Thondwe, Malawi … In the village areas of Malawi the women bend at the waist in order to stir black pots filled with white maize mixed to a porridge consistency. Fire blackens the old pots as the flames lap up from the wood or .jpg)
charcoal cooking fire, and smoke fills the eyes of those trying to prepare the meal.
While most people cook this way in the village it is usually expected that when one goes to the hospital there will be better facilities available for the caregivers to prepare meals. In almost every case relatives or neighbors must travel to the hospital with the patient in order to cook for them. They remain outside the facility during the entire stay of the patient. If they do not remain there to assist and feed them the patient will go without food. There are just not enough funds to extend food service to the patients.
Births Jump Thirty Percent
At the Namikango Hospital in Thondwe a large number of improvements have taken place in the past two years, not the least of all is the fact that Namikango has become a major medical distribution site for the Malawi Project in the southern part of Malawi. Millions of dollars in aid is passing through the facility as supplies move rapidly to other parts of the nation from a remodeled church building turned supply warehouse. In addition to the improvements the government has credentialed the hospital to assist government hospitals in the area in the delivery of babies. When this took place several months ago the number of babies being born at Namikango increased by approximately 30%.
It was enough to turn my Stomach
However, one area that has not seen improvement is the dilapidated building used by the caregivers to assist in cooking meals for the patients. The current building long ago fell into disarray and the needed funding has not been available to fix the structure. During a recent visit to the facility Mike Ferris, a member of the Malawi Project Board of Directors observed, "When you see a mama holding her new born baby then think, these mothers, with weakened immune systems, after just enduring the physical trauma of childbirth, receive their food from this kitchen, which is exposed to all the 
outdoor elements, flies, mosquitoes, bird droppings from the birds that sit on the crossbeams in the shelter it was enough to turn my stomach. We have to make it a priority to get a new facility built for these people!"
This facility is one of the new target programs of the Malawi Project for 2009. Plans call for seeking needed funding to construct a modern facility where family members can prepare meals for patients in a neat, clean environment.
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