Beckley

 

December 14^th

The photo is of folks waiting at the outpatient clinic this morning, a typical day.  This is the beginning of malaria season, so patient load will be picking up. Maralise told me a little earlier that the hospital had 85 babies in the inpatient ward today--in 28 beds. She says at peak, it has been as many as 160.  Yesterday's newspaper reported that Malawi has six million cases of malaria per year. Total population is fourteen million.

Today has been a good day at work. Yowati worked with me and we achieved our objective. It's a very good feeling. We will tweak the process a bit but it is essentially done and definitely will be completed when I leave on Thursday.

We had a welcome thunderstorm this afternoon causing several brief power outages. Normally about this time on Mondays, the power goes off for a couple of hours. We will see.  Ron

 

December 12^th

My weekend was devoted to sight seeing and recreation. Accordingly, three twenty-somethings and one seventy-something headed for Kasungu National Park early Saturday.  Maralise had asked the twenty-somethings several times whether or not anyone had called the park to reserve a place to stay. Always, they had not called but would.  They did call after we arrived in Kasungu, only to learn that the park was closed because of the fuel shortage. Following a couple of phone calls seeking suggestions, and a quick conference, we were headed for Salima and Lake Malawi--on the other side of the country.

We arrived in the lake area about 5:30 PM and, of course, had no place to stay when we arrived. Rooms at beach front properties were available and the twenty-somethings began negotiating for the best price.  About an hour later, we had two "cabins" with two beds each. Meghan and Elizabeth got cabin number two while James and I got number five. The price per person had been negotiated down to 1,000 Kwavha, appx $8.00. We probably got our money's worth--rooms with no a/c, no hot water, no lavatory, no mirror and no inside doors. There was, however, a fan and mosquito nets in the room. Truthfully, I never slept better.

I have not mentioned our lunch on the way to Salimi. We had taken some food from our kitchen at the guest house including a freshly baked loaf of bread, some margarine and sugar. James and Meghan like to add sugar on top of their bread with margarine. Considering that's all we were having, I decided to have sugar on my bread, and so I did. This menu was repeated for Sunday breakfast except that this time I left the sugar off my bread.

We did get to see the very beautiful Lake Malawi and enjoy a walk on the beach.  On our way home, we stopped at a wood market where Elizabeth dud some serious shopping.  We came back home via Lilongwe and went through another outdoor market that was being held.  We arrived back at the guest house around 4:30 PM.  I am too sleepy to continue so will close for now.  Ron

December 11th

You probably can't tell too much about it but this a scene from the children's ward at Nkhoma Mission Hospital.  Sadly, 40-50 babies die here every month.  Elizabeth, the med student from London, says it's typical to see a mother who has given birth nine times and has four children.

I took off yesterday and went to Lilongwe. Last night I was tired and didn't have much to report anyway.  On this trip to the capital, I saw two different men selling pets on the street.  One had two kittens and the other had a puppy. Not easy for a pet lover to watch.

I may have mentioned the Peace Corps recipe book for Malawi.  While in Lilongwe yesterday I went to the Peace Corps compound to purchase a couple of the books. It took quite some for me to talk my way inside. Then they couldn't locate any of the books. So much for that. 

This is a view of the guest house veranda. Right now, I am sitting a little to the right, watching very welcome lightning in the distance and listening to the theology school choir practicing I Surrender All.  The weather is cloudy but still no rain. It is badly needed by farmers who planted early expecting December rain that, thus far, has not fallen. 

 

Today, I laid out a worksheet that, when/if completed, will mean that my goal has been achieved.  Yowati assures me we can do it. I hope he's right but I don't know.  Tonight we are having dinner at Meghan's new place.  Tomorrow, we are going to a national park on the lake. Maralise is not going but she says it's very nice there.  That's about it for today.  Ron

 

December 8^th

Some of the guest house workers are tilling a portion of the surrounding grounds for planting beans, maize, tomatoes, cabbage, etc. The workers will share the much needed food and proceeds from the sale of any surplus. Tilling will not be done with a ‘Troy-Bilt’.

