A Few Forgettable Details

Just above the sink at the nurses’ station there is an old two-way radio that once was used to communicate with healthy centers. When it was functioning, the arrival of women in critical condition being transferred from out lying areas could be anticipated. It was someone’s wonderful idea, but from the looks of it, the radio has been out of service for many years. Someone, perhaps the one with the wonderful idea, bolted it to the counter in a way that made it a permanent fixture. But it is not totally useless. Every now and then a wasp will fly close to your head as you’re washing your hands, its long skinny legs dipped in yellow dangling freely, and then land on the counter and climb into the radio.

A sign posted on several doors in the Lilongwe’s District Health Office warning non-staff not to enter reads, “Out of Bounce.”

In Central Hospital if you want to see someone in 3A and decide to ride the elevator, you push “2.”