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.

Thanks from Sinkhani



Sinkhani studying baby-weighing scale

 We received many words of thanks from the Sinkhani in Malawi for supporting the health worker program over the years.

In their own words, here are some of their thoughts as verbalized during the training.

Ester - I thank God for giving me a long life so I can work as Sinkhani.
Angela - Because of Sinkhani I was able to go to Zambia and be close to Congo [1992 gathering of health workers we sponsored that brought together the health workers from Zambia, Malawi, and Congo.  This was a huge event in the lives of these women and one they still talk about.]  I joined the church in 1992 and became a Sinkhani.
Another Sinkhani - We want to get all of the good lessons so we can share them in Kasungu [a new area].  We want to assure you we will do exactly as we learn.
Ireen - Thank you to Jac and Sherri.  From the lessons they have been teaching us we are very important people in our communities.  People say "Let's not go to the hospital, let's go to Sinkhani first."  We have opened our eyes and now we know a lot of things.
Brown [our only male Sinkhani] - Now I'm called a woman because I always stay with women.  I'm proud because here in Malawi I am the only man Sinkhani.
Zione - I work with over 200 children in a school.  Now with training I can do even better.
Another Sinkhani - I ask the Lord to give me more life so I can work with Sinkhani.
Another Sinkhani - I joined the church after 1992 and missed the [first] Sinkhani training.  I've been waiting ever since to attend training and become a Sinkhani.
Another Sinkhani - Last year I was very sick and afraid I would have to leave Sinkhani.  Now I am better and can continue.  I was one who got to go to Mwnese [the 1992 gathering in Zambia].  Sinkhani members were 11 but now we are growing up with more members.  Jac and Sherri use to come as two but now there are many of us.

They also resurrected a little song they wrote in 1992.  It has a real catchy tune and goes like this:

Who started Sinkhani here in Malawi?
Sherri started Sinkhani
She was wise enough
She did not fear
She came in Malawi

They added a new verse for this training --
You women be wise
Do not fear
You will go to Chinteche [location for this year's training]





The view of Lake Malawi from our training site



Home Again!

We arrived back in the U.S. on July 4th just in time to be reminded of the incredible blessings we enjoy. There are so many places in our world where people live with constant mind boggling challenges just to survive. So much we take for granted!
By all counts we christened our trip "Successful." The training went off without any hitches, we made all of our travel connections, we needed only 3 tablets of Cipro to cure the usual traveler's GI issues, we saw many friends we hadn't seen for years, we heard incredible stories from the health workers, and we celebrated the continued progress and success of both schools. As our good friend Lackings Banda from Malawi frequently exclaims, "Life is Good!"
Now that Jac has pictures ready to share from our trip we will illustrate our Blogs with visual aids. Hopefully you will find that helpful and interesting!

Chipulukusu School

Lots of good things are happening at the Chipulukusu school! The enrollment is up to 291 and they have capped registration knowing they cannot handle more children. They hold two sessions everyday – one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

I was super impressed with the way the teachers have organized the program. They are now giving the children an exam (I obtained a copy) at the end of each term. In the past a 50% pass rate allowed the child to progress to the next term. The teachers themselves have determined that a 50% standard is too low and they are planning to raise it to 60% and eventually to 70%. They have created a nice form to track each student's test results.

They have now completed weighing and measuring all of the children for the second term. In reviewing the report I noticed most of the children had gained 1 or 2 kgs (2.2 lbs = 1 kg). There were several, however that had lost 3 - 5 kgs in weight. A huge loss! The teachers said the children who had lost weight had been very sick. They are now back in school however and recovering.

We continue to hear sad stories about the orphans. One of the teachers told me some of the orphans are kept home from school to work and make money. They are told if you don't work you can't have food. Those children especially want to come to school because they know they will receive a good lunch.

