GWANDA After a long period of inactivity the mortuary has been refurbished and locals will no longer have to break cultural taboos by burying their dead without a funeral wake.The medical superintendent of Gwanda District Hospital, Dr Gordon Lintswi Bango, said the mortuary started working mid last month. We scratched for funds from hospital fees, well wishers and the government to refurbish the mortuary and repair its refrigeration system. We had to attend to gas leakages, replace the compressor and damaged valves among other things, said Dr Bango.
He commended business people in Gwanda and everyone who was involved in raising funds for the mortuary project and called on them not to lose their spirit of social responsibility. Residents of Gwanda town greeted the resumption of operations of the mortuary with relief. We had to bury my grandfather without holding a funeral wake for him in August. The elders are still consulting the spirits because we do not know what repercussions the action will have on our future. We can only hope his spirit will be appeased by the rituals that we have since engaged in, said Fraser Ndou from Jahunda Township.