Cycling and Shooting in Dedza

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(Kani, Cassandra, Todd, and Amy)

What a week! Malawi hosted the Regional Strategic Information (SI) Meeting – which probably means nothing to most of you. But, it was a fabulous opportunity for information sharing and knowledge transfer in the fields of Monitoring and Evaluation, Informatics and Surveillance (wow – this sounds just like my dissertation topic).

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(Bridge along the ride)

SI persons from 19 African nations descended upon Lilongwe to share lessons learned and best (and sometimes, worst) practices. We have so much to learn from one another – yet rarely have an occasion to hear from our neighboring countries. Plus, it’s important to build relationships with your counterparts – nothing compares to face-to-face interactions.

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(Malawi College of Forestry)

I presented on my work related to Health Management Information Systems – and even took the Director of SI – PEPFAR on a site visit to Lighthouse to see the Electronic Data System operating in the field. We are trying to secure millions of dollars for this project and truly welcomed the opportunity to showcase the work that we’ve been doing in this tiny part of Africa.

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(Love Life Youth Center)

By the time the weekend rolled around, I was more than ready to take some time for myself. I’ve been getting back into mountain bike riding these last few weeks. Last weekend, I met some friends in Bunda and cycled around the villages in the countryside. It was reminiscent of my cycling days in Jamaica and brought back fond memories.

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(Mother and Child)

This weekend, we piled the bikes in the car and headed to Dedza to cycle the trails throughout the Forest Reserve. Once again, I was reminded how much I love being on my bike, navigating the terrain on two wheels. Granted, some of the ride was a bit technical – and my skills are definitely lacking. The fear of falling kept me at minimum speeds for a good portion of the ride, but we all had a great time.

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(Beautiful smile)

I also managed to arrange my schedule so that I could ride in the morning and conduct a photo shoot in the afternoon. Concern Universal (the same organization that hired me last year), met me in Dedza and drove me along the ‘border district’ to shoot some of their youth projects in HIV.

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The drive was interesting, with the right side of the road Malawi and on the left, Mozambique. I was extremely curious about border issues (especially since immigration is such a controversial topic in the US). The Mozambican’s are not included in Malawi’s census, yet they access all of their health services. However, for al intents and purposes the area is really considered one big village.

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Again, I was in my element as I shot away. For the first time in a long while, I truly felt happy. If only that moment would last…
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Please continue to keep in touch. I really enjoy hearing from all of you!

Much love,
Amy

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