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Ms Chipo Manyuka and her nine-day old baby

Herald Reporter
The cliché that it never rains, but pours aptly sums up the plight of Ms Chipo Manyuka, a Glen Norah woman living with disability. Ms Manyuka, who suffers from a rare condition called Osteogenesis Imperfecta, which affected the development of her bones, thought all was now well when The Killer Zivhu Foundation paid for her Caesarean section a few weeks ago.

She had sent a distress call which caught the attention of the founder of the foundation, Dr Killer Zivhu.

Her situation was pretty abnormal and medical experts had told her that delivering her baby was going to be like a miracle.

Osteogenesis Impefecta adversely affected Ms Manyuka’s bones to the extent that she cannot stand on her own and has to be carried every time she needs to move.

This made her situation more complicated because the disease also makes her bones so weak that they can break at any time if she exerts pressure on them.

Her husband suffered from acute meningitis recently, which left him disabled and unable to walk.

Dr Zivhu paid in full all Ms Manyuka’s medical bills at Harare Central Hospital where she successfully underwent the Caesarean section and delivered her baby last week.

With her new bundle of joy, Ms Manyuka thought her expectations had been fulfilled.

That was before doctors told her the child had been affected by Osteogenesis Impefecta, the same disease she suffers from.

While she was still digesting the bad news, doctors and nurses at the hospital went on strike.

Both her baby and herself desperately need further treatment, but she found herself being discharged because there was no one to provide that service.

Back in Glen Norah, Ms Manyuka shares a single room with nine other people, including adults.

And the sleeping arrangements are awkward, with Ms Manyuka and her baby sleeping on the floor with the rest of the family members.

Her younger sister and her husband — who own the accommodation — sleep on the bed.

Dr Zivhu and his team paid her a visit yesterday, where they discovered that her situation was even more desperate.

“You can see that I cannot do anything for myself because I cannot move on my own and I had thought that having a child would be a relief to me since the child was bound to help me out when grown up,” she said.

“I was devastated when I was told that the child had acquired the same disease, but what is important for now is to save the life of this child. I want to thank Dr Zivhu because he committed himself and saw me through my baby delivery.”

Ms Manyuka said she needed help to access medication and for the general upkeep of the child.

Her life and that of the child is at risk.

Dr Zivhu said Zimbabweans should show their humane side by chipping in to assist Ms Manyuka.

“The mother cannot help herself and cannot also help her baby,” he said. “As The Killer Zivhu Foundation we are playing our part, but we are calling on fellow Zimbabweans to have a look at this sad situation.

“Together — politicians, Members of Parliament, corporates, individuals — we can help this situation by even providing funds to take her to a private hospital.

“Let us learn to help each other out, especially when the situation deserves. Like in this case, apart from medication, she will need proper shelter where she can stay near to doctors so that any eventuality can get quick attention.”

Dr Zivhu said it was important that Ms Manyuka gets assistance so that she could be back in hospital with the child.

He said his foundation was willing to continue helping her, but her situation presented an opportunity for others to help.

Dr Zivhu donated various goods and funds that enabled Ms Manyuka to be admitted at Harare Central Hospital on his first visit to Glen Norah.

He said it would be suicidal to let Ms Manyuka go back to her rural home in Mhondoro where she would be far away from health institutions.

“She needs special care as testified by her condition and that care should be provided by fellow Zimbabweans,”said Dr Zivhu.

“The Killer Zivhu Foundation is there to assist people and we are doing the best we can. All was supposed to be well with Ms Manyuka until the complications developed.

“People can partner with us or directly approach Ms Manyuka to offer her the necessary help.”

Dr Zivhu urged Zimbabweans to help the disadvantaged in honour of the philanthropic works being carried out by President Mugabe and his wife Amai Grace Mugabe.

He said President Mugabe had sacrificed a lot in helping fellow Zimbabweans through leading the liberation struggle and his pro-poor policies after independence.

The President has initiated several programmes to assist the people at grassroots level, including donating computers to schools throughout the country.

On the other hand, Amai Mugabe set up the Grace Mugabe Foundation through which she is looking after orphans and helping out the disadvantaged throughout the country, noted Dr Zivhu.

Amai Mugabe built a home in Mazowe where several orphaned children are being taken care of, including being sent to school.