We are getting into a routine here in Lilongwe.
We are staying with most of our group at Nelly's Guest House. It is a small place on a side street in a nice neighborhood. As with all of the homes in Lilongwe, the compound is enclosed by a tall brick wall with a gate and a 24 hour guard. We're not sure if this is for security or is a status symbol! Inside the wall is a pleasant garden, the main house, and a row of other rooms.
After breakfast (which most mornings has been cooked on a charcoal grill since the electricity is very unreliable), we are met by the van from Ministry of Hope which takes us to the Crisis Nursery.
The drive is fascinating: only the main roads are paved; the rest of the roads are rutted red clay. In many places the driver has to creep along to avoid the deep pot holes. Along every road people are walking: men, women carrying bundles on their heads, children. There is little public transportation and most people walk to work or to distant bus stops. Crops are planted right up to the side of the road, mostly corn but tobacco is a big crop for export, too. Right now everything looks very lush at the end of the rainy season, but we are told that in October all of the vegetation is brown.
At the nursery, we have been busy sorting medications which we will take to the clinics next week. We are getting to know the others in our group: Ken Root (a neurologist who is the organizer of the group), Jim Schumaker (a family physician from northern Wisconsin who is making his second trip to Malawi), Caryn (a fourth year medical student who is going into pediatrics), Donna (a fourth year medical student who is going into Internal Medicine), Mary Jo and Pete (members of a church from Hilton Head that supports MOH), and Fran (a nurse from Phoenix who has been involved with MOH in the past.) Every now and then we take a break to play with the babies.
Back at the Guest House in the late afternoon, Paul and Jim have started a tradition: they have one Kuche-Kuche, an almost non-alcoholic beer, before dinner. This is a good time for more good conversation, frequently to candle light because the power has been lost. The generator eventually comes on, but only powers the lights and not the air conditioning, refrigerators, wireless router, etc. This makes for early bedtimes.
Tomorrow we will go to a Malawean church for Easter Sunday. Everyone tells us it will be a remarkable experience. We are looking forward to it.