6 weeks in Madagascar.2

Week 3: This week starts on the Madagascar Independence Day.  I take this long holiday weekend opportunity to work on my homework.  It is very interesting that Malagasy celebrate their independence day with bird-type animals such as chickens, ducks, etc.  My host family cooks geese.  There is the funniest moment at dinner table as well.  My host father is trying to cut the geese for me on the plate – surprisingly, my host family do not have or use a cutting board at home.  When he is trying to chop the meat and the bone, the liquid from the geese is spreading into my face.  I am trying very hard not to laugh and just keep eating.  This story could be one of my favorite moments that I will share when I go back to the USA.

We have great in-class lectures the same as last week.  I am so glad that Dadabe sent us the files of the lectures because I would like to re-read when I get back home as well.  For the field trips, we visit the traditional healer up on the mountain and the research center.    

As I am very out of shape, I feel tired a lot when we walk up the mountain.  Every time I want to stop, Dadabe’s quote from Martin Luther King come into my head, “If you cannot run, then walk.  If you cannot walk, then crawl.  Just keep moving.”   I feel my legs are shaking but I still want to keep moving as Dadabe has taught us.  I like how Dadabe’s team lays out the class material.  We have learned the traditional medicine and then back to learn modern medicine.  So, we can learn from both sides.  

Week 4: We come to stay with a new host family at Andasibe.  My host family is a young couple with two boys.  The houses at Andasibe are very different than Antananarivo because it is a more rural area.  We also have Malagasy pharmacology students as our brothers and sisters.  We have our lecture at the conference room at the Park which are about the health care policy, laws, and the history of traditional medicine in Madagascar. 

 We have a great chance to interview Traditional healers who live in Andasibe and are still practicing.  It is very interesting to realize how important traditional healers are in a rural area.   The most common challenge for traditional healers in Andasibe is the access to the medicine plants in the protected area.  The traditional healers, who are registered with the national association, have permits to access the protective area while those who are not registered cannot get into the forest.

We also visit the primary health center.  The facility has only 5 medical professionals while they have an average of 30 patients every day.  The biggest challenge of the health center is the lack of equipment. The most wonderful finding at Andasibe is how the traditional healers and the doctors at the primary health center are willing to work together. 

 They refer one another when there is the best benefit for the patients.  I am happy that both doctors and the traditional healers promote the prevention of sickness. As Mamabosi and Dadabe always say, “Prevention is better than cure!”.  While we learn so much with health care system, we learn how to cook Malagasy food and dessert at our home stay as well.