Chikombedzi Mission Hospital is set to start training its first batch of nursing students next year if the proposal is approved by the traditional leadership and Chiredzi Rural Council.
By Garikai Mafirakureva
This was revealed by Swiss medical doctor Lea Schimper at a meeting held at Chikombedzi Community Hall. Present at the meeting were Chief Tshovani and his headmen, Chiredzi Rural District Council chief executive officer Isaac Matsilele, Chiredzi South MP Kalisto Gwanetsa, the acting district medical officer David Tarumbwa and members of the community.
According to Schimper, they have approached Furer, a donor organisation based in Switzerland, which has expressed interest in funding the programme, as long as the community approves the initiative.
“I am from Switzerland. I have talked to Furer to fund the project. We are just selling the idea to you. If you approve the programme, construction will start immediately. Firstly, we would like to draw water from the river before we start anything else because we realised that water is a serious problem here.
“If everything goes well, we would like to start with an enrolment of between 100 and 120 nursing students,” she added.
The community was left to deliberate on the proposal which they were told to submit their position as soon as possible.
Gwanetsa welcomed the move and said it will go a long way in helping the community.
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“If this nursing school becomes a success, the community will definitely benefit. As you know, the hospital is facing serious water challenges; if water is drawn from the river that would ease the problem and they will have to do away with hard water, making it possible for them to use washing machines again instead of hand washing the linen.
“Obviously, the donors will help with the stocking up of the dispensary and employment of a qualified pharmacist and maybe also help with the clearing of the ZWR$120 000 electricity bill. Perhaps the hospital will be left with a few problems like acquiring new vehicles and refurbishing the mortuary.
Chikombedzi Mission Hospital was established in the 1940s by the Free Methodist Church, but was left to run on its own since the 70s.
