June 25, 2023:

Hey everyone, it’s Pranav again! I’m writing to you from Blantyre, Malawi: the Warm Heart of Africa! Our first week in Malawi has been amazing, and I’m finally feeling like I’ve gotten my bearings in Blantyre. 

Our Plane at O.R. Tambo Int’l Airport, Johannesburg

Earlier this week, we departed from Houston on the long, 40+ hour journey to Malawi. After a short stop at Atlanta and a restful overnight layover at Johannesburg, Alex and I finally touched down at Chileka International Airport. There, we met Hillary, Sally, and Waliko, who enthusiastically greeted us and helped us with our luggage. The first thing I noticed about Malawi was the striking mountains surrounding us in all directions. That, and the fact that you drive on the opposite side of the road. We decided to drop all our belongings off at Kabula Lodge before heading to the Design Studio at MUBAS. The rest of the day involved a whirlwind of introductions, a short tour around the city (Hillary showed us a nice place to grab some coffee), and shopping for our stay at Blantyre. 

Meeting Sally, Waliko, and Hillary at the Airport.

The next day, we woke up to a beautiful view of the sunrise while having some breakfast (the pancakes were delicious) at Kabula Lodge. When we arrived at the design studio, we met four other interns—Getrude, Arnold, Joyce, and Nassan—who were doing the MUBAS engineering internship. We then went right into our project work: I was paired with Sally while Alex was paired with Waliko. As a previous team at MUBAS had worked on the IV drip project before, we reviewed their documentation and research in order to understand the scope of the project. Our goal was to build off of the previous team’s work by integrating a drip monitoring system and a flow rate control mechanism with a touch-screen display and the cloud.

View from Kabula Lodge during Breakfast

Front Entrance of MUBAS

On Friday, we took part in a workshop led by one of the design studio technicians about building and printing custom circuit boards. It was my first time ever using circuit boards, so it was intriguing to learn the basics behind circuits and create our own circuit system. The workshop made me excited for all the new techniques and concepts that I would be learning over the next couple of weeks in Malawi.

Printable Circuit Board Workshop

Before we knew it, our first weekend in Malawi was upon us. We spent Saturday exploring nearby sites around town, such as the Blantyre market and the Bean There Coffee Roastery. We also grabbed some lunch at KwaHaraba Café, which had been highly recommended by previous travelers to Malawi. The café was decorated with local artwork and crafts that depicted the beauty of Malawi. On Sunday, we did our first of many road trips—this time to the Zomba Plateau. We went with Sally and Waliko, and met up with one of their classmates, Tom, at Zomba. Tom showed us around town, giving us a tour through the University of Malawi and highlighting the various administrative buildings (Zomba once used to be the capital city). He then took us up to the top of the plateau, passing by many scenic viewpoints with breathtaking views on the way. Driving through Zomba while blasting some African music was an amazing way to get to know Sally, Waliko, and Tom better. 

KwaHaraba Cafe

A Dam at Zomba Plateau

Williams Falls at Zomba Plateau

As the weekend comes to a wrap, I’m looking forward to learning more designing basics for my projects, from learning how to use Arduino IDE to wiring together sensors and motors. 

Until next time!

Pranav

Hey y’all! 

It has been a few weeks since my last post – we have just been so busy since arriving in Malawi! To keep the posts from getting too long, I will be splitting the last 4 weeks into two posts.

Week 2 of the internship was our last week in Houston. We wrapped up orientation with a few more workshops, a networking lunch, and the final preparations for travel. Before our final review together, all of the interns were surprised by a trip to an escape room! Unfortunately, we were unable to escape, but I’d like to think that the team did very well given the technical difficulties we encountered. Finally, we ended the week with a delicious team dinner at Hungry’s in Rice Village. It was quite bittersweet since the end of orientation meant that all of the interns would be splitting up to different parts of the world, but at the same time, we were all so eager to dive into our projects. After a weekend of packing, all of the interns gathered at the BRC on Monday morning for a final sendoff. The long journey to Blantyre had begun!

Forty hours later, with an overnight layover in Johannesburg, Pranav and I touched down in Malawi. The customs process went smoothly, and once we picked up our bags, we met Hillary, Waliko, and Sally in the airport. After we made our introductions, Hillary drove everyone through Blantyre, stopping briefly at the design studio at MUBAS and a few other places in town that would be useful during our stay. My first afternoon in Malawi had been exciting, almost overwhelming, and after almost two days traveling, we finally settled in at Kabula Lodge.

