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Frances meeting Edward Dobuy
Trip of a lifetime Day 3
We travelled to Chikwawa to visit the Makande Resource Centre which was set up over 40 years ago. The centre had a new building funded by the German charity CBM, and specialist equipment provided by Sightsavers, and caters for some twenty visually impaired students, of which four are girls, living in an onsite hostel, which needs renovation. The government funds meals for the students but ensuring transport to and from the school is a real challenge, and there is a pressing need for more specialist teachers.
Once again the group was delighted to be entertained by serenades of welcome on arrival, and of farewell on departure. The obvious care and commitment of the staff left a lasting impression. The success of the school is illustrated by a former pupil who progressed to university and now works for an NGO locally.
We moved from the Makande Resource Centre to Jombo Primary School, where we were greeted with another welcoming song and met Stefano Benito, a Braille user, and his itinerant teacher Felix. Stefano perched on a home made chair with his Braille machine on another chair in front of him, the rest of his classmates sat on the ground around him. Felix, his teacher, covers thirteen schools in his area, and has to cycle 20km from his home to undertake the visits, which occur at least twice a week in the case of Stefano. The local full time teacher at Stefano's school is not trained to use or teach Braille, and would welcome additional training.
"The success of the school is illustrated by a former pupil who progressed to university and now works for an NGO locally"
The problems of moving around on roads, which apart from the main tarmac roads are dirt tracks, was highlighted in a number of discussions in different locations. The country office are well aware of this, and we noticed in the Lilongwe office a consignment of recently unpacked motorcycles, which were awaiting registration before being sent out in to the field.
After a very brief drive through a small local game park, home to giraffes, zebras, buffalo and impala, a late meeting was arranged with the District Health Officer Dr Mbeure. There are three hospitals in the area which can provide primary eye care, and form part of the comprehensive eye services project set up by the country office. Although not specifically trained in dealing with more serious eye problems they can refer patients to the hospital in Chikwawa if necessary. Daily clinics are run by specialist staff, and cataract operations can also be done there. However, this may involve a wait of up to three months due to a shortage of trained staff.
The need to identify eye problems at community level was stressed, particularly with new born babies, who historically have tended to be treated by traditional healers. Problems encountered in the district also include the erratic supply of drugs, a government problem since they are the major supplier, out of date equipment, and as indicated elsewhere, major problems with transport.
