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Conrad Mupesa–Mashonaland West Bureau

SANYATI villagers have welcomed the commissioning of a fully-equipped mothers’ waiting shelter at Chirikiti Clinic, with materials and fittings funded by area legislator Cde Polite Kambamura and the council while the community provided labour.

Cde Kambamura, who is also the deputy minister for Mines and Mining Development, financed the completion of an eight-bed facility with capacity to house more pregnant women from Wards 9 and 10.

Chirikiti Clinic provides primary healthcare service to over 3 000 villagers in the two wards with the nearest hospital, Sanyati Mission being 15km away.

Sister-in-charge Fadzai Violet Chidyausiku said the availability of the mothers’ shelter will now make their work easy.

In interviews after the commissioning of the mothers’ shelter, beneficiaries said the facility was going to address maternity deaths that were being recorded in the area.

Many women were also gambling with their lives by delivering at home.

One of the villagers, a community health worker Ms Grenny Watyoka, said the area had recorded more cases of women delivering at home.

“We have had so many problems with women failing to walk to the nearest mission hospital to give birth,” she said. “This clinic had a delivering ward only. The commissioning of the mothers’ shelter is a positive step towards saving the lives of women.” 

Ms Winfilda Nyamutova said the unavailability of an ambulance presented challenges in saving lives of mothers and their unborn babies as they walked long distances to get help at Sanyati Mission Hospital.

Another villager, Ms Janet Mvura, said: “We are grateful to Honourable Kambamura for his hand in ensuring that there is a (mothers’) waiting shelter at the clinic.”

Mamombe village head, Mr Ezenia Mamombe, said Cde Kambamura was pushing ahead the Second Republic’s agenda of improving people’s lives.

“We now want the health care providers to be gentle and loving as shown by Cde Kambamura to us,” he said.

Chirikiti Clinic committee chairman, Mr James Mayavo, said plans to construct the mothers’ shelter started in 2010 before financial constraints hampered the project.

Ward 9 Councillor Ms Triforce Chifombo and Sanyati RDC chairman Councillor Patson Chakauya also praised the development.

Cde Kambamura said access to healthcare services was prescribed in the Second Republic and Zanu PF agenda, hence his decision to help finance the construction of the facility.

“I started working with the community from 2018 and provided the material for building,” he said. “I want to thank the community for working as a team to make the project a success which is in line with President Mnangagwa’s vision of an upper middle income economy by 2030, when healthcare will be accessed by all.”