Congo is still Congo

We're back in Zambia after having the usual always unpredictable Congo experience. Crossing the border today the immigration officials spent an hour pouring over our passports and aha! they found my passport had not been stamped out when I went into Congo. What to do??? They finally decided the clerk who failed to stamp it needed to come fix it. But he was off today. Finally they decided to call him and bring him from home. He ultimately arrived and after hemming and hawing around for another hour we were released. Such efficiency just takes my breath away!

The Wasaidizi health workers were amazing as usual. The Dr. from Kaboka came down to Lubumbashi to meet with us. He said one of their biggest problems right now is malaria. it is especially deadly for the pregnant women who become anemic and hemorrhage during childbirth as well as for the children under 5 who have no immunity. For the cost of $3 a mosquito net can be purchased and a whole family sleep under it. I think we have a new project to pursue!

We visit the Kasompe school tomorrow. They have finished putting new floors in the classrooms and painting the walls inside and out. We understand the parts for the new desks are made but not yet assembled. Things are moving albeit slowly. We're eager to meet with the teachers tomorrow and get an update.

Triplet baby update

Now we remember why we've never liked to cross the border into Congo at Kasumbalesa! We had a long circuitous route between and behind buildings to find the office to stamp us out of Zambia. That went relatively well after we found the right place. Then the fun (??) began! We were escorted into a small room where the immigration officer began examining every page of our well traveled passports. Beside him seated on a grubby floor littered with trash were 5 young men tied together with rubber strap handcuffs. We have no idea what that was about. After enduring the loooong examination of our passports, he decided we needed to obtain photocopies of 2 pages in our passports for him to keep. So our good friend Kasongo who met us at the border scurried off to get the copies. When he returned it was decided we needed to go to another room. So we trooped into another little room with a new immigration officer. He even sent for his big boss to come. Together they decided we needed a letter of invitation to enter the country -- never mind that we had already spent $75 for a visa! So our friend Kasongo patiently wrote a letter of invitation for each of us. Then, surprise! They needed extra copies so again Kasongo hustled off to get copies. They finally released us and said we needed to have our yellow cards checked at the health area. We were concerned about this since my yellow fever vaccination had expired and my doctor recommended I not receive another one for health reasons. I did have an official letter from the doctor explaining this and they loved the letter head, official stamp, etc. and praised the letter. What a relief! Then they looked at Jac's. Oh, my, they did not like what they saw. His vaccination had not expired but the last entry said he had received a booster which they pointed out "was not the real thing." Three hours after the saga began and $10 later we were finally allowed to leave. I'm sure they were disappointed they did not intimidate us into a higher bribe.

After we arrived in Lubumbashi, we met with our good friend Chama Chola that has delivered many many babies in the Congo. We asked about the triplets she so heroically delivered last year and she said it was sad news. There were two boys and a girl. One little boy died at 2 months and the other one died at 8 months. The little girl, however, is doing well. So much for the weaker sex theory!! Chola said she thought the problem was primarily related to the mother's inability to feed 3 babies since she was not well nourished herself. We were sad to hear all 3 babies did not make it but we're still so proud of Chama for doing her part and bringing them safely into the world. Lots of other stories to tell but they will have to wait....

Stories of the Kafwa

We flew from Malawi to Zambia and had lots of updates from the Kafwa when we met. They had a meeting a few weeks ago with over 40 of the orphans from the Chipulukusu school. The children shared their stories and the Kafwa said some of the stories were so sad they had tears in their eyes. It was obvious the meeting was painful for Kafwas as well. Some of the single orphans that live with their widowed mothers have good support. Some of the double orphans, however, are seen as burdens and treated unkindly and even abused. According to the Kafwa they are not always allowed to come to school because they are sent to fetch water, do chores, etc. Sometimes they are refused food and even beaten. So, so sad! The Kafwa did follow up visits to 18 homes hoping to gain guardian support for the Child Support Specialist program. When we told them Kelsey, one of the members of the January training team was hoping to return some day, they clapped and said, "Send her back, we need her."

We are leaving for the Congo today. Hopefully we will not have too many problems crossing the border. They always seem to find ways to make it difficult. We'll check back in with you when we have internet connection again.