Final days and see you laters!

We have safely landed on US soil! After a long 15 hour flight from Ethiopia, we are tired and ready for a shower, but happy to be home. 

The day before we left we spent a relaxing day in Lilongwe shopping and hanging out at the Mabuya camp. At night we had a fantastic time at the Bartletts house with the ABC students. Peter and Laura went for a nice run by a nearby pond, Naomi played some basketball with the boys, and others hug out in the beautiful weather. We ate dinner and had a debrief, discussing some of the funnier and memorable moments from the trip. We shed many tears as we said goodbye to our friends, new and old. We all were very sad, but are excited to meet one another again down the road. 

This trip has been challenging for all of us and I'm not sure that any amount of preparation or briefing could prepare someone for the magnitude of hearing healthcare problems we have seen over the last month. It's difficult to explain to others the incredible things we have seen and experienced, but what we can explain are the relationships we have built with the beautiful people in Malawi. We are thankful for the opportunity to spend time with the ABC students and the Bartletts, as well as Wakisa and Victor. We are so blessed. 

Please stay posted on our Facebook page for updates of pictures and statistics of the people we have seen. Can't wait to show you everything we've done! 

Laura

Last days

Blog 6-25 The Road to Blantyre After a few schedule adjustments we finally started on the road to Blantyre for our last clinic event. A few of us have come down with various maladies, but no worse for the ware. Our driver, Nelson, who has become a trusted friend and guardian is from Blantyre. We are excited to meet his wife and three daughters. Our goal today is to lunch in Dedza where I'm told I will have the opportunity to stimulate the Malawian economy. Souvenir shopping has been great. Funny how I'm starting to know my way around after a few short weeks. As we hit town yesterday I recognized that we were getting close to the African Bible College by the people selling rats on a stick along the road. I'm told this is a seasonal landmark and quite the delicacy. I'll take the word of Naomi on that. We picked up our equipment from the Bartlett's this morning and left our bags of souvenirs for safe keeping. Peter told us they were contacted by the women's prison to do a clinic Saturday 6-29. Unfortunately we will still be in the south. Maybe we can be included in this event for HFH 2014. They will also be seeing kids from the juvenile prison. We met an aspiring journalist from the states a few weeks back who is working on a story about the prison system in Malawi. He shared some very eye opening stories. We will certainly be watching for his publication. UPDATE 6-27 We had an uneventful but long trip to Blantyre today only to find out that our accommodations were sold out from under us. But Someone was watching out for us. Again "adjustment" is the operative word for us in Blantyre. We finally settled in Chez Maky where Dr. Mulwafu (the local ENT) worked a deal for our rooms. Under different conditions we would have totally enjoyed the live jazz concert on one of the nights. Quite the challenge for us as we worked very hard this week at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital with Dr. Mulwafu, Victor Musowa at the Children's Rehab Clinic, and the Mulanje District Hospital with the clinical officers in training and Lewis. We did stop in Dedza on at the pottery factory for lunch and SHOPPING! Everything was so expertly made and well designed that we all had a hard time making our decisions. Lunch was on a lovely veranda overlooking a garden of roses, geraniums and plants I've never seen before. The region is more mountainous than the central and norther areas we visited over the previous weeks. UPDATE 7-2 We are now back at Mabuya our Lilongwe home base where some of us are relaxing and updating ourselves about what is happening in the rest of the world. Such an exciting trip to the south. The highlight was a visit to Jamesvillage the birth place and childhood home of Victor. To understand the significance of our trip I must first tell you about Victor. His father died when he was a child. The village saw potential in him and supported his education. Eventually, Victor furthered his education in Canada where he became a Communication Disorders Technician. Up until recently he was supported by an NGO, but now he has opened his own not for profit clinic to prepare pre-schoolers for the next step in their education. For example, entrance into a deaf primary school. Victor does not draw a salary at this time. A few months back Victor contacted Ingrid about the possibility of funding a purchase of an "oven" for the village ladies so they can start their own bakery. The students did a fabulous job of fund raising at the 2013 White Coat Ceremony and musician's ear protection for the drumming troop Sambatuque Flagstaff. We delivered the specialized oven (wood-fired) to the village on Sunday. Well, we were greeted with such graciousness and hospitality that I personally had a difficult time containing my tears. The "committee" organized an itinerary of all their programs to sustain their village. We saw a pre-school, sick/home bound services, youth gardening program, TB testing program, HIV testing and support group and a Saving and Loan. They made such a concerted effort to show us their village. The tour was followed by a few speeches, drama/comical skits with a message and introduction to the chiefs and various dignitaries of the village. We were treated like heads of state and seated at a place of honor. At this point the other vehicle arrived with the oven. I don't think we ever got so many "huggies" (Chechawan for hug) in all our lives. This will definitely be a cherished memory. Tomorrow we leave to return to the US of A. How great to be landing in Washington D.C. on the 4th of July. I know that I'm not saying "Good Bye" but Tionana. G