More Experiences from Carolin, 9.2.2005

Carolin - Highlights & Hard Work
9th February 2005

Greetings from Malawi!

The weekend was very interesting.  I had a meeting with the Headmen of the area and I learned so much.  First of all you never have to be afraid to be not punctual here.  We had the meeting in the rural areas at 8am,so I sat at 6am in the minibus but it waited so long until enough people were inside, that i came about 15 minutes too late to the meeting.  I hurried up because I thought it would be so rude to come too late, but when I arrived only two old men were sitting on the steps of the house, when I asked them they said that the people come from afar so maybe the meeting will begin at 9...or 10am...

The meeting was in a house with only one wall at the back and a roof - the other sides were open.  The headmen (about 30) were sitting on wooden benches like in church and in front one step higher was a table and a wooden bench where I sat with my translator and the headman who led the meeting.  First we prayed and then I held a short speech explaining about the HIV and AIDS situation, what we are planning to do and how they can help (I love speaking with a translator.  Actually it’s funny when you speak to all these people and they look at you and you know they don't understand anything you say in that moment).  The headmen were so willing to help.  I was relieved because I was afraid that they would react different. actually I don't know why!  But when we asked if somebody has any questions after I spoke only one old man stood up and said something.  Everybody murmured agreement and I didn't know what he had said so I was pretty afraid.  Actually he said thanks very much because something like that is very much needed and I felt so relieved and happy and touched and sad...

After this I asked them what problems they have in the area and they have a lot... the harvest is not going to be enough this year, they know they will suffer hunger but the children are already malnourished, the boreholes are not maintained or not existing so they don't have clean water, they have no program dealing with AIDS, nobody knows where to turn, too few  health facilities and no transport at all for the patients.  Unemployment, poverty of the disabled people...it's so much!

I will try to find out more about the area and in which villages the boreholes are not maintained because we already work together with an NGO called Freshwater Project who build boreholes in the area.  Then I can give them the names of the villages.  I also talked with a women working in the health centre there and she knows really motivated young people who want to start something like Voluntary Counselling & Testing (VCT) so I will contact them and see what they are planning and if I can help them.

I have to find out so much like why the harvest is going to be bad because of lack of fertilizers or whatever, also if the health centers are well equipped... so I will be very often in the rural area now.  I hope that I can do something.  I got already my first disappointment because the printing company I wrote a proposal to is not going to print our manuals!  OK maybe that would have been very lucky but I imagined everything so easy - you just write a good proposal and then you get what you want, but sometimes it isn't like that...for example I also wrote to the supermarkets for food that they can't sell anymore, that they sponsor it for the event in the hospital I want to make and actually they don't loose anything with that...but still it takes so much time until they answer. 

I found an NGO called who maybe could give medicines and equipment to the health centres but first I need to see what they need.  If anybody has any idea of an NGO or any big company I could write to and who could help with one of the problems above, I would be very happy...

Also I am still much time in the office to write proposals and collect data.

Much greetings to everybody,
Carolin,