Last evening, Elizabeth and James went to the Internet room. Word has gotten out about my daily reports. Later during tea time, they reported having gone to the website and seemed to have enjoyed reading some of it. Elizabeth is the non believer. Who knows, maybe she will check out other sections of the site.  Last night, I paid my rent for the guest house room--$6 per day, $144. Of course, I paid with Kwacha--20,160.

Regarding my work endeavor, my lack of ability to communicate with the native accounting office staff is definitely the biggest impediment  I was relieved to learn that the official language here is English. While that is true, English is not THE language. That is the tribal Chichewa. Obviously, I don't understand that, and their version of English isn't much easier for me.

3:15 pm:  Malawi government auditors have shown up today to do a payroll audit. Jack told me early on that the Hospital was not properly withholding taxes. The audit sure places me at the back of the line for staff support!  No power outages yet today.

5:00 pm:  As I suspected, I received zero support from the accounting staff this afternoon. Not sure it made a difference anyway. Malawians have "passing the buck" down to a fine art.  Dinner will be dried beans, rice and cabbage. Those items plus potatoes and pumpkin leaves have been pretty much our complete diet--plus cake. We also eat peaches, bananas and mangoes.  Bananas cost five Kwacha (about .03) for two and mangos around .07 each.

9:00 pm:  Tonight after dinner, we discussed malaria and aids for awhile. Elizabeth says she is being expected to be able to treat malaria, on her own, even though she has had no training in tropical diseases. Aids is a huge problem here, made worse by their polygamist lifestyle.  Enough of that topic.  I am going to bed. After tomorrow, I will enter my final week in Malawi. As fascinating as it has been, I am becoming a bit eager to be home.  Ron

 

December 7^th

This is where Matrine washed my clothes earlier this morning. My clothes are now hanging on the line.   I have just had my bowl of cereal. The only milk available in Nkoma is a powdered one, about the consistency of cake flour. To make cereal, we put a couple of spoonfuls in a bowl, add some sugar if we like, then add some water and stir it until it is smooth and the lumps are out. Then we add the cereal.

 

None of the three young folks at breakfast knew the significance of this date in America, even though the date is also significant to their countries. But I wonder how many twenty-somethings in America are aware.

Meghan, the Dutch nurse, and Lars wear white uniforms when on duty as do all nursing staff. Meghan says it's only since August in Holland that female nurses have been allowed to wear pants.  Meghan has proclaimed this a "no cake" week. She says we shall have bananas for our dessert. I hope we stick to that plan.  We take turns providing the bread for our dinner. That involves leaving two kilos of flour along with yeast and thirty Kwacha, about twenty cents, for one of the housekeepers to make fresh bread.

Forgot to mention earlier. During our trip to Lilongwe last week, we turned a corner where a young man was standing by the road holding a small cat in one hand and beckoning to us.  I asked Hennie and Maralise if the man was trying to give the cat away or if he was trying to sell it. Both assured me he was selling it. I did not ask for any further explanation.
 
5:00 pm:  I just returned to the guest house feeling more optimistic that my accounting objective will be achieved than at anytime since I've been here. It's not a done deal, but I finally believe I'm on the trail. It's a very good feeling!

A little later, Maralise told some of us a heart warming story, which is expected to be written up for the hospital website. I will plan to let you know when that happens. I'll try to make it as short as possible.

              In 2006, a patient had a leg amputated at this hospital. Then about a year ago, he was

      back with gangrene in a foot but he wanted to have only half his foot amputated. Maralise

      persuaded the man to have the second leg amputated, agreeing that she would try to get two

      prostheses for him,  she managed to do that, and the man can now walk without a walker.
              Along the way, Maralise bought the man a Bible from a Muslim village. She says the

      man has been asking questions. Now, Maralise is taking the man home on Wednesday and

      all the villagers will see him walk.
 
