In May this year we made a clinical visit to Malawi. Since our previous visit, three years ago, students have completed courses, new students have started theirs, community health schemes were launched, our contacts have grown amongst government clinicians and the colleges. We’ve also started supporting the development of binocular vision awareness and training. And of course, we’ve been sending a lot of clinical equipment.
We have excellent digital communications throughout the year with staff and students in Malawi, but from time-to-time it’s important to see for ourselves how progress is being made, to listen to the students and staff, to observe first-hand their difficulties, and to evaluate how best we can be of help in the future.
A summary of our trip can be seen on our latest Newslink bulletin, and here for your edification are some personal responses from team members…
From Nick Brown, biomedical engineer
Looking backwards but going ever forwards.
(Editor’s note: Nick was working hard for four weeks reviving complicated electrical equipment all over the northern region of Malawi but clearly, it was the roads that left the biggest impression!)
“Fifty years ago, as now, the main road of Malawi ran from the northern border with Tanzania and Zambia southwards to Blantyre, via Zomba the old capital, and beyond. This was very long and tiresome as well as being an extremely dusty dirt-road, graded now and then to significantly reduce the perennial ‘corrugations’ that caused any vehicle travelling on it to ‘vibrate to destruction’ as one sped up or down this and other bush roads which suffered in this way due to the annual rains and much flow of local truck traffic. Now, as in many other countries in Africa, a major highway system, equal to any in the Western World, is under construction by the Chinese and will soon have been completed by them, as always, in very short order.
During its completion, traffic (us included) has been forced by necessity to use parts of the old dirt road with its added ‘sleeping policemen’ to control the speed of traffic. It was the job of those in the front seat of our 4 by 4 vehicle to keep a watchful eye out for these bumps throughout the long lengths of these mostly dry and dusty ‘Service’ roads, so that those in the back, who sadly couldn’t look forwards but only at each other on their bench seats, could prepare for the inevitable bounce ‘skywards’ (to essentially the metal roof) and back!
As there had been no attention to the overall height and steepness of these menaces, on sighting the worst of the bumps a ‘brace yourself’ cry of ‘stand-by it’s a Trump Bump’ would be heard from the front! If they, and/or particularly the driver, had failed to see these unexpected ‘bad boys’ coming, which, thankfully, was rare, we could all expect to hit the roof!
Thankfully, this main highway from the capital Lilongwe to the Synod missions (and beyond) – particularly that part of the road running through the northern region of the mountainous Nyika Plateau – is now very good, giving maximum comfort and cutting travelling time to our numerous clinics from Lilongwe to a matter of hours and not days, as was very much the case in the recent past.”
From Emma Hewson, optometrist
Visiting new clinics!
“We made short visits to two clinics we have been supporting only in the last couple of yearsbut have not previously visited. Firstly, we made the long trip north to Chitipa, close to the Zambian and Tanzanian borders. We met two members of clinic staff who are very experienced and very motivated. We were able to support them with some consumables and donated glasses. They were delighted to receive these as getting supplies has been a struggle for them because of their location far from the major cities. We were encouraged to see they’ve also received support from other charities working on cataract surgery, this is great news for the population in Malawi as it is a project too big for us to support at the present time.
We also made the journey across the lake to Likoma Island where a new government funded clinic is being built. There is just one eye clinic staff member at the moment and he runs a very busy clinic, seeing patients from neighbouring islands and Mozambique in addition to those local to Likoma. We were so encouraged to see the clinic so busy and the equipment we supplied in regular use. We’ve recently sent some larger items to this clinic including a slit lamp which has arrived safely and in full working order! The impact for their patients is huge as having an eye clinic on the island saves them a seven hour boat journey to the mainland and means their eye problems can be managed quickly and efficiently. It was a great reminder of why we do what we do and the impact it has for very rural communities.”
From Rowena McNamara, visiting orthoptic lecturer
Orthoptic assignment
“The optometrists in clinics supported by The Raven Trust gain knowledge about the diagnosis and treatment of strabismus and amblyopia from their university courses but have limited access to practical skills. They requested help from the trust to enable them to carry out clinical assessments, make the diagnosis and plan treatment. This area of eye care often involves assessing vision in young infants and preverbal children requiring age appropriate tests and new skills.
