Welcome! It’s hard to believe I’ve only been here a couple of months, it honestly feels like a lifetime since my teary goodbye to the family at Heathrow to begin the next chapter of my life in Myanmar. I have even become acclimatized to the weather and so I, like the locals, am feeling the ‘cold’ during these winter months of 30 C/85 F!
Although I’m getting the occasional bout of missing home and my colleagues at Birmingham Hospital, I absolutely love my placement in the Natmauk Township and have been welcomed with open arms by all – wherever I go I’m always greeted with a big smile and “mingalaba” (hello).
My lovely new home
Thank you so much for standing side by side with me from the UK with your loyal support. To give you a real sense of what I am doing here, I thought I’d make an account of my average day at the moment.
My kitchen equipment
First stop – tea!
At around 5am I am awoken by the distant ringing of the monastery bells, which is usually synchronised with the many birds noticing their reflections in my bedroom window. The chiming of the bells, the tapping of the birds in addition to the children of the neighbouring hostels reciting prayers beautifully is my alarm clock.
Just as I would in England, my first action of the day is to put the kettle on! With every footstep on the cold tiled floor I hope the power is not out so I can make my essential pick-me-up of tea and porridge.
It’s off to work I go
After breakfast is finished I make my journey to work. I have an office based in the Maternal and Child Health Centre within the township. I make the 15 minute journey by bicycle, with the basket laden with textbooks, notepads and my trusty laptop.
The first part of the journey sees me cycling along small rural lanes, which are covered in sand and often occupied by cows, ox, chickens, pigs and the occasional child running late for school. Once I have navigated this I enter the main road. Actually, one of only two main roads that run through the township. A major achievement for me so far has been remembering to cycle on the right…. As well as making sure I don’t fall off!
Observing the midwives is key
At the time I felt a little frustrated about my limited involvement at the start of the project, but in retrospect, it was the right thing to do and the relationship I have with the midwives is one of mutual trust and respect; which may not have been gained otherwise. Once I get to work, I spend my day watching how the midwives currently care for their patients, which is an essential part of my placement. A big part of the training VSO gave me before I left the UK was to spend a long time settling in to local culture and customs, observing practices, and most importantly building relationships with colleagues.
In fact, since then the midwives have taken the lead and asked for my opinions. They’ve started to begin discussions on maternity cases they were managing and concerns they had. We discuss the situation and I support the midwives in their decision making, and also with my clinical skills. I must admit I was met with some initial trepidation from the midwives regarding my motives for being here, especially as I am the first ever VSO volunteer in the township. I was really keen to show them I am only here to help as much as they wanted me to, so I plucked up the courage to speak up in a big meeting and show that I was approachable. I’m so glad I did - I became a member of the team instantly.
My next steps
It is fascinating to see how the midwives in Myanmar are working with limited resources and are able to serve their community incredibly well to keep women and their babies happy and healthy. It never ceases to amaze me just how much the midwives do here, and how well they are able to do it considering the conditions in which they work.
Now my colleagues are happy to pick my brains about improving care, I am starting to plan and prepare a refresher training course for midwives in the region.
I am truly loving my work in Natmauk – yes, there are a lot of challenges and frustrating days, but the enthusiasm and warm welcome I am constantly surrounded by makes all of it worth it tenfold. Thank you so, so much for supporting VSO volunteers with your wonderful donations, and I can’t wait to keep you updated with what’s around the corner.
Love,
Sam