8:05 pm:  Our power just came back on after being off for two hours. So dinner was by candlelight again. We had rice, dried beans and a stew of potatoes, onions, carrots and tomatoes…all pretty good. I believe Meghan's "no cake" proclamation has gone down in a blaze of chocolate mousse, because that’s what we had for dessert.  It was delicious served with a warm whipped cream-like topping.  We still plan to have coffee or tea and never know where discussions may lead. If anything of general interest comes up, I will let you know tomorrow.  Ron

 

December 5^th

After a breakfast of leftover date nut cake, I decided to have another cup of coffee. The water seemed to be a little slow heating and I realized the power is off again. Dorica will heat some on the oil burning camp stove.  I bought okra in Lilongwe yesterday and Dorica will cook it with onions and tomatoes. None of the young folks have eaten okra, some had never heard of it. When I asked Dan if he liked okra, he thought I was asking if he liked Oprah. Ha!  Well see how it goes over.

10:15 AM:  Still no power. I lack thirty pages in Isaac's Storm, a wonderful book that was recommended to me by Darrell Johnson, a resource that our public library in Beckley is fortunate to have.

3:30 PM:  The power is finally on. Also, I have completed Isaac's Storm.  The Australian med student, Dan, left for home this afternoon.  He is a very interesting and funny guy. He is also an agnostic. I decided to give him Isaacs Storm even though it belongs to the library. I will replace it when I get home. I wrote Dan a short note and signed it "God bless." I think that's about as evangelistic as a Presbyterian normally acts.  I thought he wasn't leaving until tomorrow, but I have just learned that he left a day early because of the fuel shortage. Fuel is now available on the black market for 500 kwacha per liter, a little more than $3. Yesterday, it was 400. My trip to Lilongwe was made using black market fuel.

8:55 PM:  Since most of the young group was out doing other things today, I had our housekeepers cook for me. The menu was okra with tomatoes and onions, potatoes and rice.  As there were only three of us here for dinner, I had enough for all of us.  James and Elizabeth had not eaten okra before but they both liked it a lot.  James made a basic yellow cake but added instant coffee to it and drizzled chocolate over it. The cake is very good.  Tomorrow, a group of us are going to visit one of the two orphanages Maralise is involved with. I am looking forward to that. More about it tomorrow.  Ron

 

December 4^th

I took the day off and went to Lilongwe with friends from South Africa and the Netherlands today.  We dropped off Hemnie Smit at the airport for a flight to South Africa. Hennie is the manager of local waterworks and one of the nicer people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. Today he was flying home to S A for the Christmas holidays. Before we left Hennie's home, he suggested we have a prayer after which he prayed a beautiful prayer.  After leaving the airport, Maralise and I did a little grocery shopping, a little Christmas shopping, and had lunch at Mimma Mia's. Afterward, we picked up a hospital employee and his friend and headed back to Nkhoma. It was a full day and a nice diversion from my regular work activities.

Another time I was in a group with Hennie, we were talking about hiring good employees. Hennie told about a CEO who told his HR manager to forget about an applicant’s education, but to "find me a man who has sold a set of used false teeth to a well dressed man in Hyde Park on Sunday afternoon.” Ha!  Hennie and I have talked about financial management at the hospital.  He explained to me that the hospital was controlled by the Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa up through the mid nineties. At that time, control of the hospital was turned over to the Central Church of Africa, Presbyterian. Simultaneously, financial management of the hospital began to deteriorate until now; there are pretty much no financial management procedures in place.

Have I mentioned that there is a fuel shortage of crisis proportions in Malawi?  I don't know the cause but it is real. At every filling station we passed today there were a minimum of 100 vehicles sitting in line for it. The fuel shortage has spilled over into other goods, and there are reports of food shortages.  Driving along the M1, the sights are pretty much the same as before--people walking with goods balanced on their heads, bicycles with amazing amounts of cargo on them, a few ox carts, a few older trucks, and on and on.  We came to a stretch of road that Maralise called “coffin” road. I could see why. Lots of vendors were constructing and displaying coffins.  We came to a sign warning us of "loose chippings."  A little further on, a man was sitting by a pile of rocks, hammer and chisel in hand, chipping away.

