Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Arthur K. Weinstein can be contacted at artanddinaadslextremedcom
Country of Service: Malawi
Training Group: Malawi IV (Tuberculosis Control/Public Health)
Cities you served in: Chiradzulu and Namitambo
Arrival Year: 1964
Departure Year: 1967
Work Description:
MALAWI IV (1964-1967) PUBLIC HEALTH/TB CONTROL: I served in the Peace Corps' "Malawi IV" program from 1964 through 1967. There were about 50 of us in the project. Will Lotter was the Country Director. We were spread out throughout the country. I am probably one of the first two Peace Corps volunters to work in the Chiradzulu "boma" (government center ) area. Later, I also worked in the Namitambo area. My PC roommate, Randall Cowley, and I were stationed near the Chiradzulu "boma" as part of "Malawi IV," Malawi's first Peace Corps tuberculosis control and public health project. The project was conceived and supported by the public health faculty at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, specifically epidemiology professor John Cassell. While conducting our TB work in the villages around Chiradzulu, Randy and I were visited by William Mzumara, a dynamic Malawi "health assistant" who convinced us to visit Namitambo, where he lived. We got there on Peace Corps motorcycle, which was a step above the bicycles originally provided to us. Mr. Mzumara assured us that the people there had greater need for us than at Chiradzulu. I have color slides of the small one-room dispensary at Namitambo where Mr. Mzumara was stationed. Randy and I soon assisted Peace Corps physician, Richard Carter, M.D., in starting a weekly baby clinic. Later we got funding from the American Embassy (Ambassador Sam Gilstrap) to build a two-building structure which we designed on paper. Randy returned to the states and married Anne, his Peace Corps sweetheart. I stayed on another year to complete the construction. (largely used bricks and volunteer labor). It was intended to be used for maternal and child health purposes. Around that time (1966)the Peace Corps assigned me to help orient, train, and secure village housing for newly-arrived Maternal and Health Volunteers (Well Baby Clinic). The Well Baby Clinic project included many talented individuals who later left their mark upon Malawi, such as Dr. Jack Allison, whose public health songs revolutionized health education throughout the country. I left Malawi before the construction at Namitambo was completed. Years later, I heard from a Los Angeles County Health Department physician who spent some time at Namitambo that the maternal and child health buildings were the centerpiece of a flourishing public health program.
Other Countries you served in, Training Group Name Arrival Year, Departure Year, Work Description:
None.
Bring us up to date on your life after the peace corps:
I am now a retired workers' compensation judge here in the greater Los Angeles area. My wife, Dina, and I have three wonderful adult children and five grandchildren.
Any thoughts you have now looking back on peace corps days?:
The Peace Corps shaped my own life dramatically. I went on to get a Masters degree in public health at UCLA Graduate School of Public Health, and spent some 17 years as a community health educator working for Los Angeles County Health Department, before branching off into a career in law. Unfortunately I never returned to Namitambo, Chiradzulu, or Africa. However, I still dream about the wonderful people of Malawi.
Anyone you are looking for or would like to hear from?:
I would like to hear from anyone who served in Malawi, particularly Chiradzulu and Namitambo. I would love to correspond with any Malawi citizens. I took some 600 color slides (transparencies) of Malawi (1964-1967) which might be of value to a scholar such as a historian, or a museum of Malawi history.
Write to me at: Arthur K. Weinstein, 24210 English Rose Place, Valencia, California, USA 91354 Tel: 661-702-9566 E-Mail: ArtAndDina@dslExtreme.com
"Ine, ndimatokonda anthu a Malawi." (I truly love the people of Malawi) "Sindinaiwalire anthu abwino Amalawi!" (I have not forgotten the good people of Malawi.) My Malawi friends used to sing a song, a fragment of which still remains in my head, some 45 years later: "Mzungu, akatisunga, tidzaonana pamwamba." (If the good Lord protects and keeps us, we will see each other in Heaven.) I wrote a song about Malawi's independence struggle and was privileged to sing it on Malawi radio around 1966. "Tsalani Bwino." (Stay well)
Any message for returned volunteers?:
We have a very active returned Malawi IV Peace Corps Volunteer (RPCV) group. We get together about every five years. Some of our members, such as Kevin Denny and Mike Hill, are truly the heroes of our generation. They launched the Malawi Children's Village for orphaned kids, and work tirelessly to keep it operating. While browsing Peace Corps Online recently for the first time, I came across a number of tributes to their good work. There were also news articles about several other people I worked with in Malawi, including Dr. Tom and Ruth Nighswander. Tom is a public health physician living in Anchorage, Alaska. Tom and Ruth not only support the Malawi Children's Village, but travel there frequently.
Originally posted: March 26, 2009
Related Links:
Peace Corps Annual Report: 1964; Peace Corps Malawi; Directory of Malawi RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Malawi RPCVs
