Tshelanyemba Hospital is on the border between despair and hope. More specifically, it’s located 157 km south of Bulawayo near South Africa and Botswana.
“We play an important role in this community,” says Captain Bigboy Nkomo, hospital administrator. “People travel great distances to access our services.”
The chief medical officer is Major (Dr) Dawn Howse, who has served in Tshelanyemba for nearly 14 years. As the only full-time doctor in the region, Dr Howse attracts many to the hospital. And not just for her medical skills but for the grace and compassion she administers to all her patients. The hospital also has an excellent team of primary care nurses and other health professionals, as well as 48 nursing students in their training school.
The surrounding community has been ravaged by poverty, HIV/AIDS and opportunistic diseases such as tuberculosis. Nearly 70 percent of the population is comprised of females and elderly men, as most working-age men leave to work in other areas of Southern Africa to support their families. When they return, it’s often with illnesses and sexually transmitted diseases.
In response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic Tshelanyemba offers HIV testing and counselling, community outreach and education, support groups for those living with HIV/AIDS and the training of home-based care volunteers and community-based peer volunteers.
“Our orphan care programme has 96 trained orphan care volunteers,” says Gift Moyo, community outreach coordinator. “We have 3,711 registered orphans but only 280 of them are receiving support with school fees and uniforms. The number of orphans is increasing at an alarming rate, which makes it incredibly difficult to cope with the situation.”
The Salvation Army is also meeting the spiritual needs of the community. Within the hospital, Major Winnet Nkomo serves as the chaplain and visits regularly with patients. Each morning the hospital has devotions in the main admitting area of the facility, and on Sundays they hold a chapel service.
Only a couple of kilometres from the hospital, Tshelanyemba Corps is an active force in the community. The youth play a significant role in the church, as more than half the congregation is comprised of children and youth. While sad to see a church empty of men, it is encouraging to see the next generation full of energy and hope.
In the midst of desperation and suffering, Tshelanyemba points to a God of transformation and redemption. Many have encountered Him through the work of The Salvation Army.