Dinner with the young folks was pretty familiar--rice and pasta plus something called "chicken joy."  I didn't ask but ate some anyway. For dessert, we shared a date nut cake that I had purchased in Lilongwe. It was my turn to wash dishes after which Lars put them away.  For a late night snack, I ate peaches and a mango.  Time to crawl under the mosquito net for a good night’s sleep before the rooster begins to crow.  Ron

 

December 2^nd

This bed is where I sleep.  It’s been much better the past two nights.  On Wednesday mornings at the hospital, there is a worship service in their chapel.  I'm told it is a nice service and I will attend this morning.  Otherwise for today, I'm hoping Yowati will have some time to work with me.  Tonight I have dinner with Dr. and Mrs. TerHaar and a time to discuss financial reporting for Ebenezer School.
 

This is the chapel where I attended services this morning, not a very clear photo I know. Maybe you can see the pews.  They are not a type that makes it easy to take a nap!  The wall hanging behind the pulpit, in Chichewa, refers to and quotes Psalm 17:8. 

 

The following is the refrain of a hymn we sang at chapel services this morning:  “Dzina la Yesu NSF lokoma…Dzina la Yesu lipambana…Dzina lake lakukonda…Yesu, inde Yesu.”  Sung in Malawian native language, Chichewa, the melody was very nice. In fact, the entire service, done in both English and Chichewa, was nice. It was led by the hospital Chaplin who seems to be a very nice fellow.  His name is Laston and he led the singing which included some hand clapping and rhythmic parading back and forth in front of the congregation of 30-35.  Even though this particular song was sung in Chichewa, I noticed that some Anglos were singing along.  As a part of the service, Marie, whose name is really Mary Elise I was told, and her Malawian friend made an appeal for support to be able to provide each hospital patient with a Christmas gift.  I will contribute 1,500 Kwacha, approximately ten dollars.

After chapel service, I went to the accounting office, optimistic that I would finally have my day with Yowati. Alas, Yowati said he was "very sick" and would have to go home. Among other things, Yowati planned to introduce me to the IT staff. So, I ventured up to the IT office on my own. The door was locked.  All that said though, I learned something from the medical director yesterday that allows me to proceed with some real work. That is very encouraging.

Right now it's time for me to shower and dress for dinner with the Medical Director and his wife.  BTW, I did not drink any of that brown water I referred to earlier. Our drinking water is boiled, filtered, and stored in an old fashioned ice cream chest using every kind of plastic container you can imagine.  As I returned to the guest house a short while ago, a little goat was meandering around the open air hallway. Goats are everywhere.

This evening:  It's almost ten thirty and I have just now returned to the guest house following dinner with Dr. and Mrs. TerHarr and their six children of which two are adopted. We all sat at the table and the family sang a very nice grace. We then shared shepherd's pie and a nice dessert.  What followed was truly amazing to me. First, son James read a passage of scripture. That was followed by the singing of 2-3 hymns, and they then joined in singing several Christmas carols. Surprisingly, it was the children who didn't want to stop. These kids have never watched TV.  After the children went to bed, Dr. TerHarr went back to the hospital while Mrs. TerHaar and I spent an hour reviewing financial procedures and reporting at Ebenezer School.

Then, about nine o'clock, a couple from Holland, Eric and Naomi, dropped in and we all talked for another hour.  Eric is in public health and Naomi is a physician working in the hospital's maternity ward. Eric and Naomi may be the brightest two people I have met here. They both seem very nice and I hope to get to know them better.  It has been a long day and a good day. I am wondering if Yowati will be in tomorrow and whether I will get any of his time.  Ron

 

December 1^st

For the past few days I have thought many times of Sallie's final days   She died one year ago November 30, 4:55 am, 11:55 Malawi time. I looked at my watch and remembered.

This has been a morning of just a tiny bit of progress with my project. Yowati believes we will need to discuss some questions with the IT department and will go there with me tomorrow. Today, he has to go to Lilongwe.  That's how it goes day after day.

