FOR rural villagers in Malawi carrying heavy water buckets on their heads is a daily way of life.
Now an Edinburgh mother- of-three plans to raise awareness of their hardship by completing a similar balancing act during the tenth anniversary Great Scottish Walk.
Liz Hall, a teacher at Gilmerton Primary School, has been in training to cover the six-mile course with a full bucket on top of her head.
The 52-year-old intends to wear a cushion as padding in a bid to make the walk slightly less arduous during Sunday's event.
But unlike the skilled African villagers, Mrs Hall, who lives in Morningside, is not so certain she will avoid spilling a drop.
The learning support teacher will be heading to Malawi later this month to spend five weeks living with a family in a rural community.
She hopes to raise awareness of the struggles faced by people in Malawi, where some teachers and pupils in rural areas have to walk more than 12 miles just to reach their schools.
Mrs Hall will be one of around 10,000 people expected to take part in Sunday's walk, gathering at Meadowbank Stadium to complete one, six or 12 miles for their favourite charity.
Mrs Hall said: "I've not had a lot of time to practice, so I'm a bit worried about that, but I'm sure it will be fine. I'm going to try to rig up some kind of cushion for padding, and I'll have a couple of schoolchildren coming along to help me."
Her trip to Malawi has been organised by the charity Link Community Development, which works to provide better education for children in Ghana, Uganda, South Africa and Malawi itself.
As well as helping out at the village school, Mrs Hall fully expects to take her turn at the gruelling, but vital, water run to help supply the community.
She said: "I'm sure this will be good practice, as I've no doubt I'll have to do the water run when I'm over there. I wanted to do voluntary work abroad when I was younger, but the timing didn't seem right.
"When I saw the advert for this I thought I would go for it, and I am really looking forward to it. It will be basic, but I'm sure I will be well looked after. I go camping and hiking with kids a lot, so I'm used to doing without luxuries.
"The Great Scottish Walk seemed a good way to raise funds, but I also wanted to raise awareness, and when I thought about it this seemed a good idea."
Mrs Hall, who will be taking over books and gifts for the children, has also collected letters from pupils at Gilmerton to give to African youngsters during her stay. "All the children here seem really keen to learn more about it, and I'll hopefully be able to bring back letters from the Malawi pupils for them," she said.
"I'll also be taking lots of pictures and giving a talk on what life is like out there when I get back, as the charity is all about sharing skills and raising awareness."
Terry Crossley, organiser of the Great Scottish Walk, said: "Liz is a shining example of what can be achieved for a worthy cause by using a little bit of creativity and determination."
Leading the walk will be representatives from St Columbus Hospice and Capability Scotland, celebrating their 30th and 60th anniversaries respectively.
Over the past ten years, the annual event has raised more than £6 million for charities.
The route of the Great Walk follows a loop touching the Grassmarket, Princes Street Gardens and down to Ocean Terminal before making its way back to Meadowbank Stadium.
Lord Provost George Grubb, who will start the walk along with the George Watson Pipe Band, said: "The Great Scottish Walk offers the opportunity for the whole family to get involved and enjoy the party atmosphere of this well-supported event."
The Great Scottish Walk starts at 10.30am on Sunday. To make a donation to Liz Hall, visit www.justgiving.com/lizhall
Saturday, 9 June 2007
Two African leaders attend funeral of Malawi's president's wife
Two African presidents on Saturday joined thousands of Malawians at the funeral of Ethel Mutharika, wife of Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika, who died last month after a two-year fight with cancer.
Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and Tanzania's Jakaya Kikwete, with their wives and aides, travelled to Mutharika's estate at Ndata, 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the commercial capital Blantyre, where Ethel was buried in a colourful military ceremony.
Thousands of villagers lined the route from Blantyre to the estate, to pay their last respects to the woman Malawians fondly called the First Lady.
Former president Bakili Muluzi, at loggerheads with Mutharika in a power struggle, and current vice president Cassim Chilumpha, awaiting treason trial for an alleged attempt to assassinate the president, attended the ceremony, which lasted more than five hours.
Leaders of the country's powerful opposition, including John Tembo, also attended the funeral, which was broadcast live on state television and radio.
