'Madzi
Ndi Moyo, Samalani Mijigo - Water is Life, take good care of
the boreholes'. All through the village of Ngonoonda, one can
hear the beautifully harmonic singing of some 20 Red Cross volunteers.
Through song, they teach villagers how to maintain the borehole,
donated by the Danish Red Cross, that provides clean water for
this community.
The children of Ngonoonda are fortunate to have access to clean
water, which is so vital to prevent the diseases to which they
are vulnerable, such as diarrhoea. Many children in Malawi are
not so lucky.
Malawi is among the poorest countries in the world and many
villages lack basic health care services. One in five children
dies before the age of five. Diarrhoea and malaria are the main
causes. One out of 100 women dies due to complications while
giving birth. On top of that, HIV/AIDS prevalence is high in
Malawi, about 15 per cent.
The lack of a good basic health care system has a tremendous
negative effect not only on the health and happiness of the
people in Malawi, but also the country’s economy. Sick
and weak people are less productive, and this has an impact
on an already alarmingly reduced food production.
Supported by the Danish Red Cross, the Malawi Red Cross Society
provides basic health care in seven villages in Dedza, a district
of some 45,000 people, 85 km from the capital Lilongwe. The
needs are high in Dedza.
“Due to AIDS, we have lost many adults - people who need
to take care of the fields, of our children, of education. Many
of the children you see here are orphans,” explains Cecilia
Kulemeka, chairperson of the Dedza Red Cross division.
“There’s only food for about six months. The other
months, people go hungry,” she adds.
Ngonoonda is one of the villages that receives aid from the
Red Cross, such as the borehole that ensures a supply of clean
water. A borehole is vulnerable to contamination and maintenance
is of vital importance. The Red Cross therefore provides training
on a regular basis.
By singing, Red Cross volunteers, most of whom are women, explain
how to dismantle the borehole, what pieces are most important
and how to replace them. “We teach the women how to take
care of the boreholes,” explains Christopher Zulu, a Red
Cross worker for many years. “Mostly, women fetch water.
If I did that, people would think my wife had left me!”
he adds teasingly.
Songs are also used to teach people about AIDS, a very important
message in Malawi where about one million people are affected
by the virus. In a play, children and adults learn what AIDS
is, how it is transmitted and what you must do to protect yourself.
“As most of them cannot read or write, singing is the
way for them to remember,” says Cecilia Kulemeka. Today,
they learn about the risk of letting your daughter become a
prostitute. They all laugh as the daughter, who has fallen ill
with AIDS, is taken away by a bicycle ambulance to the nearest
hospital. Alas, for some of them it is the harsh reality.
The Malawi Red Cross will soon be able to take their message
to other places. Thanks to a donation from the Dutch Postcode
Lottery, the Netherlands Red Cross will be working with the
Malawi Red Cross to implement the same kind of programme in
Dowa and Kasungu, two of the country’s poorest districts.
The programme will include building basic health care centres
to monitor child development, building boreholes, providing
materials and training for traditional midwives and a home based
care programme for people living with AIDS. Through this programme,
some 200,000 people will benefit from basic health care.
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As
it is traditionally the women who fetch the water, it
is they who are shown how to maintain the borehole, how
to dismantle it, what peices are important and how to
replace them (p11350)
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Due
to the lack of basic health care services in Malawi, one
in five children dies before the age of five (p11354)
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Christopher
Zulu trains Red Cross volunteers in borehole maintenance
(p11355)
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Children
and adults learn about HIV/AIDS through theatre and song
(p11353)
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