At breakfast this morning, the med student from Australia mentioned that approximately 25 percent of Nkhoma Mission hospital patients have AIDS. About twelve percent of the total population have it, he said. BTW the total population of Malawi is about fourteen million.

Medical Director Dr. Reynier TerHarr's wife, Villica, has asked that I do some work to improve the financial report of a private school she is involved with.  I am pleased to do it, as I needed a doable project! That's what I will work on this afternoon.

This morning I put my laundry out for Matrine to wash, iron, and fold.  With the laundry, I included 500 Kwatcha, approximately $3. That is the price regardless of quantity.  I did not include my name with the bundle. James says that somehow they know.

Dan, the med student, informed me that the water is off. A little later he told me that when it comes back on the procedure is: "When it's yellow let it mellow. When it's brown flush it down.”  It was brown during all my first week here!

My workday was frustrating again with little progress toward the objective. I do believe Yowati is beginning to grasp the objective, and he promises to work with me tomorrow. We shall see.

I talked with the supervisor of surgical nurses, Marie, for awhile this evening. She, too, is frustrated. Her ward has one toilet for seventeen patients and is, for lack of funds, out of toilet tissue and cleaning supplies. Yet, on Saturday the hospital arranged and paid for transportation for 25 staff to attend a wedding of a staff member.  Marie asked how fuel would be paid for and was told all the ambulances would be filled with fuel, and that fuel would then be siphoned off into the truck being used to transport staff to the wedding. All seems quite sad.

Following three days of speculation, Elizabeth arrived today from London.  At present, she is staying at the guest house and joining us for dinner, now being prepared by the young guests.  The menus are interesting, but they are pretty good cooks.  No power outages today, not yet anyway. Water was off for a short time but all is well now.  Ron

 

November 30^th

I think I told that the five young folks staying here went to the lake over the weekend. They rode buses--four of them. On one of the buses a local passenger got on with a goat. James, the Canadian, said he had to move his legs to the isle to make room for the goat. I might not have believed that if I had not seen four goats loaded into the tiny compartment behind the back seat of a bus.

The work continues to be frustrating. I am attempting to work with Yowati, the number two accounting assistant.  It doesn't help much that I seldom understand a word he says. English is the official language but they all speak Chechewa. When they do speak English, it comes out sounding like the native language, rhythmic and fast.

Last night I decided to try sleeping under the mosquito net. I will use it every night from now on.
Dorica, assistant housekeeper, prepared my lunch today. There is plenty for dinner and lunch again tomorrow. Menu is boiled potatoes, dried beans and warm slaw which is very good.  Ron

 

November 29^th – More Power Problems

These photo scenes are from the market yesterday…not very similar to Kroger’s on Harper Road!  There were two live goats tied to the rack on back of a bike. While I watched, a third one was added. It was hard for me to watch.

Sunday AM:  The power finally came on last night at 9:45 PM.  Right now it’s 5:45 AM Sunday morning and the power is off again…thus, no coffee. Yuck!  The fuel shortage is becoming more serious and leading to other shortages. Now it's flour. 

Later:  The power came back on around 10:00 AM. The coffee at jack's was held in their backyard and was very nice.  Jack and Henrietta are leaving tomorrow and I will miss them. I have been alone in the guest house all weekend so it was nice to have the birthday party yesterday and the coffee this morning.  Time to warm up my lunch before the power goes off again.

 

November 28th

This morning I put on my brave face and ventured to the market on my own. But that was after sleeping till eight and treating myself to two cups of coffee, a first since Dec. 17.  The market was as amazing as I had been told – many kinds of veggies, bananas, mangos, pastries, goats and chickens, art works, ad infinitum. I took lots of photos and hope some will be good.

On my way back, I met Wayne and Judy who are hosting the birthday party later this afternoon. They are from Toronto and seem very nice. Wayne is teaching in a high school here and Judy is a health planner. They had purchased a newspaper and loaned it to me.  I will return it when I go to their party this afternoon.  It will be my first paper since Nov 17.  Time for lunch, a shower, and off to the party. 

