41 days til take off! This time I will be immersing myself within the Malawian culture for a minimum of 14 months.
There is a mixture of emotions 6 weeks out from D Day! I have in the past had an internal moral and ethical issue with flying in and 'doing my thing' and then flying out again with potentially minimal sometimes no follow up for the people I have seen. Was this the best thing for them to have this one off assessment with me? Was it better the devil they didn't know?
Last trip (July 2014) was an interesting experience as both a clinician and a supervisor. I was lucky enough to take 3 exercise physiology students and 3 physiotherapy students with a colleague to Malawi for 5weeks. An amazingly humbling experience that led me to the opportunity I now have as a clinical manager for an NGO that specialises in orthotics and prosthetics.
For my 3rd trip to Malawi I realised how much I loved the culture and how much I had come to understand and be accepted by the local community. Imparting my knowledge on the students was a nurturing and fulfilling experience that I hope they treasured as well. Opening their eyes to cultural sensitivity, new medical experiences and life in Lilongwe will be an experience I will never forget. It was this trip however I realised that I wanted more. I wanted to be part of the community and I wanted to be able to see our clinical interventions through on a more continual basis. A life in Malawi needed to happen.
The next 14months will be an experience of a life time. Here I will record my stories that I feel the wider community needs to understand, see and experience with me on this amazing journey. Watch this space!
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