•The new care-taker’s shelter constructed by ZESCO.

By MIRIAM ZIMBA –

Taking care of a patient can be a tasking experience, worse still if the care giver is housed in a car taker’s shelter that is dilapidated and in need of repair.
However, this is what 69 year old Ericka Mweemba has endured at Kafue Gorge Hospital care-taker’s shelter for the last two months.
Ms Mweemba’s 16 year old pregnant grand-daughter has been admitted at the maternity ward since April 3, and she has had to endure the hurdles that come as a result of having a patient admitted to hospital.
The old lady had to brave the heavy down-pours that characterized the end of the rainy season which soaked the little food she had stored in the make-shift care-taker’s shelter to last her a few days.
“I also had to look around for fire-wood which was not an easy task because most of the logs were wet as a result of rains meaning preparing food took longer than necessary because of wet fire-wood,” she explained.
Ms Mweemba, who has been the longest serving inhabitant at the care-taker’s shelter, has been looking forward to returning to her village in Hyamiko, as soon as her grand-daughter deliver’s.
Fortunately her fears are over since Zesco has unveiled a plush modern care-taker’s shelter valued at K565,000.
Speaking recently at the handover of this modern facility at Kafue Gorge Community hospital, Zesco’s acting managing director Victor Mundende said the construction of the care-taker’s shelter is one of the many corporate social responsibility projects undertaken by ZESCO.
The history behind the construction of this facility dates as far back as 2005, when a group comprising ZESCO female employees, and spouses of male employees identified the need for a shelter to accommodate relatives of patients admitted to the hospital.
The women embarked on fundraising ventures by soliciting for funds from organisations and individuals to finance the project, but the project stalled due to insufficient funds.
In 2012, Zesco’s management made a decision to complete the project under corporate social responsibility and using internal manpower in the civil engineering department.
“We are not just handing over a completed building but we have gone an extra mile to furnish the shelter with a television set, kitchen equipment, and sixteen beds and mattresses,” Mr Mundende said.
He appealed to the beneficiaries of the project to guard against vandalism, misuse to ensure its longevity.
The hospital’s senior nursing officer Monica Milambo, explained that the health facility is a first level hospital with a coverage population of about 16,000.
She explained that the health center has a 52 bed capacity and conducts an average of two deliveries each day.
She said most people who make use of the facility are elderly women who are looking after sick relatives, or waiting for their daughter’s or grand-daughters to deliver.
“The challenges care-givers were facing include lack of sleeping space, no ablution facilities, and cooking from an open area.”
Chikankata district medical officer Keith Mweebo is certain that the newly constructed shelter will be beneficial in reducing cases of maternal mortality that comes as a result of women’s inability to access maternal health services.
In moving a vote of thanks after the hand-over of the shelter, Dr Mweebo cited delays in seeking health, delays in accessing health as well as delays in receiving health as the major causes of maternal mortality.
“The building of this mother’s shelter will address one of these delays-these are delays as a result of long distances to the health center and poor roads, which prompted most women to delay in accessing maternal health services.”
The opening of this mother’s shelter will enable pregnant women who come from distant places to relocate to the hospital a few weeks prior to their expected date of delivery besides enabling them access medical services and deliver in a safe facility,” he said.
Dr Mweebo challenged other corporate entities to emulate the gesture by ZESCO by partnering with the hospital to ease some of the challenges it faced in the delivery of health care services.
The health sector is faced with the challenge of increasing health costs, as coupled with the increase in population.
As the catchment population has continued to increase over the years, and new programmes such as ART have emerged.
It has become apparent that this health facility requires more assistance to meet the growing demand for health services especially like provision of a labour ward, the size of general wards, as well as the ART department which is inadequate in size and capacity.
The infrastructure that has been put up to house the care-taker’s shelter at Kafue Gorge hospital is a marvel to look at.
It boasts amenities that will ease the sufferings of the care-takers, as they ensure the agony of nursing their loved ones.
Now the care-takers are guaranteed a warm shelter in which to rest in during the cold season and a conducive place where they can prepare and store meals in a cleaner and safer environment.
For people like Ms Mweemba, who will still be at the hospital for a few more weeks, this facility will surely grant her some form of dignity and comfort.
The only appeal the hospital administration has for ZESCO, is to consider adopting and up-grading some wards in the hospital.
That is food for thought for ZESCO management, but one thing is certain, the gesture by ZESCO will have a lasting impact in alleviating the suffering of people looking after the sick.
As the country joins the rest of the world in moving on from the Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals, it is corporate social responsibilities such as this one by ZESCO that are both developmental and sustainable.
As the old adage state ‘one good turn deserves another’, it is gestures such as this one that other corporate entities should emulate.