In this week’s blog article, we talk to Cellina Samson, a lead farmer from Mantchondo village in Dowa District. Cellina shares her farming journey and experience for the 2023/24 farming season. Visit today’s blog article and read Cellina’s story and how she is crossing the bridge of uncertainty, one step at a time.
World Malaria Day 2024
The Fight Against Malaria in Rural Malawi
Author: Praises Padambo
Commemorating World Malaria Day 2024
It is a beautiful Monday morning and everyone is busy. Whilst school children are going to school, business people are getting to their businesses and others are going to work, our medical team is also arriving on our campus, ready to assist hundreds of patients who have already arrived hoping for assistance.
As the medical team is preparing to start treating patients, a young mother is seen getting off a motorcycle, rushing to a clinician’s room. “Adokotala ndithandizeni! Mwana wanga akungokomoka,” meaning “Doctor please assist me! My son is convulsing!” she says.
Our clinician rushes and assists the 11 month baby and in no time, the baby is getting better.
Baby Praise, from Kalonga village in Kasese, is diagnosed with severe Malaria and is referred to another healthcare institution where he is admitted for further medical care.
What is Malaria?
Malaria is an acute febrile illness caused by Plasmodium parasites, which are spread to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. Some signs of malaria include: fever, chills, headache, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea. Much as malaria is deadly, it is also preventable and curable.
Malaria is very dangerous in children, especially those under the age of five and in worst cases, repeated attacks can cause chronic anaemia, jaundice, and hepatosplenomegaly.
Malaria is a WASH related disease
Mostly, when we think and talk of malaria prevention, we often focus on the use of mosquito nets and medical treatments. There is a lesser-known story of the fact that malaria is a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene related disease. Malaria is a WASH related issue because water, sanitation and hygiene play a big role in the transmission as well as the prevention of the disease. Poor sanitation practices including poor waste management, lack of proper latrines and lack of proper water management create ideal breeding sites for mosquitos which inturn increases the risk of malaria transmission. On the other hand, good sanitation practices go a long way in malaria prevention
Current Malaria State in Malawi
Currently Malawi is facing an outbreak of malaria which has resulted in our Kasese Health Centre and MOC clinics becoming quite crowded. This is unusual as mostly, the months between November and February are what are considered ‘Malaria season’ as there are a lot of breeding places for mosquitos due to rains, while later in the year the disease becomes less prevalent. Amidst the Malaria outbreak that Malawi is facing, there is also a challenge of lack of anti-malarial drugs that healthcare facilities are facing. However, with support from the Malawi government, healthcare teams are working tirelessly to treat Malaria cases and reinforcing preventative measures.
Willing to support malaria testing and treatment in Malawi? Please Contact our Lead Development Officer, Erin Hearn.
The Orant Journal
Improving Healthcare Services through Quality of Care Assessment
Last week, we were visited by the quality of care assessment team from Dowa District hospital. Read today's blog post to learn about how this exercise is important to us and the community we serve.
New Wheels from Orant’s Healthcare Program
We are always happy when our support brings a smile on peoples faces and changes their lives. In this week’s blog article, we are talking to Andrea Mwale, a 41 year old man from Chapuwala village in Kasese. Andrea shares his gratitude towards the support that our Healthcare program has recently provided to him.
Promoting Education Equality through Student Sponsorships
On Saturday, April 27, we are holding a Spring Bingo fundraiser in support of education in rural Malawi. Read today’s blog article to learn more about how your support will help in promoting education in rural Malawi.
Commemorating World Water Day 2024
Every year on the 22nd of March, the world commemorates World Water Day as a way of raising awareness of major water-related issues and to inspire action to tackle the water and sanitation crisis. This year’s World Water Day is themed “Water for Peace.” Read our blog article to learn more about what our WASH program is doing to promote peace and foster harmony.
Women’s History Month with FEM for Women
Every year, March is designated Women’s History Month. In this month, we honour and celebrate women’s contributions to history and contemporary society. In today's blog, we talk with women from our FEM program, and they highlight the roles they play in their families and Kasese community. Read the blog article to learn more!
Urbanisation in Malawi: MW2063 Pillar #3
As we have discussed in some of our past blogs, Malawi Vision 2063 has three key pillars that guide the focus of the Vision. These three pillars are meant to build on each other to create the inclusively wealthy and self-reliant nation that they envision. In this blog, we will look at the third pillar of MW2063: Urbanisation.
The Life of a Subsistence Farmer in Rural Malawi
In Malawi, there is a famous saying that goes “Chuma chili mu nthaka” meaning “there is money in farming,” or in other words, “wealth lies in farming.” This saying is true for Malawi as farming is the backbone of the economy, with 85% of the population highly dependent on it. However, as much as most Malawians are involved in agriculture, they suffer persistent food shortages. This is because many smallholder farmers depend on rainfed and low-cost subsistence farming to meet their food needs. In this week’s article, we will explore what the life of a subsistence farmer looks like in the rural part of Malawi, in Dowa district near Orant’s headquarters.
School Surveys Lead to Better Learning Outcomes
Data is one of the most important tools in all our programs as it helps us measure whether our programs are making an impact or when it’s time for change. For the past three weeks, our Education program has been surveying schools in our catchment area. Check out today’s blog to learn more about how this survey is going to contribute to our Education program.
How big is Malawi?
How big is Malawi? How does Malawi compare to US states? Learn more here!