Work update :)

Three weeks and three days here in beautiful Lilongwe. Time is flying already and I know the three months will go too fast before my eyes, hopefully I will have achieved the objectives of my work and my purpose here by the end of March as planned!

I began training with the boys in Kachere last Wednesday afternoon.. they are good attentive students, so that makes life a whole lot more enjoyable! They get a break from the cramped courtyard that is shared by the 200 inmates, and there's a coca cola at the end of class as a treat, so its not a bad deal! I have ten boys who Venture trust identified as good peer mentor potential. They are split between the five cells, two in each. Their day starts at 6 am and ends at 4pm, so they have a lot of time to burn in the cells before sleep. The Peer mentors will disseminate accurate information to the rest of the boys in their cells after lock up- that is the aim of the project. Upon release, we hope these boys have instilled what their respected peer has taught them about positive behaviour, and self protection from HIV and STIs.
I am using resources from a variety of organisations that have been tried and tested in Sub Saharan African, resource poor settings. I am working with the HIV Coordinating Officer in the prison, Thom, in getting the  training just right, and involving games, role plays and discussion groups.
Thom is fantastic, and even though it is difficult for him to be seen to be working with the muzungus/white people (the other officers think he receives monetary favours) he ignores it and shows his passion to help the boys and their futures.
Im also working with the Regional Prison Coordinator, who has taken me on a trip to the adult prison Maula Prison. We had a meeting with the Medical Officers there, where they showed me the clinic they use to treat the 2000 or so inmates. Conditions are poor but not horrific. They prisoners receive their ARVs and porridge with extra nutrients. 480 have HIV, of which 90 take ARVs (approx). What I found interesting, was they estimated a persons need to go on ARV's by symptoms only.. no viral load or CD4 checks. This is to do with blood testing services being to diffficult to carry out on a regular basis.
I have been invited to do a piece of work with the women in Maula. Today I will go and meet with them, and introduce myself, and get an idea of their knowledge around HIV and of their back grounds. Based on that I will devise a number of training sessions, with the help of Peter the Regional Officer and his translations skills (Im not yet fluent in Chichewa!!)
On a final note about work, I have been to a meeting with the wonderful Theatre for a Change, and they are providing a day for the Kachere Officers and their spouses to encourage HIV testing and to do some prevention education through song and dance. The prison officers shy away from testing when it is provided to the boys, so this is an opportunity for them to do so away from workplace, and with confidentiality of results. And all staff will hopefully take the opportunity..and there's safety in numbers!!
This will be on the 11th of Feb. Pictures to follow!

Things have been volatile lately with the President being hugely unpopular, and a couple of riots on the streets nearby the prison. Huge fuel shortages, no Forex, and depleting resources for a growing population is starting to show its cracks on locals. However, in general, people still have a smile on their face, and safety is no problem for me I feel. I stay in a security guarded compound also just FYI.

On a easier, breezier note, I went to a reggae gig yesterday with a few friends and it was very very fun. Nice to see Malawians there having a good time, singing at the top of their voices, praise the lord etc etc!
Weather was perfectly sunny 28 degrees and the local beer Kuche Kuche resting on ice- bliss!

I will post again soon with more news, and hopefully a few photos of life here in Malawi.

Dee :)

12 full days

Malawi... arriving in to the country I thought to myself, this really looks like home with rolling green fields and trees dotted across the landscape. However, once I stepped off the plane, I knew it was a far cry from Ireland! It took me a couple of days to relax into the way of the Malawians. I know people tell you about culture shock, but I really was in shock at how friendly and open and talkative the locals were. Until you understand that they mean no harm, you realise that your own culture back home is too paranoid and closed off! Lilongwe is my base for the next three months. I am working for on behalf of Waverley Care with funding from the Scottish Government, to carry out HIV prevention and empowerment work with the prison minority group. I have linked up with two brilliant guys who work for a Scottish based charity- The Venture Trust, both of whom work here with the young offenders at Kachere prison. They provide a peer-mentoring programme around healthy living and life skills which I will feed into around the area of HIV for my short stint here.

Life in the last 12 days has gone from extreme panic and doubt on Day 1 to absolute happiness by day 6 and harmony right now on day 12. The people living here are so up for getting to know new people, and that has been brilliant for me as I came out here solo.

I think life here in Malawi is going to be an amazing experience for me, even with all the poverty and hardship you see every minute of the day, there is some sort of strange but beautiful calm and serene flip side to these people. Possibly because they haven't been ruined by the ideals of the Western world just yet..