Becky is a new volunteer at AHAm and we are thrilled to have her time, interest, partnership, & experience!
Becky and her family moved to Lilongwe with her family last summer for her husband’s job. This is their first time living overseas although Becky has previously gone on a medical service trip to Romania, and volunteered for two months in St. Lucia right after completing Physical Therapy school.
Becky (left), pictured here with her husband and their two children.
She has two teenage children who have transitioned well to Malawi’s school system and a whole new way of living. Becky is a pediatric Physical Therapist, and has worked for many years in the medical profession. After settling into Lilongwe, she was looking for a Lilongwe-based organization that was improving the local healthcare system.
Becky first found AHA on Instagram, specifically seeing posts about Lyness, a little girl in Dedza who is unable to walk and needed a wheelchair to be able to attend school. An organization called Inspire Malawi, which focuses on education, was attempting to get Lyness the resources she need, and approached AHA, in order to assist with Lyness’ medical needs. After seeing these posts, and later posts about visiting surgical teams, Becky reached out to see if AHA had a need for a local volunteer on a weekly basis.
When Becky first met AHA’s Program Manager Angela, Angela was preparing for the arrival of the colostomy reversal team by updating the Patient Interview forms. Together, they transferred the Patient Interview form into a Google Form to allow for immediate access to patient data. A few weeks later, when the surgical team arrived, Becky, with the help of a translator and the new Google Form, interviewed post-op patients. Seeing how the hospital system works in Malawi was fulfilling and rewarding for her, and she loves hearing patient stories. She also helped Angela bring the lunch food from AHA offices to the hospital, which helped improve her Malawian driving!
Given her experience with pediatric Physical Therapy, AHA is very excited Becky is scheduled to meet Lyness in person later this month. She is looking forward to working with Lyness and her family, and Lyness’ local teacher to see how she can improve access to her house and school. Being out in the community and serving patients is meaningful, and Becky is looking forward to working with AHA and Angela for the duration of her stay in Malawi!