shloboe boe
Flora Fadzai Sibanda, florafadzaisibz@gmail.com
FIVE years ago, Dr Robert Nyajena embarked on a mission to build a maternity home in Bulawayo’s North End suburb, driven by a personal experience that shaped his career.
His mother’s near-fatal complications during his birth, exacerbated by financial constraints and inadequate medical care, ignited a passion to make childbirth safer for women.
After acquiring land and securing the necessary permits, Dr Nyajena’s vision began taking shape on April 1, 2024, with the demolition of the existing building.
Just months later, Malachi Medical Centre is now fully operational, providing comprehensive care that extends beyond maternity services to include casualty cases and non-maternity surgeries.
Dr Nyajena’s determination has created a vital healthcare resource for the community, honouring his mother’s experience and fulfilling his pledge to alleviate the burden of childbirth complications.
“It was in 2015 when I specialised in obstetrics because I wanted to work directly with women, ensuring that their childbirth experiences were free from complications. From that point on, I began assisting women in delivering babies at various local hospitals. It was during this time that I recognised the gaps prevalent in most of these institutions. One of the most significant gaps was the stark disparity in the availability of quality healthcare facilities between the affluent and the less fortunate areas,” said Dr Nyajena.
He said the progress he has made so far is proof that hard work pays off.
“We are really happy with the work we have done. The hospital started fully functioning early last month.
It’s quite humbling to see it now working like this considering where we are coming from,” said the determined doctor.
This cutting-edge medical facility boasts an impressive array of amenities, ensuring patients receive top-notch care in comfort and style.
Key features include a well-stocked pharmacy for seamless medication management, a state-of-the-art delivery room for safe and supportive childbirth, and private wards offering personalised attention and care.
It also has a dedicated dental room for comprehensive oral health services, a fully equipped laboratory for rapid and accurate test results, a complete scan room for advanced diagnostic imaging and a modern theatre for a range of surgical procedures.
For added convenience and comfort, the facility also features a spacious waiting room, allowing families to support their loved ones during surgical procedures.
The ward options, including four-bed, two-bed, and single-bed rooms, cater to individual needs, ensuring a comfortable and restful stay.
“Looking back to five years ago, I am really impressed with how far we have gone. This was not an easy journey because when one is building such a big facility, there is a lot of work that needs to be done, starting from getting enough funds to make sure that everything goes well. I am really glad we got help from our local banks and we were able to get all the necessary funds needed,” he said.
Dr Nyajena said his mother’s post-partum ordeal made him decide to build the hospital so that no other woman has to go through the same issues.
“To make sure the centre provides nothing but the best, we imported machinery from outside the country and sought advice from different medical facilities so we could be able to get something good. All our machines and equipment are up to date and modern,” he said.
He said the medical centre has been registered under a trust he set up with his wife, and they hope to build a bigger centre in the near future.
Dr Nyajena said he faced several challenges like everyone else doing a major project.
“One of the major challenges we faced was not meeting the deadline that we had set, but we cannot say it’s really a major problem because we then managed to start operating. If there is one thing we learnt, it’s that it’s very important to always have contracts written down when you are building so that if one does not follow it, it’s easy to let them go,” he said.
Dr Nyajena said he currently has five permanent workers at the facility, and 25 working on a contract basis.
This is Dr Nyajena’s second medical centre which caters for women, as he is also involved in a partnership in running the Pumula South Maternity Home. – @flora_sibanda
