This past week, the other interns and I got the rip bCPAPs apart, piece by piece. This may seem strange since we are supposed to be promoting the bCPAP, not dismantling it. But recently, a new version of bCPAP came in from the manufacturers, so we needed to decommission the old machines to make room for the new ones. Our colleagues just came back from visiting the district hospitals and returned with a load of old bCPAPs that had no use anymore.

Mid-Decommisson of a bCPAP

But instead of just trashing them, which would likely be the practice in the US, we decided to get as much use out of them as possible. If we took them apart, then we knew we would be able to find a use for each and every piece.

We talked to the electrical engineering department at the Malawi Polytechnic University, who wanted the flowmeters, tube fittings, screws, switches, and some sheet metal casings from the dismantled machines for their design kitchen. We got an estimate from a scrap metal yard to take the rest of the casings, which we would put right back into funding the bCPAP project. We went to a plastic yard to see what we could get for the tubing and pumps. Sadly, there wasn’t enough plastic for them to buy, but they wanted to support the hospital in any way they could, so the manager donated “as many buckets as one could wish for” to hospital. The hospital is always in need of supplies, so this was much appreciated. We didn’t go in the plastics yards for free supplies, but what a bonus! In addition, there were a lot of parts that didn’t change between models, so everything else could be used for spare parts for the new machines. In a low-resource setting like Malawi, replacing broken parts on machines can be difficult/near impossible, so these spare parts are vital to keeping the bCPAPs up and running.

Old bCPAPs on their way to the metal yard feat. Kinsey

This whole process of taking these machines apart and repurposing each piece reminded me so much of how Native Americans would treat a buffalo. One animal for food, clothes, tools, you name it. Every part is used, not a thing wasted!

P.S. The title may or may not be a reference to a certain sequel to a Disney Channel Original Movie musical.

P.P.S. To all concerned, it’s from the fun-loving song “Fabulous” from High School Musical 2.