Field Placement: Family Health International
Location: Lilongwe, Malawi, Africa
Preceptor: Dr. Margaret Kaseje
Student Name: Bridget A. Brownell
Year: 2004

In July and August 2004, I had the opportunity to work with Family Health International (FHI) in Lilongwe, Malawi, Africa. FHI “is among the largest and most established non-profit organizations active in international public health”. Dedicated to improving the lives of people worldwide FHI provides research, education, and services in the areas of reproductive health and HIV/AIDS. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) provides funding for FHI to strengthen the capacity of local organizations, as well as government departments and other collaborating structures. These groups work together to prevent the spread of HIV, provide care for and treatment of people living with HIV/AIDS, reduce stigma, and lessen the impact on those who are affected (especially orphans and other vulnerable children) by HIV/AIDS.

The scope of my work included participating in and frequently leading trainings for local partners including the Instituting Agencies (IAs) and representatives from the Ministries of Health and Population, Gender and Community Services, and Youth Sports and Culture. I also had the opportunity to travel to the majority of the IAs and to familiarize myself with each of these non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and their personnel, while I continued to learn more about serving Home Based Care Clients (HBC), Orphans and other Vulnerable Children (OVC), and volunteers. I also aided in monitoring the capacities of the selected IAs and their volunteers.

In addition, I helped conduct an assessment by aiding in the creation and finalization of the pre-test and post-test questionnaires that aimed to measure satisfaction with current service delivery. I also created and finalized a focus group discussion (FGD) interview guide to measure community leaders perceptions of HBC and OVC issues. After determining relevant questions, translating and back-translating the surveys and FGD, as well as co-training the data collectors, I aided in the supervision of the actual data collection.

Again I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to work with FHI – an organization “dedicated to reducing the spread of HIV and mitigating the impact of AIDS on both infected and affected people in Malawi”. I would especially like to thank The Bixby Foundation. This trip would not have been possible without their funding! I would also like to thank Dr. Kaseje (my preceptor at FHI) and the FHI Malawi staff, Dr. Prelip, Dr. Tavrow, and my family. I deeply appreciate all of their guidance, understanding, and mentorship.

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