A Pigeon Lake Regional School alumnus came home from Africa with a wealth of experience working at schools in the nation of Malawi.
Amanda Kappeler, 20 years old, was born in a small town in Switzerland and moved to Falun, near Pigeon Lake, with her family in 2010. “I went to school and graduated from Pigeon Lake Regional School,” she said June 14. “ I am now going to school in Lethbridge for a bachelor of nursing. This is also where I live during the school year. “
Kappeler said she was overjoyed when she found out a unique field study and work experience program could take her to the other side of the globe. “This global health field study was offered through the University of Lethbridge as a health sciences course,” she said.
“I found out about this trip through an email that was sent out to eligible students. I attended a meeting that explained a little more about the course and was instantly very interested. Combining school and travel has always been something I hoped to do and I thought this would be an awesome opportunity to apply my nursing skills in a different environment while also experiencing a foreign country and different way of life.”
Kappeler stated those interested in the program were not just automatically accepted. “To get involved, I had to write a short application answering a few questions about previous volunteer experience, why I was interested, and how I would contribute to this field study,” she said.
“Once I was accepted, there were many preparations that had to be done. I got my travel immunization, registered with Canadians abroad, and took part in multiple fundraising activities to raise money for mosquito nets that we would later give to the people in Malawi.
“Shortly before the trip, myself and the other students going on a trip also did a condensed pre-requisite course where we learned about the language, culture, and major health concerns of Malawi. During this course we also spent time learning how drama and applied theatre would be able to help us in creating influential health promotion programs.”
The nursing student said she got to spend a month of her life living, learning and helping in Malawi. “The field study ran from May 7 until June 4,” said Kappeler.
“Throughout the trip we visited three different school districts, and went to 11 different primary schools. At the schools we worked with Grade 7 kids to make plays and skits about Malaria and HIV. A few of the topics for each health concern were signs and symptoms, prevention, treatment, and leadership and activism around the issues. These plays were then performed in front of the whole school as a way of increasing knowledge and raising awareness for these health concerns.
“Following this we handed out a mosquito net to each 7th grader as well as to pregnant women and those with kids under 5 because they are the most vulnerable in contracting malaria. Due to our successful fundraising efforts, we were able to give out a total 5,000 mosquito nets. We raised over $22,000 over the span of 8 month.”
Kappeler said the program also offered some basic medical advice. “In the afternoon, my fellow nursing students and I set up blood pressure clinics in classrooms that allowed people from the community to come in and get their blood pressure taken. With the help of translators and a public health worker we could let them know if their blood pressure was high or low and either make them an appointment or encourage them to visit the clinic to receive anti-hypertensive medication.”
The nursing student said another special program was geared towards women and girls. “As a part of this field study, we also partnered with an organization called Days for Girls,” said Kappeler. “This organization works to make reusable feminine hygiene products for women with limited resources. Collectively, our group was able to bring over 500 of these kits that we then handed out to standard seven girls.
“Before handing them out, we did a short teaching session on puberty, menstruation, and how to use and care for the reusable kits. In Malawi, many girls do not have the resources they need to manage their menstruation and as a result miss school or even drop out. We hope that by providing them with these reusable pads, more girls will be able to stay and succeed in school.”
Living and working in Malawi, Kappeler said she came home with lots to ponder, but one theme stuck out in her mind. “I believe that the single most important thing I learned was what a complex issue poverty is,” she said.
“Throughout this field study I was able to observe many different factors contributing to lack of education, limited job opportunities and poor access to healthcare. The kindness, welcoming hospitality, and incredible resilience displayed by the Malawians despite these fundamental challenges encouraged me to be grateful for the opportunities that are available to me, and inspired me to continue to seek ways in which I can make positive change on a global scale. “