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Among the four Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCVs) who are currently serving in the rehabilitation field in Malawi for the benefit of local communities, one of the volunteers, Ms. Yuina Nitta is doing all her best in serving the people who seek physiotherapy services at Mchinji District Hospital. Ms. Nitta arrived in Malawi in January 2022. In April, 2022, upon being registered with the Medical Council of Malawi that qualifies her to practice in the country, she commenced her volunteering services at the hospital. With the assistance of Physiotherapy Department team members, which comprise physiotherapists and rehabilitation technicians, Ms. Nitta has quickly adapted to the working environment at the hospital. The volunteer's major duties include attending to clients on daily basis who visit the hospital seeking physiotherapy services as outpatients. These are mainly children, people involved in accidents and the elderly, most of whom are stroke patients. The volunteer also attends to inpatients in the children's ward, male and female wards.

Due to lack of essential equipment in the physiotherapy department, as a way of raising funds for the department, the hospital, through well-wishers has been embarking in fund raising activities that include offering aerobic sessions to Mchinji residents during weekdays and weekends. Other fund raising activities include sale of second hand clothes that are donated by well-wishers. Ms. Nitta, the Japanese Volunteer has been actively taking part in the fund raising activities by assisting in leading the aerobic sessions. So far, with the funds that have been realised from these activities, the hospital has purchased a treadmill, pararell bars.

The JICA volunteer Physiotherapist attending to a child seeking physiotherapy services

The treadmill and parallel bars that have been purchased for the physiotherapy department out of the fundraising activities