In 1998 Trevor Saruwaka, then a Wattle Company employee, was admitted to Bonda Mission Hospital with injuries sustained from a road traffic accident.
He spent 10 days in the hospital with a collapsed lung and broken shoulder. Unable to get an x-ray or an ambulance to transport him the 100km to Mutare General Hospital, Saruwaka endured great pain from his injuries.
Fifteen years later, Bonda Hospital has been turned around, thanks to Saruwaka’s zeal for its development.
Govt assistance
As the sitting MP for Mutasa Central, he has worked tirelessly to ensure that the hospital is upgraded. Last year he sourced $700,000 for the upgrading of Bonda Mission hospital and equipped it with new machinery.
The hospital, run by the Anglican Church, is a referral hospital for Mutasa and other parts of Manicaland and can accommodate up to 200 patients, including expecting mothers.
Saruwaka said assistance was also given by the Finance Minister Tendai Biti who is also the MDC-T Secretary General and the Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr. Henry Madzorera.
“I wrote a letter to Madzorera in October 2011 requesting some money for the upgrade of thehospital. He responded positively and disbursed the money. In the letter I highlighted the challenges that were facing the hospital that included staff and equipment shortages, broken down ambulances and water shortages among other things,” said Saruwaka. “When I was voted the MP of the area in 2008, I knew that the hospital needed urgent attention.”
He said the money was channelled towards capital projects to revamp and improve the hospital standards. He described the hospital’s standards as “shocking and tragic”.
Shocking state
“I realised that for such a big hospital it had no ambulance or service vehicle. There was a complete lack of essential hospital machinery and equipment. The situation was sad,” he explained.
Some of the machinery and equipment that was bought using the $700,000 included an ambulance, a service vehicle, an x-ray machine, tumble drier, an industrial laundry machine, 100 water proof mattresses and an autoclave machine.
“The ambulance will be used for critical services while the service vehicle is for administration purposes. I am happy that the hospital now has essential equipment which is necessary for the good delivery of health systems,” Saruwaka said.
The hospital’s administration got three state-of-the-art laptops, three desktop computers and a heavy-duty photocopier.
The money was also used to fence the periphery of the hospital, paint the exterior buildings and rehabilitate the 400m road.
Added extras
To ease water shortages, which were a perennial problem at the hospital, a 100,000-litre water tank was installed. Two full-time doctors are also working at the hospital.
“All the work which was started in March last year was commissioned by the contractors. Most of the labour was provided by the local community at no cost. I am a happy man and I want to thank Minister Madzorera and Minister Biti for directly responding to our plight. I know some people might lose hope in government, but this is a clear testimony that some ministers are doing their work properly. I want to thank them as government ministers for their positive response to community based development initiatives,” said Saruwaka.
Minister Madzorera said: “Bonda Hospital is an important referral hospital. It is a big hospital with a huge catchment area. It plays a vital part in the healthcare delivery system. We will always look into the pot of available resources to see how we can help.”
Bonda Hospital has a catchment area of over 100 000 people and it treats over 25 000 people per year.
Post published in: News