In early 2025, before our visit, I was able to prepare the teams with a series of lectures presented and recorded via zoom. This enabled us to establish prior knowledge and understanding of the material and gave us a starting point for our clinical teaching. We took several relevant text books and additional clinical equipment including children’s vision tests, optical lenses and prisms.
The exciting part of my experience was acknowledgement, by the university optometry lecturers, that hands on clinical skills for their students was vitally important. We look forward to future collaborations with the teaching and clinical teams.
The highlight was celebrating world orthoptic day with the staff at Mzuzu eye hospital.”
From Dr Caroline Sheldrick, ophthalmologist
Transformation at Mzimba North Hospital
“One of my many highlights was visiting the eye clinic at Mzimba North Hospital. This clinic is based in a large and very busy government run hospital in the centre of Mzuzu. We had visited it for the first time on our previous trip in 2022. At that time we found an eye clinic devoid of equipment. There was a wooden bench for the patients to sit on whilst waiting to be seen and an examination chair which definitely had seen better days! Despite the clinic having four members of trained staff we found them using the lights on their personal mobile phones to try to examine the eyes of patients, as there was no other equipment available.
Unsurprisingly, we felt we had alighted upon a situation where the Raven Trust we could most certainly help. So after discussion with the staff regarding the specific needs of the clinic we went home to the UK and started collecting the necessary equipment to send out. For example ophthalmoscopes, a slit lamp, glasses and much more. In fact, almost every item needed to equip a functional eye clinic. These items were either bought (most second hand) or donated and then packed up and sent by container ship to the hospital.
On our 2025 visit we saw the complete transformation of the Mzimba North clinic. The picture below shows this better than I can describe. The staff were delighted with the difference the equipment has made to their work. Now they can diagnose and accurately treat the patients. There are literally queues of people waiting to be seen daily at the clinic.
Achieving a transformation such as this is only possible as part of a team effort. From donations, to collecting, packing up and transporting necessary equipment safely to the right place. The whole process is a coordinated effort.
On our recent trip to Malawi I was lucky enough to see the result of that effort first hand and to see the difference it makes to both staff and patients. For me the transformation of the Mzimba North eye clinic was a joy and a highlight of the trip.”
From Valerie Symon, sports teacher
Supporting sports development in schools
“I have been lucky enough to travel with The Raven Trust on several occasions.
I visited 19 primary schools this year, spread right across north Malawi, some of which (although I had sent them educational supplies) I had not been able to visit before.
For most of them it was the very beginning of term and so not all children had returned, however at one school there were 180 children in the class with no room for tables or chairs .
Most classes have at least 75 children and the lack of basic equipment is evident. With the help of some Rangers [older Girl Guides] in Bedfordshire in the UK, we have collected from schools unwanted books, dictionaries, stationary, sports equipment, and uniforms. With the help of The Bananabox Trust, all these items get delivered to the schools. We have also sent chairs, and financed the local manufacture of netball posts.
On this last visit I again managed to spend a very productive day at one of the teacher training colleges, where I would love to be able to provide each student –when they qualify – with their own pack of teaching essentials, such as a dictionary, set of pens and pencils, a big box of chalks, a mark book, whistle, file and clipboard so that where ever they end up teaching they have something of their own.”
From Nathan Usher, carpenter
A special experience
“It was a very interesting trip, a lot of time spent in close company whilst bumping our way up and down the country but nonetheless it was a very special experience to see all of the beneficiaries of our hard work. In addition to those we already help I have found a new calling in sourcing out-of-fashion hand tools in the UK and in the future sending them to the carpentry department at the Deaf School in Embangweni, where those with limited prospects have a chance to make a career.
Although travelling up and down the country was a rough affair, seeing all of the beautiful countryside of Malawi and how the local population lived their lives was a special experience. As well as helping assess new clinics that can benefit from our help, seeing the schools that fellow volunteer, Valerie, helps was another side of the work being carried out in Malawi that I hadn’t seen before.
Of course I couldn’t forget my team mate, Nick, and his expert knowledge of medical equipment. He taught me the basics and let me loose on some medical equipment, mainly oxygen concentrators, that needed some attention. Although we managed to get a few machines up and running, it highlighted the need for more bio-medical engineers to care for the machines properly. Thankfully, the central college in Mzuzu now offer courses to train new bio-med technicians. All in all it was so nice to be back after seven years away.”