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Leonard Ncube, [email protected]

OLD Mutual Zimbabwe has donated an ambulance, drugs, and medical sundries to the newly commissioned Leona Clinic in Vulindlela, Hwange District as part of the organisation’s corporate social responsibility.

The clinic was built through a partnership between Buy a Brick Foundation and Hwange Rural District Council. The local authority used devolution funds to build the facility.

The Clinic was named after a local young woman Ms Leona Sibanda who as a young girl then doing From 2 at Vulindlela Secondary School in 2014 survived a buffalo attack while fetching firewood.

It took several hours before she could be rushed to the hospital as there was no transport to take her to the clinic. An ambulance crew was called to ferry her to the clinic and they demanded payment of US$176 upfront.

Buy a Brick Foundation team that was on the ground constructing a school was requested by the Acting Chief Mvuthu and Hwange RDC to be allowed to build a clinic and the community proposed it be named in honour of Leona.

She sustained a fractured a leg and spent more than a month admitted to Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo.

Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs Minister Richard Moyo commissioned the model clinic last week during which he thanked Government for implementing the Devolution Agenda which has triggered massive development in the country.

Old Mutual general manager of properties Mr Steven Kapfunde presented the ambulance saying it was an important assert as an emergency vehicle.

“We believe as Old Mutual that the communities we work with are more important and so we have brought a gift of an ambulance. We hope it will help in health services here,” he said.

Mr Kapfunde said Old Mutual also donated $10 million worth of drugs to the clinic to kick-start its services.
“Besides the ambulance, we have donated $10 million worth of medication to this clinic. This is the reason why Old Mutual we came here,” he said.

The Second Republic has been encouraging public-private partnerships in its development approach to uplift livelihoods of citizens towards an upper middle-income society by 2030.

Leona Clinic is the 10th clinic built by Hwange RDC and is a model facility in the district with various services including maternity, waiting mothers’ shelter, outpatient care, family planning, immunisation, vaccination, HIV testing and counselling, TB and male circumcision.

Hwange district medical officer Dr Fungai Musinami thanked the development partners for capacitating health facilities in the district.

He said the clinic already has two nurses, a nurse aid, and general hand staff with accommodation on site.

The clinic will service over 3 000 people in Kachechete, Nemananga, Vulindlela and Jabula areas.

“I call upon people to utilise these services. Health has been brought to us, we thank the community, leadership and everyone involved in this project,” said Dr Musinami

-@ncubeleon