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Conrad Mupesa Mashonaland West Bureau

A male nurse is escorting patients from Karoi to Chinhoyi and his driver notices a woman lying awkwardly by the road side. He immediately pulls over to help.  

Unknown to the nurse, the woman is in dire need of assistance and serving her would make him an instant hero. 

Mr Umali Jawadu (43) of Karoi General Hospital, was escorting patients to the provincial referral Chinhoyi Hospital on Wednesday when he and his alert driver, Mr Owen Kapungu, noticed a woman believed to be in her mid-20s, lying by the roadside some 10km from Karoi towards Chinhoyi. 

Mr Jawadu, who was with other patients in the ambulance, one of whom was an expecting mother, thought the driver had been called back to ferry a possible critically-ill patient from the hospital when he suddenly stopped.

“I was shocked to see the driver pulling off the road a few metres after his emergency turning. Upon disembarking from the vehicle, I noticed a woman who was lying by the roadside, bleeding profusely while another lady, who I though was her mother or mother-in-law holding a bouncing baby girl,” said Mr Jawadu. 

“The child had already been delivered when we arrived at the scene and many motorists were driving past without blinking an eye. The two women were being soaked by incessant rains.

“The old lady had no experience of having delivered or witnessed such an ordeal . Although I’m not  a midwife, I had to use my experience of having been a general nurse at Mola Clinic in Siyakobvu to remove the placenta to stop the bleeding,” he said. 

He said the young mother had no maternity preparation kit and Mr Jawadu had to use some that belonged to one of the patients in the ambulance. 

“I realised that she had no cotton wool and I had to borrow from one of the patients before replacing the pack in Chinhoyi.”

The lucky mother and her little bundle of joy later got another helping hand from another Good Samaritan who was heading to Karoi where he took them to hospital. 

Mr Jawadu said as soon as the young mother, her child and old lady got into the Good Samaritan’s vehicle, heavy rains started pouring. 

While he was happy that he performed the duty as expected of a health practitioner, the married father of five, said he was taken aback by the positive comments from Zimbabweans across the board. Various social media platforms are awash with messages of praise, with many calling on other civil servants to emulate Mr Jawadu’s professionalism. 

“Everyone should have First Aid knowledge to help save lives. This is vital in our day-to-day lives. To my fellow civil servants, always have a heart for the job that we committed to do. Your good deeds will one day follow you,” said Mr Jawadu.

He said both the lady and the child were doing fine. 

Provincial nursing officer, Mr Farayi Marufu lauded Mr Jawadu and Mr Kapungu for their selfless and heroic efforts. 

Mr Jawadu is employed by the Ministry of Health and Child Care since 2002. He had a brief stay at Mola Clinic in Siyakobvu under Kariba rural before moving to Karoi General Hospital in 2003 until today.