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Peter Chilewani

Peter Chilewani

My name is Peter Chilewani. I was born on 2nd September 1990 into a Christian Malawian family. I attended Mchisu Secondary School where I earned my Junior School Certificate in 2006 and then Athens Private secondary School where I earned my Malawi School Certificate of Education in 2009. I speak English Chichewa and Kiswahili.

Career

I was very happy when I joined 500 miles staff in 2011 as a bench worker.  In 2012, 500 miles offered to sponsor me to study orthopaedic technology at TATCOT in Tanzania.  I finished my diploma in prosthetics and orthotics in 2015. After the graduation, I returned home where I resumed working at the 500 miles Prosthetic & Orthotic Centre up to now.

During my work at the centre, I have learnt a lot of things, for example quality management. This enabled me how to come up with the best quality device which will make the patient to feel happy, comfortable and safe with the device. I also learned about the Chaperone Policy which helped me to know how to assist a patient in the right way, in a way that can’t affect someone.

My experience of working with people with disabilities has really taught me a lot and improved my practice. Since 500 miles at KCH is the busiest centre in Malawi, a lot of things are done here and we see many different types of disabilities and treat cases which range from very simple to extremely complicated.

I am very happy that I am becoming more knowledgeable in helping people with disabilities every day!

Family history

I am from Gaga village, Tradition Authority Tsabango, Lilongwe. I was the last born of a family of eight. My mother is a retired teacher. She retired in 2006 when I was still doing my secondary school. My father was a politician and he retired when he had a stroke on 26 August 1999. He suffered hemiplegia (paralysis) of the left side of the body. He was admitted to hospital where he received physiotherapy treatment from which he started regaining strength. We continued with physiotherapy after he came home until he died on 18th June 2012.

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Motivation

My father’s conditions taught me how important it is to support and encourage people with physical challenges. With proper assistance they can still remain productive to their societies. Sustaining a disability is one of those moments which are difficult to cope with; the psychological trauma experienced tends to make the victims think that they are useless in a community. However with physical, spiritual and proper emotional support they are able to realize that despite the anatomical functional loss which they have to deal with, they can still live a happy life and still maintain their important roles within their setting. I learnt how the society support can be a source of hope to them.

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