These are the 5 ways my internship has been like a Pumani CPAP machine:

1. It’s fairly simple: I didn’t bring a lot of technological knowledge or engineering education with me to Malawi. A lot of the work that has proven most helpful to the BTB team or to Queens has been very simple, such as designing a poster or typing up nursery register data. It isn’t revolutionary and it doesn’t take a genius to get the job done, but it is far more important for me to address the needs here than to try to suit this internship to my own personal growth. The brilliance of the Pumani machine is that it is very simple; it didn’t require a lot of complicated machinery or electronics that would make it too expensive for a place like Malawi. The CPAP meets a need, and that has always been my goal in this experience.
2. It has sometimes taken adjustments: In the BTB office there are many CPAP machines that have been brought in from the wards to be inspected and fixed. The problems they contain are varied; sometimes straightforward but other times slightly more subtle. There were many things I was unprepared for at my arrival to Blantyre, and there have been many other changes I have had to make in my perceptions or my work. I have modified projects based on their usefulness in the office or the wards, and as time has gone on my interactions with those around me have changed- even just the simple expansion of my chichewa vocabulary has made a large difference. The breaks in the CPAP machines are not reflective of an inability to deliver, and neither are the faults I find in my own actions. Changing a pump in a CPAP or changing a question in one of my tech surveys has sometimes been all it took to return everything to a fully functioning state.
3. It’s multifaceted: In my conversations with some of the CPAP nurses in the wards, I learned that often the nurseries will have more babies that need CPAP than they have machines available; they have to make a decision based on the chances of each child’s survival as to who gets hooked up. I have talked in previous posts about how without proper education and reminders, the CPAP can actually prove dangerous to life instead of protecting it. It’s easy to glance at the CPAP project and see a simple program with a straightforward goal. The purpose of the program is the same as that of my internship; to develop and deliver a life-saving device. The application of such a large and noble goal is inevitably more complicated than it’s definition. In my work, I have seen good ideas or promising technology that haven’t turned out as expected. Very few things are as uncomplicated as I initially think or plan for. It has been essential for me to remember in reference to my work’s multifaceted nature that regardless of any complications, the goal of the work and the integrity of that goal are unchanging.
4. It bears witness to a lot of hard work and perseverance: There are a lot of strong, intelligent, and diligent people working at Queens’ hospital. My interactions with the rest of the CPAP team, the nurses in the wards, and doctors and clinicians has been inspiring because of the dedication so many people have demonstrated to their work. While it has on occasion been hard for me to digest the conditions that are present even in Blantyre, the people I have met that care so strongly about what they do have made it easier to swallow. I know as well that the people behind the CPAP project are equally dedicated and motivated; it is evident in the way the program is run that it was built on giant’s shoulders. The people around me have been great inspiration and motivation to try to act with the same levels of care and diligence that they do.
5. It has pressure: This one may be kind of a reach, but it’s still true. The CPAP machine delivers positive pressure into a neonate’s lungs so that they are able to inflate them and get oxygen. My experience here has also delivered to me a similar positive pressure. You cannot just be a witness to such need and such hard work to fill that need. It would be a disservice to everyone that has sent me here to come home and let the things I have learned from this summer collect dust. Spending this time in Malawi has illuminated medical and technical opportunities that my next three years at Rice will give me the chance to fill. Now that I have seen the resources that exist and are still necessary to Queens, I am better prepared to try and contribute. This internship has been a privilege, but it comes with a responsibility to make a sustainable difference while I’m here, and make sustainable contributions to BTB and the CPAP program even after my departure.