Malawi – the Warm Heart of Africa

We made it into Lilongwe, Malawi last night. It was great to sleep in a real bed! This morning we all woke up to a beautiful clear and sunny day. I now have a Malawian sun tan on my shoulders!

Today, we visited a clinic providing essential healthcare to women about o deliver and to those who have infants and young children.

My favorite person newly met gave us a tour and explained what benefits were offered there. Her name was Gift and she is well named. She herself oversees basic education and coordination with the amazing physicians (Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine folks working together to do great things!).

Working to build infrastructure, talented Malawians receive training from these healthcare providers to provide healthcare themselves. With a few more resource, much more can be achieved. One physician shared with me that they are learning a great deal from local traditions as well. He shared that honey was sometimes used to treat wounds and that while he was skeptical at first, he saw it work in many situations! I witnessed a moving and successful collaboration going on at our site visit today!

Tomorrow we visit the Malawian Center of Excellence. It will be a VERY early day so that’s all for now.