October 2015 – So what did I learn?
It’s not all doom and gloom in Malawi – just because it’s different doesn’t make it wrong. I overheard a medical student say that they should just drop in a ready-made hospital complete with equipment and that would solve everything – I couldn’t disagree more. The people I met have shown great ingenuity and inventiveness, coming up with pragmatic solutions that work in very trying circumstances using simple local resources. Like all of us, they love people to take an interest and enjoying being praised for what they can do. It’s up to us to encourage and support them to achieve more to meet their needs, not give them what we feel is best. Malawi is known as ‘the warm heart of Africa’ and it deserves its reputation. The people we met were endlessly kind and caring, whether we were lost in the maze of