The next morning, we woke up early to catch the shuttle from Kabula to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (Queens). Since it was our first day, the bus driver, Paul, was so kind and offered to drop us off directly at MUBAS – normally it is about a 10 minute walk. Upon arrival at the design studio, we were introduced to the four other interns, Gertrude, Arnold, Joyce, and Nasson, and the technicians who would be working alongside us throughout the summer. Sally and Waliko also gave us a tour of the campus as well as the nearby shops and places to eat. They were all so friendly and gave us so many tips and tricks for getting around in the city!

We spent the rest of the week familiarizing ourselves with our projects, and before we knew it, the weekend had arrived! Pranav and I spent Saturday visiting the Blantyre Market, walking through the city to see the Bean There coffee roastery, and stopping by KwaHaraba Art Gallery and Cafe for lunch and some coffee and tea. The main event of the weekend was a trip we had planned with Sally and Waliko to Zomba. Although it was only a day trip, we got to see so much! Once we arrived in Zomba, we met up with one of Sally and Waliko’s classmates, Tom – since MUBAS was on winter break, he was staying at his family’s home in Zomba. He showed us around the beautiful campus of the University of Malawi (formerly called Chancellor College) which is the largest in Malawi. Then, he drove us up the winding road to the top of the plateau soaking in the breathtaking views along the way. Everything was somewhat impromptu, but we had such an amazing first weekend with our new friends!

Several weeks in, it still feels surreal that we are here in Malawi. However, I’ve gradually been adjusting to life in this vibrant country. From the moment of our arrival, the phrase “The Warm Heart of Africa” has echoed in my ears, and I can confidently say that Malawi lives up to its reputation. All of the people I have met have been incredibly kind and welcoming, making me feel at home from the moment I got here. Waking up each morning at Kabula Lodge, I can look out over Blantyre and the mountains in the distance with a warm cup of coffee and a stack of delicious pancakes. At the time of writing this, we are already at the tail-end of the internship, and I have been able to learn so much in just a few weeks. There’s still so much to discover and learn, and I couldn’t be more thrilled about the experiences that lie ahead. Thanks for reading!

Alex

 

Featured Image: View from breakfast at Kabula Lodge

Hi y’all!

Since this is my first post of the summer, I wanted to make a brief introduction. My name is Alex David and I am a rising senior from Will Rice College majoring in BioSciences and in Sports Medicine & Exercise Physiology, and I am minoring in Global Health Technologies. Outside of academics, I am the president of the Rice Men’s Club Volleyball team, and I try to find any chance I can get to play, either on the beach or on an indoor court. I also love all things coffee, whether it is trying to brew the perfect cup, exploring local coffee shops, or chatting with other “javaphiles” about our shared love for coffee.

I’m looking forward to this internship in Malawi because of the new perspectives I will engage with and for the opportunity to learn from a low-resource healthcare setting. I hope to make the most of this experience and will be making weekly posts and updates on this blog!

Over the last few weeks, Pranav (the other US intern traveling to Malawi), and I have been getting ready for our departure next Monday. It has been a whirlwind of flight planning, vaccines, VISA applications. This past week was my first week back at Rice, and the other Rice360 interns and I have split our time between the OEDK and the BRC setting goals and making preparations for the rest of the internship.

I will be working with Waliko, an intern from Malawi, on two projects. Our first project is on an infant transport incubator so that babies are kept warm as they are moved around the hospital. This project is still in the early stages, and much of our work will be conducting needs-finding at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital. Our second project is a little bit further along in the design process, and we will be working on prototypes for NESTation, a low-cost solution capable of storing, charging, and sanitizing handheld medical devices in low-resource settings.

I have also set some personal goals for myself for the summer. Entering into an unfamiliar environment is often difficult, and I know that sometimes, it is easy to stick to doing what I am comfortable with. I want to keep myself accountable for pushing that boundary, and making connections with the individuals that I will be working alongside. I have so much to learn from this experience and will get the most out of it by adopting an open mindset and by not being afraid to ask questions. Finally, I want to have fun! While my main purpose in Malawi is to work, I will be exposed to a new culture and environment, and chances to immerse myself in a culture different from back home are often rare in a lifetime.

Although we have a long trip ahead of us, I can’t wait to hit the ground running in Malawi next week!

Thanks for reading my post!
Alex