Sinkhani stories

Sinkhani practicing recording of baby weights

The stories the health workers tell are so inspiring.  They are truly life-changing agents in their villages.  Our first stop last month was to Malawi to visit the Sinkhani before we started the training.  As usual they had stories to share.

Role play of pregnant mother

Joyce works in several different villages.  She said she had recently helped a boy who had scraped all of the skin off of his ankle in a bicycle accident.  He went to the hospital but it didn't help.  Joyce said, "It started rotting -- had a bad smell."  She started using the guava leaf antiseptic we had taught them to make and when the wound was dry, she applied the antibiotic ointment.  It wasn't long before his leg was completely healed.

Sherri taking a break with a future Sinkhani

Joyce also told of a lady who came to see her just last month.  She had injured her finger and within a few days her whole arm started getting red.  She treated her the same way she had treated the boy with the bicycle injury and had the same good results.

Ester, another Sinkhani, said, "Everyone knows about the antibiotic ointment we have.  In January there was an accident near my house.  A girl named Flora was making mandazi.  She put cooking oil in a pan and when she dropped in the mandazi to fry them, the pan fell and she was badly burned on her arm.  The parents wanted to go to the hospital but the neighbors said, "God to Sinkhani, Ester."  Within 2 weeks the burn was healed.

It's so sad that medicines are in such short supply, or worse yet, totally absent in the hospitals.  Even though the Sinkhani have meager supplies to say the least, they are frequently much better stocked than the clinics and medical facilities.