The Thrasher and the Malaria Boots

 Harry, our gardener, came walking toward our open kitchen window, saying softly, "Madam?" From our living room, we could see him as he approached, so George and I walked to greet him. Although Harry doesn't speak English well, he certainly knows more English than we do Chichewa, and he is not afraid to piece together the words he knows to communicate.

He came to make two requests of us related to his work. He wanted a new thrasher, a tool with a hook-like blade and a short handle which is used for cutting grass. He said his old one is broken. His second request was for a pair of rubber boots.

The first time we met Harry and his family, he was wearing a pair of worn out, black patent leather women's flats with a little white flower on each side. Neither his wife nor children had shoes. More often than not, we have seen Harry barefoot. He told us that he is afraid of contracting malaria while doing yard work during the rainy season, and that is why he needed the boots. Harry believed that malaria is contracted by getting wet or sweating while working in the field.

Before moving to Malawi, we did a lot of research that would help us teach the women in the rural villages how to keep their families healthier. We had learned that there are several common misunderstandings about malaria, and what Harry was expressing was one of them. Another common misunderstanding, as strange as it may seem, is that eating mangos can cause malaria.

Harry and thousands of others in the rural villages around Zomba need to be taught what causes malaria and steps that can be taken to prevent it. People certainly cannot make wise choices or act responsibly without this knowledge.

For example, we have been to many wells with stagnant, dirty water pooled around them. When we repair wells, we always share with the people the importance of digging a soak pit to collect the runoff.

A gravel filled soak pit at the end of a well runoff channel or where a woman washes dishes keeps water from collecting and stagnating and becoming a place where mosquitoes breed. Dealing properly with runoff is a simple way the people in the village can cut down the cases of malaria.

The training we offer is one of the tools God has given us to care for the needs of the people of rural Malawi and helps to save lives. That is one of the reasons we are here.