Malawi Matters

Here is our Medical Vocabulary translation from English to Chiyao audio made with the help of Dr Maria, Medic to Medic graduate. A leaflet has been created to use alongside this audiofile. Please email us on [email protected] to receive the PDF file of the leaflet. Please consider making a donation to support our ongoing work supporting students in financial hardship in Malawi.

Cyclone Freddy - the longest and strongest tropical cyclone on record, lasting over 34 days and hitting landfall twice. It caused devastation in the Southern region of Malawi, killing over 1000 people and leaving 500,000 people homeless. Have you heard of it? It hasn't hit the global conscience. Here we're giving a voice to those who have been affected. And if you're able to donate towards our crowdfunding campaign please consider donating:

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/cyclone-freddy-malawi-relief

Thank you to Edward, studying BSc Nursing and Midwifery at Mzuzu University in northern Malawi, for sharing how his family in the southern region have been affected.

Here is our Medical Vocabulary translation from English to Chichewa.  This has been created with our student and alumni community.  If you found this useful - please email us on [email protected] and we will send you the PDF file of the leaflet used in this video.  Please consider making a donation to support our ongoing work supporting students in financial hardship in Malawi.  

If you would like to practice your Chichewa further we can help organise Zoom sessions of between 30 minutes to one hour.  These sessions are conducted with our students and graduates.  There is a charge for this, which helps with our fundraising for our students and gives an opportunity for students and graduates to earn additional income.  These sessions can either be in pairs or individuals.  Please get in touch on [email protected] to organise.

In November 2022 we turned 10 years old!  Our first five years of operation we were affiliated with another charity, but in 2012 we branched off as our own independent charity.  In this episode we look back at our past and ahead to our future, hearing from alumni and faculties and team members!  

Our guest speakers included: 

- Nick Mandeville - Medic to Medic volunteer and retired trustee talks about the early years of Medic to Medic. 6 minutes 9 seconds. 

- Alice Namanja - Medic to Medic physiotherapy graduate discusses the impact of the scholarship on her studies and her family. 41 minutes 40 seconds. 

- Thokozani Bvumbwe - Nursing faculty Mzuzu University discusses the faculty perspective of student challenges. 1 hour 13 minutes. 

- Tamsin Lillie - Medic to Medic CEO discusses the future vision and initiatives underway. 1 hour 38 minutes.  Thank you for attending! :)

In this week's episode, we talk with Martha Kilowe who conducted this years alumni survey.  Our alumni survey takes place every 12-18 months and is an opportunity for us to monitor the career progression of our graduate community in Malawi.  As we've grown this task has become ever bigger and more chaotic!  But, it answers some important questions, like where are our graduates now?  Where are they working?  Are they still in Malawi?  What have the impacts been of having a professional salary on their wider family and social status?  We hope you can join us as Martha shares some of the findings from this years 2022 graduate alumni survey.

In this week's episode we talk with Ketrina, MBBS student at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, who joined the university as a Deayang student.  We'll learn a bit more aabout Deayang and the problems facing Ketrina and other students like her.  If you would like to support a Deayang student, please get in touch with us [email protected] or via Facebook @MedictoMedic

During this week's episode we talk with Medic to Medic graduate, Dr Elizabeth Gondwe based in Mzuzu about her journey with Medic to Medic on becoming a doctor!

Lawi is a well loved and renowned favourite musician.  Here we get to learn a bit more about Lawi, his music and upcoming fundraising event with Medic to Medic in Blantyre, Malawi.

Mtisunge is a mature student training at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences in Blantyre, Malawi.  Here we discuss some of the unique set of challenges that face mature students, and how Medic to Medic is trying to build further support for the students here.

In this week's episode, Tamsin talks with Fletcher, Head of the Audiology department at the African Bible College (ABC), Lilongwe, Malawi.  There is a critical shortage of healthcare workers in every area of medicine in Malawi, and audiology is no exception.  Fletcher is the first Malawian audiologist.  He trained overseas with the intention of returning to Malawi to start up the Audiology BSc degree programme for Malawian's to train in country.  Here he tells us the background to the degree programme, the work behind the scenes and what challenges the students and the department currently face.  We hope you hear Fletcher's passion for audiology coming across in the conversation.

Medic to Medic support 1 trainee Audiologist at the ABC with a scholarship.  This is in collaboration with Otocare, an audiology clinic based in North West London.

Can you help?  We would like to supply Audiology books, hearing aids, otoscopes, tympanometers, audiometers to the department to help build capacity.  Could you set up a collection of recycled hearing aids in your local community?  These equipments can be transported through our existing collaboration with the Banana Box Trust from the UK to Malawi and will be given directly to students and the department.

Or, better yet, can you help us support a student in need at ABC?  Student audiologists are activity involved in service provision of hearing services throughout Malawi during their training, particularly during outreach clinics.  Education and training of future audiologists will improve the quality of life, educational prospects and employment opportunities for all patients encountered during the students' training and even more so once qualified.

Medic to Medic need to increase donations in order to continue to expand our support to trainee Audiologists in Malawi - please get in touch if you may be able to help - there are so may ways you can help fundraise and get involved!  [email protected]