The Herald, May 4, 1981

A MEETING here today will launch a new concept in the care of the terminally ill and bereaved in Matabeleland.

Today’s meeting is to introduce ISLAND which stands for: Integrated Significant, Living and Dying.

ISLAND is the Zimbabwe Version of the worldwide concept of caring for such people and is manned by volunteers drawn from the nursing, medical, social welfare, legal and religious professions.

The Bulawayo coordinator of ISLAND, Mrs Sheila Jansen said: “Our aim is to help people cope not only with the physical side of dying but all the other aspects, such as the legal side, which involves advising people on where to turn for information on winding up an estate,” she said.

LESSONS FOR TODAY

Island Hospice Zimbabwe offers palliative care services to the terminally ill, and also assists families to deal with death.

It was founded by Maureen Butterfield after she lost her teenage daughter, Frances in 1977 due to cervical cancer just a few days short of her twentieth birthday. After the loss of her daughter, Maureen deeply regretted that in the eight months of her daughter’s illness, the word “death” never entered their conversations. She felt they were never truly prepared for her death and there was need for terminally ill patients and people around then to prepare for the journey ahead.

Island Hospice started offering services in Zimbabwe in 1979 after a meeting that was organised by Maureen and her friends at the University of Zimbabwe on May 3 of that year to discuss provision of “Better End of Life Care” (EOL).

The name Island came from John Donne’s poem, ‘No Man is an Island’.

In 2014, Island Hospice Service changed its name to Island Hospice & Healthcare to better communicate the expansion of its services.

In addition to providing palliative and bereavement care services, which remain Island’s focus, the organisation operates a nursing agency as a social enterprise initiative and its clinical team are, when required, involved in prevention services and campaigns. It operates four branches across the country providing services to thousands of Zimbabweans.

You Might Also Like

Comments

Take our Survey

We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey