We started preparing for Malawi in April 2018. Immediately after accepting the position, we began being bombarded with information. First, I met the other Malawi interns: Angela, Akshaya, Franklin, Sajel and Kristofer. (Angela, Franklin and I are all from Brown!). We then began working together to figure out what needed to be done in the two months before the trip. Mainly, we had to 1) Go to the doctor, 2) Make travel plans 3) Prepare the medical devices 4) PackWe started preparing for Malawi in April 2018. Immediately after accepting the position, we began being bombarded with information. First, I met the other Malawi interns: Angela, Akshaya, Franklin, Sajel and Kristofer. (Angela, Franklin and I are all from Brown!). We then began working together to figure out what needed to be done in the two months before the trip. Mainly, we had to 1) Go to the doctor, 2) Make travel plans 3) Prepare the medical devices 4) Pack

 

1) The first thing we took care of was all of our shots. Akshaya, Franklin, Akshaya and I bonded over our trip to Passport Health. We all had to get at least 2 shots (Typhoid, yellow fever) and malaria pills. I also made appointments to the dentist, the general doctor, and the optometrist.

2) Next, we met up with Dr. Leauteud to make travel plans. We all bought tickets to Houston from home and then to Malawi so that we could travel together. We also arranged housing plans for the two weeks after finals that we would be staying at Rice to prepare the medical devices. Next we met with a previous intern, Erik Wu, to learn more about Malawi. He was able to give us great advice on the culture and the environment in Malawi. His advice really helped us to pack clothes and other supplies. Erik was nice enough to make an entire guide for us in exchange for a bottle of Malawian hot sauce!!!

3) Six medical device projects (mostly focusing on neonatal and maternal care) were chosen to travel to Malawi. Since we had to recreate many of the devices split up the medical devices among the six of us. I took charge of working on the Cervical Cancer Training Kit with Sajel since I had worked on the project and knew a lot about it. The Cervical Cancer Training Kit is a low cost, interactive, and accurate medical mannequin of a woman’s pelvis. The purpose of the device is to train medical personnel to screen for cervical cancer. The model is made of low cost materials using 3D printing, and laser cutting. We had to make 3 more prototypes and fix 3 existing prototypes in two weeks. With dedication and planning, we were able to finish just before going home. We packed the models as well as we could (using bubble wrap, tape and boxes). Hopefully they will make it to Malawi in one piece (a great durability test)!

4) I went home for two weeks. In those two weeks I spent time with my family and I began packing for Malawi. It was really difficult to pack since there was a lot of things I wanted to bring and only two suitcases. After several lists and shopping trips, I was ready to go to Malawi.

 

 

I am very excited to see what Malawi is like! I have an idea in my head of what it will be like and I’m excited to see how it compares to real life Malawi. I’m also really looking forward to working on our projects and beginning new ones after needs finding at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. After today, I will post updates every week on Sunday.