MAY-C-12
THE REPORT BY THE POHLMANS’ OF THEIR VISIT
TO MALAWI 2003, ALTERNATING WITH US
From: Glenn Geelhoed
To: Virginia Croskery
Date: 5/27/03 4:17PM
Subject: Fwd: Poehlman Malawi trip '03
Here is the Poehlman's report from the same period of our visit as we alternated venues in Malawi with them.
GWG
>>> "George Poehlman" <gpoehlman@nc.rr.com> 05/27/03 03:59PM >>>
We have returned from our Malawi trip. Actually, it has now been 28 days since our return, and while we have been anxious to share news with you of Malawi, neither George nor I have been clear on what new message to deliver. What we do know is that people are healthier and happier this year. The harvest has begun, and people had early maize for eating. And, while the yield for the upcoming year isn’t known, as stacking, drying, milling and bagging is just now underway, it promises to be a better situation than experienced in the past two years. And, should the supplies fall short, and they probably will, the Grain Bank promises relief. It was astonishing to see this structure - - larger and structurally much stronger than imagined. Watched around the clock by a guard, the interior was entirely empty in April, except for a steel safe that George and I could barely make out in the darkness. Only one month later, co- op agreements are being worked out for purchase of the 2003 maize excesses from community members. In addition, new monies sent through St. Andrew Presbyterian from many of you add to the recovered monies from last year’s sales of the grain from Tanzania. This is a success and it will be even more successful as this year unfolds. With happy bellies come hopeful hearts. Just as Maslow told us, people can’t move on to any self- actualizing behavior until physiological needs are met. We again saw people moving about with purpose, working on their huts, planning for their families, working and laughing. The contrast from last year to this was amazing. We also know that our children did wonderful things in Embangweni during the year they were there. Everywhere we were asked about Jon and Mary Bennett. Even in Lilongwe, when doing UNICEF grant work and moving about between various NGOs, George was asked time and again, is your son Jon Poehlman? In Embangweni, youth groups are actively doing AIDS work – orphan care, peer counseling, AIDS messaging. At the school, Mary Bennett’s student’s artwork seems to be on every open space. The library is painted and organized; the computer rooms were ready for installation of computers once Bill and Beth Rule arrived. They changed lives through their work! And, we found Bill and Beth Rule at home in Embangweni. You may recall that Bill and Beth, from Leesburg, Virginia, visited us, along with others from Leesburg Presbyterian Church, during our tenure; they have accepted a commission from PCUSA for 2- 4 years of service in Malawi. Already, in only two month’s time, they had settled into routines that required more work than there are hours in the day. Beth, a community health nurse, seems to be overseeing, single- handed, the mobile clinics. Actually, Brenda N’goma, a nurse on leave from Embangweni who has been studying public health in South Africa, is now back to help assist, but Beth’s work is never- ending. Bill, already busy with a host of projects for Embangweni and the Synod, has now taken on, in addition, the role of acting hospital administrator. Beth says he works late into the night trying to pull together the personnel, budget, and operations of the hospital, which has been without proper administration since January. (Mr. Winesi died suddenly in February after only a month’s illness.) We also found friends, Margot Leydic- Boyd and Hayden Boyd, from Arlington, VA very happily at home in Mzuzu at the University where Hayden is Dean of Research and Margot is involved in every aspect of university and community life, it seems. Margot and Hayden also visited us twice while we lived in Malawi, and they, too, felt such a strong tie to the people and the challenge to work with them toward improvement. They definitely have impact! It was hard to believe, at times, that we now were visiting them in “our Malawi”. We also found AIDS everywhere. Everywhere. For those there, is may seem the same, as the progression of the pandemic is incremental. But, being away for one year this time, it was astounding. The good news is that AIDS in now “on the table”. There is no absence of knowledge surrounding the disease – its cause, its communication, the impact on community. But acting on that knowledge to reduce the risk remains still almost impossible. People are dying. Kids are orphans. For example, those of you who followed by emails may remember the Jere’s, “. . . just very blessed” when their brother’s four orphaned children came to live with them. Well, they are “. . .just very blessed” again, now with an additional two that have come from another relative. The hospital administrator is dead, the lead accountant is so very sick, the administrative secretary is failing, a medical assistant has passed, nurses worry, sisters, fathers, uncles are “slim”, six year olds are frail. They all have AIDS. It just makes you so sad. We were with Lillian, our beloved medical student, for much of our visit. For those who sponsor her, you have made a wise investment. She is remarkable, as she takes on her program without a proper pre- medical education and is competing for top position in her class. She, a widow, some will remember, has a new love interest, a fifth- year medical student, and they hope to marry and come to Embangweni to work and live. And the many students that are sponsored by so many of you. They are flourishing! A new procedure has been established so that we now can forward their monies via the Synod, to ensure that they are properly funded for each of their terms. Only one year to go for the Fabulous Five, originally at Livingstonia. I’m betting that all qualify to go on! Additional troubling news is that Dr. Alex and Carolyn MacClean have rather abruptly returned to Scotland. Zander, their little four year old, has had confirmed some serious developmental delays. They have gone home to seek the proper educational situation for him, and it is probable that they won’t be able to return to mission service, as schooling is likely to pose challenges for them that Malawi might not be able to address. So. . .Embangweni is down to one Malawian doctor, Domasani, who is ever so capable and committed, but there is a limit to his ability to keep up. Our colleague Martha Sommers, with whom we lived initially when arriving in Embangweni, is possibly able to provide 3 months of relief, on loan from Ekwendeni, but much is in question about how to staff Embangweni. Yes, we are tempted. No, we can’t go. You see, the very day we learned, for sure, that Alex and Carolyn would leave we learned that Jon and Mary Bennett are expecting Baby Poehlman. That was the sign I required to know that we are needed here a while more, but we do not rule out a return to Malawi sometime in the future, particularly if need remains so great. We’re still not clear on what we wish to communicate with you about our recent visit – except to say that we have again witnessed ‘grace’ by knowing these lovely people who will die too soon. Pray for AIDS research to find answers. Pray that drug companies continue to make available to more and more people affordable drugs. Pray for the legislation that will allow Global AIDS funding to be released to African nations, including Malawi. Pray that people don’t suffer, when wasting away. Pray for orphans to be safe and loved. I close with this poem, published recently in a new anthology of Malawian writing, written by a secondary school teacher, John E. B. Matope, now dead from AIDS, 2002. Hoes wear outNot because of farmingBut digging graves Hymns are learntNot in churchesBut at graveyards Hospitals are thereNot for healing peopleBut keeping them to die At the end of the dayThe coffin seller
Has a happy profit Lord, we cry to YouEvery day every nightHear our prayers, Lord