Malawi - Kande Beach

This morning we went for a village walk through Mbamba Village which neighbours the campsite. During our visit we learnt about the local crops, Cassava and Corn mainly, the methods to make bricks to build their houses, and a little about village life and the way the village functions day to day. We visited the primary school which has an attached orphanage. The school puts the orphans through school when they can afford to as the government gives them no assistance. The school is funded for 3 teachers by the government but has over 1000 students. This means that sometimes the teachers are standing in front of a class of over 200 students.... an absolutely unfathomable challenge.

We also visited the local clinic, another phenomenal feat for the staff! They have a catchment area of 39000 people and see around 180 patients per day. They do not have a doctor, only one nurse/midiwife and a medical assistant. And yes, they do deliveries here, unfortunately we couldn’t see inside the birthing unit as there was a patient. They have only one road ambulance for the district and their nearest referral hospital is over 100km away. This hospital has a catchment of over 500, 000 people but still only has one doctor! This information just blew us away!

During the tour we met lots of the local children as it is school holidays here at the moment and we also were accompanied by some of the local boys/ young men who explained a lot about different things as we walked. It was a great way to spend the morning!