In a few hours, Aakash and I will depart from Houston to make our long voyage to Blantyre, Malawi. There we will meet up with our fellow interns Caleb, Carissa and Jacinta, before we start our work at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital. Among the two of us we have four more suitcases with BTB technology and materials to supplement those already brought by our fellow interns. After weeks of anticipation and preparation, it is very exciting to be so close to departure.

In the past few weeks, I have been working with a number of other students to develop the devices and materials that we will be bringing with us today. Karen, Truce and Joao from this spring’s GLHT 360 class have been helping me to prepare two different designs of a binary thermometer that would be given to mothers so that they can see when their child has a fever. Both thermometers use liquid crystals which change colors at certain temperatures. They each have two different crystals- one that changes color at a normal body temperature, and another at a fever temperature. Our aim with these devices is to test the usability and accuracy, so that we can see if they would be a viable resource to mothers in Malawi. At home, I also designed some chalkboards that QECH could use to keep track of the use of the bCPAP on neonates over time. Because most neonates require CPAP therapy for extended periods of time, it would be helpful for the nurses to have a method to keep track of a patient’s vital signs and response to CPAP over time. The chalkboards are designed to be a simple way to monitor patients over a period of 24 hours, so that any progress or deterioration of their condition can be observed.

The AxillaProbe thermometer

The LCTemp thermometer

In my spare time, I have also been reading up on some of the culture in Malawi and Africa in general. I really enjoyed Uwen Akpan’s book Say You’re One of Them, which is a series of short stories that illustrate hardship and poverty across all of Africa. I also read Dambisa Moyo’s book Dead Aid, which is a narrative of financial aid given to Africa and how despite its purpose as a crutch to less developed nations, it can often serve only to cripple economic structure. I have a few more books for my long flights to Blantyre, some of which are about Malawi specifically. I look most forward to reading I Will Try by Legson Kayira, which is the true story of a young Malawian boy who walked over 2,500 miles in order to pursue an education in America.

I can’t wait to start my journey and see Blantyre, our lodgings the Cure House, and Queen Elizabeth’s! I have no doubt that I am about to embark on an experience that will prove so meaningful to me, and hopefully to others as well.