Brian Chumbi Junior

Three times I have been privileged to go through hundreds of application letters and shortlist prospective candidates for different jobs and on a couple of times I have been part of an interview panel, I have learnt a lot on how candidates write cover letters, resumes, CVs and how they tackle interview questions.  The lessons I have are more than the ones I got from the seven times I have ever been professionally interviewed in my life. I would like to share ten most common mistakes I found from this experience especially on the applications. I hope someone will benefit a thing or two. Disclaimer!! These are solely my opinions and this is not an exhaustive list.  1. Over qualification - An employer is looking for someone with an MSCE and you happen to have a Bachelors Degree, it may be better just to talk about your MSCE too unless you are sure your Bachelors will give you some score or unless it was mentioned in the vacancy that those with a Bachelors degree will have an adde...

Miscarriage (kupita padela) Most people in our communities both in urban and rural areas still believe when a woman has a miscarriage kapena titi mzimai akapita padela ndekuti walodzedwa, enake sakumuonela kukondwa.  Let me share with you the science behind a miscarriage. There are several risk factors that may lead to a miscarriage, some of them include;  1. Age - The older a woman gets the more likely they are to miscarry for example in some populations at 35 years of age a woman has about 20% chance of having a miscarriage, at 40 years the chances double etc  2. Use of alcohol and other drugs during pregnancy  3. Some invasive prenatal procedures  4. Previous miscarriages  5. Some uterine conditions  6. Physical trauma. (Ngozi, Kumenya amai oyembekezela ndizina zotero) For this post I want to share about miscarriages that are caused due to previous miscarriages. We have 4 as our main blood groups namely blood group A, B, AB and O. All these bl...

According to the current revised guidelines in Malawi, being implemented since 2nd July 2020, one can be discharged from quarantine, isolation, hospital and declared "recovered" even if their COVID-19 status is still POSITIVE.  According to a memo Ref no. CD/101 signed by Chief of Health Services Dr Charles Mwansambo, there are SIX criteria listed on discharging both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients and contacts. In this article I won't go into details of each conditions, I will only dwell much on condition number 1 criteria (b) which I find more relevant on elaborating more on how and why discharging positive cases.  Condition 1 says (paraphrased). A symptomatic patient can be discharged after 10 days from onset of symptoms plus at least 3 days without symptoms (fever and respiratory symptoms) so long as (a) their test result on 14th day is NEGATIVE or (b) their test result on 14th day is POSITIVE but their cycle threshold (Ct) value is greater than 30.  Now what is...

From Ndirande malabada to Ndirande matope, Chirimba Ntoso, Chilomoni nthukwa to Chilomoni Fargo, Namiwawa, Nyambadwe, Sunnyside, Mudi, Mpingwe hiets, Manja, Manje, Kanjeza forest, Bangwe mvula to Bangwe banana, BCA, Chigumula, Machinjiri khama, Areas 5, 10, 12, I could go on and on, but these are just a handful of areas I've gone to because of COVID-19. This is how this disease hasn't spared a group of people. I've walked in probably the poorest people's slums and among the richest people's mansions in Blantyre. Slums I wouldn't dare wear my full protective gear because I would put my life at even more risk to something like 'mob justice' than just wearing a mask, simply because the combination of my people's perception plus illiteracy levels on COVID-19 among other things, is still very alarming, probably it's time for that ministry of civic education or whatever it's called, to take its wheel, I'm 100% ready to volunteer with you. ...