Eye opening experience
Shannon LeClair – Times Reporter
As a part of a health sciences class, 18 students from the University of Lethbridge went to Malawi, Africa for 23 days. Students fundraised and managed to get a few scholarships, but the students covered most of the cost.
The program is run through the museum of Malawi and students went there to teach about HIV and malaria. This was only the second time people were sent out there, and though they were still in Africa, they went to different communities. Leandra Krywcun, a Langdon resident, is a third year nursing student and was one of the students who went on the trip. “It was amazing, really eye opening, and just a different experience, like nothing you could ever imagine. What you read and hear doesn’t really prepare you for it,” said Krywcun. “I think it’s out of sight, out of mind here and people don’t think about how they (Africans) can’t afford to eat, and are still battling diseases that we beat years ago.”
Most of the houses there don’t have doors, they don’t have electricity, or running water, bathrooms are outhouses, they sleep on the floor, they cook over fire, they don’t have stoves, fridges or freezers. They grow a lot of food and then head to the market to sell it for items they can’t grow.
“Corn flour and water is their main dish, it looks like porridge and has no flavour but it’s filling,” said Krywcun. The group, which included two teachers, didn’t really travel around by themselves because they caused too much of a stir, but Krywcun said everyone was friendly and grateful to have them there. HIV is one of the biggest problems there, and malaria is another leading illness and cause of death.
“There’s a lot of misconception about how it spreads, so we were trying to break some of those myths and give them a good understanding of how they can prevent it,” said Krywcun. The group mostly spoke to younger kids, wanting to reach them and educate them before they become sexually active.
“The sense of family and sense of stress free life they live there is really amazing, I think they have a lot to teach us as well. It was a bewildering experience to realize how fortunate we are and how much we take for granted.”