Ethel was married to Mutharika for 37 years. The couple had four children.
Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and Tanzania's Jakaya Kikwete, with their wives and aides, travelled to Mutharika's estate at Ndata, 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the commercial capital Blantyre, where Ethel was buried in a colourful military ceremony.
Thousands of villagers lined the route from Blantyre to the estate, to pay their last respects to the woman Malawians fondly called the First Lady.
Former president Bakili Muluzi, at loggerheads with Mutharika in a power struggle, and current vice president Cassim Chilumpha, awaiting treason trial for an alleged attempt to assassinate the president, attended the ceremony, which lasted more than five hours.
Leaders of the country's powerful opposition, including John Tembo, also attended the funeral, which was broadcast live on state television and radio.
Ethel was married to Mutharika for 37 years. The couple had four children.
Africa’s brain drain here to stay
Underpaid, overworked and disillusioned: doctors and nurses are leaving Africa in droves. But the G8’s response today offers nothing that will prevent further migration of Africa’s healthcare workers.
International NGOs say that despite the announcements of funds for HIV and AIDS and other diseases, the G8 has not got back on track to meet the promises they made in 2005.
Aditi Sharma, head of ActionAid’s HIV and AIDS campaign, says the G8 leaders had recognised the problems but not offered any concrete action. “The shortage of health workers was on the summit agenda, but the G8 hasn’t made any specific commitments: no specific funds, timelines or targets,” she says.
A report by the Ethiopian National HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office in 2005 stated that there are just 2,115 doctors for a population of over 77 million people – and newly trained doctors all too often migrate, for better earnings to support their extended families.
And it’s not just a problem in Ethiopia. Collins Magalasi, director of Action Aid in Southern Africa, told me that “over 70 per cent of the doctors and nurses trained in Malawi have emigrated. The G8 countries are utilising them. We can’t stop doctors leaving”.
Malagasi thinks the G8 countries should fund training institutions and provide earnings for healthcare workers that will make it more attractive to stay in Africa. The solution is in the hands of the developed countries.
This isn’t a new story: despite all the talk of funding drugs and clinics for HIV, the fact is that a continued critical shortage of doctors and nurses means people are dying in Ethiopia and elsewhere in Africa.
The G8 has committed to spending $60 billion to fight infectious diseases over the next five years, but civil society groups are worried that not enough funds will be available to retain doctors and nurses in developing countries.
It’s depressing for me to watch what’s happening here at the G8. It looks like I’ll be going home to the same problems as before.
Technorati Tags: africa, brain drain, ethiopia, g8, healthcare
International NGOs say that despite the announcements of funds for HIV and AIDS and other diseases, the G8 has not got back on track to meet the promises they made in 2005.
Aditi Sharma, head of ActionAid’s HIV and AIDS campaign, says the G8 leaders had recognised the problems but not offered any concrete action. “The shortage of health workers was on the summit agenda, but the G8 hasn’t made any specific commitments: no specific funds, timelines or targets,” she says.
A report by the Ethiopian National HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office in 2005 stated that there are just 2,115 doctors for a population of over 77 million people – and newly trained doctors all too often migrate, for better earnings to support their extended families.
And it’s not just a problem in Ethiopia. Collins Magalasi, director of Action Aid in Southern Africa, told me that “over 70 per cent of the doctors and nurses trained in Malawi have emigrated. The G8 countries are utilising them. We can’t stop doctors leaving”.
Malagasi thinks the G8 countries should fund training institutions and provide earnings for healthcare workers that will make it more attractive to stay in Africa. The solution is in the hands of the developed countries.
This isn’t a new story: despite all the talk of funding drugs and clinics for HIV, the fact is that a continued critical shortage of doctors and nurses means people are dying in Ethiopia and elsewhere in Africa.
The G8 has committed to spending $60 billion to fight infectious diseases over the next five years, but civil society groups are worried that not enough funds will be available to retain doctors and nurses in developing countries.
It’s depressing for me to watch what’s happening here at the G8. It looks like I’ll be going home to the same problems as before.
Technorati Tags: africa, brain drain, ethiopia, g8, healthcare
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