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The Billy Riordan Memorial Clinic in Cape Maclear Malawi opened its doors to the first patients in August 2004. With 5 local staff, one doctor and one nurse, medical care had finally arrived in Cape Maclear. Prior to the establishment of the clinic there was no medical treatment available to the community. A long journey over a very bad road was the only way men, women and children could reach any medical service. Most could not afford the cost and survived or died without any medical intervention. Today the clinic is widely recognised as one of the best clinics in the country. The cost of treatment is kept to a minimum and should a transfer to a larger hospital be required, the clinic, using its own ambulance, provides transport at no cost to the patient. The ‘Billy’ Clinic as it is locally known, plays a vital role in the community in Cape Maclear, Malawi. The clinic frequently receives patients from areas well outside the immediate catchment area. In addition to the primary care unit the clinic has an inpatient unit which has a capacity to accommodate up to 20 patients. This facility is far short of requirements but current financial constraints prevent the necessary further expansion of services. The clinic provides family planning services, an eye clinic including cataract removal and other surgical proceedures, a malaria education programme, a school bilharzia treatment programme and an under fives feeding clinic. The Bilharzia Treatment Programme, since its inception has been funded solely by Cavan Coco, Ireland.
The Trust opened a HIV/AIDS clinic in 2008. Counselling, testing and antiretroviral drugs are available at the clinic. There are 1,100 patients attending the clinic on a monthly basis to receive drug treatment, which allows them to continue to live and look after their families in the community. Local people have been trained as counsellors and are NAC (National Aids Commission ) accredited.
Figures to date indicate a 10% increase in patient attendance year on year and more than 170,000 patients have been seen at the clinic since 2004.
More than 50% of the population live in poverty with an income of less that 2 dollars per day. Half a million people living along the lake-shore
( Africa’s third largest) have little or no access to medical care. With these figure in mind the continued expansion of primary medical care is a cornerstone of our organisation.
1% of the population in Sub Saharan is bi-laterally blind. Cataracts and Glaucoma are common problems amongst the older members of the community. With the help of a South African based ophthalmic surgeon we commenced eye surgery at the clinic in January 2014. This is a significant addition to the services available to this community. Currently there is no eye surgery available for a radius of 200 hundred miles and the cost of transport is prohibitive for 95% of the community. Many of the blind people are elderly parents taking care of grandchildren, whose parents have been lost in the HIV/ Aids epidemic.The ability to see again once their cataracts have been removed is something they could only previously have dreamed about.
Volunteers:
Many of our volunteers, both medical and administrative, who originally volunteered for a four/six month period have remained with the Trust and some have completed more than five years work in the clinic .
Education Sponsorship.
Believing education to be the first building block in a developing nation, The Trust has, from its inception, sponsored students from the village in second and tertiary education. Many young people have graduated from the University of Malawi and other third level institutions with the help of Trust sponsorship. There is a long waiting list of clever young people who want to avail of this scheme. Unfortunately due to a shortage of sponsors we cannot send nearly enough students to study. We have currently eight young people attending secondary level schools and one attending University.
The Trust relies totally on donations from private individuals and small organisations. It does not receive any funding from donor organisations including Irish Aid. With strict financial management, close attention to expenditure and minimum wages paid to all non Malawian employees (which includes CEO, Project Manager, Medical Director, Nurse Manager and HIV Clinic Lead Nurse) we continue to provide the only health care service to some of the poorest people in Africa. Today we employ 32 local staff on a full time basis and with 3/4volunteer doctors and 5 nurses, this 24 hour medical service and all other Trust activities is achieved at the cost of €150,000 per annum.
This work has only been made possible by the generous and sustained contributions from private individuals in Ireland and the U.S. The Trust was founded in Dingle in 2002 and has been generously supported by many people from the area over the ensuing years.
In recognition of our ten years work in Malawi there is a celebratory weekend in Cape Maclear on September 19th/21st. A guided trip is being organised from Dingle to Cape Maclear to coincide with this event. The opportunity to see at first hand the work of the Trust and to spend time in the African village will be the experience of a life time.
On behalf of the Billy Riordan Memorial Trust and on behalf of the village of Cape Maclear I wish to thank most sincerely all those who have generously supported our work over the years. Without this support we could not continue to provide medical care to some of the worlds poorest people.
Mags Riordan.
Founder/ CEO.
The Billy Riordan Memorial Trust,
Kilfountain, Dingle, Co Kerry.
www.billysmalawiproject.org.CHY Reg No 15091.
If you you would like to know more about tthe tour to Malawi please contact the following :
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