 

This evening:  It's nearly eight and the power has been off about eight hours. I had dinner of cold leftovers, beans, cabbage and rice. Wasn't bad plus it was a candlelight dinner.  Ha!  It's three minutes before eight and I'm hoping that will be the moment the power comes on.

Something that is strange to me--I have not seen a single napkin or paper towel since arriving in Malawi nine days ago. I need to ask about that. Two minutes after and still no power. I need some light for taking my medicine. Meantime, pretty much all I can do is sit here, alone, and watch the candles burn. Maybe Abe Lincoln could read by candle but my eyes aren't that good. So, I will wait.  Ron 

November 27^th – One Week Completed

Work wise, my week has been pretty frustrating but today ended on a hopeful note. I am ready to tackle my primary task again Monday. The task basically is to determine whether computer generated revenue amounts can be reconciled to bank deposits. Reasons for my frustrations are too numerous to describe in an email.

On my way from the hospital to the guest house tonight, I heard happy sounds, looked to see and there was a playground soccer game. Not sure you can tell from the photo but the teams are divided, shirts and skins.

Tomorrow I go to the market for butter, cabbage, rice and bananas. Matrene, the housekeeper, will cook for me tomorrow. I already have beans, tomatoes, potatoes, onions and pasta. It will be interesting to see what Matrene comes up with.

All the young folks went to a lake for the weekend, leaving me here as the lonely American.  I have read “A Letter to America” and “With Love from Baghdad.”  'Letter’ is very good, ‘With Love’ not so much. I have begun “Isaac’s Storm” and it is very good.  Have a good weekend.  Ron 

PS:  I caught these two ladies as I walked to Jack's and Henrietta’s last evening for dinner.  The dinner was delicious and the fellowship was delightful, very entertaining. Believe it or not, one subject discussed was predestination. As most always, another topic discussed was the culture of Malawi and how it can be changed.  Dinner did not include pumpkin pie but did include pumpkin soup. I will ask for that recipe as it was very tasty.  Time for me to go to work in the hospital accounting office.  Ron

 

November 26^th - Thanksgiving Day

Not a holiday here of course. However, Canadian friends have invited me to dinner tonight along with a South African and an American, the first one I will have seen since my arrival here. I'm looking forward to it.

Now that I have been here for a week, I will share some personal activities and observations.  I am almost past the "What was I thinking" phase. When I emptied my pockets and removed my shoes for the fourth time in Nairobi, I was not sure.  On the drive from the airport, with people and goats milling along the road, two of the goats had been slaughtered and were hanging by the road, and I thought "what have done?"

I moved into the hut (see photo) with shower and restroom facilities fifty yards away in a separate building, and my thoughts were the same.  Three days later, I moved into the hospital guest house, inside plumbing and a small group of young people who made me feel at home; all very kind and helpful to this 75 year old rookie.

The work ranges from hopelessly frustrating and discouraging to hopeful and optimistic.  Today, I feel hopeful.  My room is very plain but ok. My bed is a thin mattress laid on a one inch piece of plywood fastened to a frame. Amenities are few but it's ok.

Two of the young guys took me to market on Tuesday. It is indescribable. I plan to return there Saturday, which is the "big day," and I’ll get some photos. Btw, the guys advised that I wear old shoes, and I soon felt grateful for that advice.  One item I should have brought is a backpack. Without it, I can't carry very many provisions at a time.  In addition to dinner this evening, I am invited to a birthday party on Saturday and a coffee following church on Sunday.

One of the med students just came in the accounting office to deliver a donation from his church in Australia -- 180,000 kwatcha, app $1,000 in US currency.  The med student said it had been a morning of mess-ups. A young man had an accident and someone at the hospital accidentally administered a double dose of a blood thinner. Someone else accidentally punctured a woman's uterus. The med student said he "opened her up and fixed it.”  As the Anglos say, "Hey it's Africa."

The day is a melancholy one for me. It was Thanksgiving Day a year ago when it became obvious that Sallie was slipping away.  Ron