Long serving nurse

Lovemore Dube and Father Innocent Makawule

FOR a week, the whole of Hlababomvu, St Joseph’s area of Semukwe in Matobo District and surrounding villages was engulfed in a state of mourning following the death of long-serving nurse, Emelda Mpofu (nee Moyo) on Wednesday last week.

Some celebrated the promotion to higher authority of a long-serving Catholic, nurse, mother, grandmother community builder whose influence transcends several generations having started practising at the local clinic in 1959.

Naturally, when death occurs, it casts sorrow in society and dutifully friends and relatives were thrown into mourning a great worker and community asset.

On Friday, scores of people from around Zimbabwe and others beyond the borders were at St Joseph’s Pewula homestead to bid farewell to the local clinic’s longest-serving and most adored worker and personality.

Known as NakaJames, she was as popular as the Mission station. Those going to get attended to at the clinic would simply say they are going to NakaJames.

She worked at the institution and she was good as the institution as people believed in her practice.

Born Emelda Emily Moyo, Empandeni, Emhlotshana Village to Stansilus Shulila Moyo and Mthunzi Monica Dube, she went to Hobodo Primary School in 1945-1948, for Sub A, Sub B, Standard One and Two.

She then moved to St Joseph’s Mission, which was a senior school in the region offering Standard Three to Six.

A severe famine in 1949 similar to that of 1947 ensured she would not continue with her education.

She returned to the St Joseph’s Mission community, staying between 1950 and 1953.

In 1954 to 1956 she went to Fatima Mission in Lupane to train as a nurse.

After two years of training, she was assigned to work at St Luke’s, also in Lupane.

After a year at the Lupane Catholic Hospital, she was in 1958 posted to St Paul’s where Francis Jacob Pewula Mpofu, who would later be her husband taught at.

In 1959, she was re-united with her community, at St Joseph’s Mission Clinic and worked until 1998, though she would from time to time be called on short contract into the 2000s.

Mr Mpofu was also transferred to St Joseph’s Mission at the primary school attended by the likes of Edward Nkomo, younger brother to the late Zimbabwe Vice-President, Dr Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo.

Her workstation was closed as the armed struggle intensified.

It was closed in 1978 and reopened in 1980.

Mrs Mpofu was meant to be killed by Rhodesian Forces for supplying medication to the freedom fighters but was saved by Rev Fr Gabriel Kleinlencher CMM.

As a result, she moved away to Botswana and then Zambia together with her husband who was born on 4 March 1929, to Henry Pewula Mpofu and Mamu Anna Maria Ncube.

Mr Mpofu went to school at St Joseph’s Mission up to Standard Six. He proceeded to Empandeni for Teacher Training and taught at St Joseph’s, St Maria, St Paul and then back to St Joseph’s in 1959 till his death in 1992.

Speaker after speaker at the burial on Friday praised Mrs Mpofu for her selfless commitment to health and community development.

To her, there were no set business hours, providing healthcare was a calling that was beyond duty.

Mrs Mpofu joined the Catholic women’s St Anne’s Association in 1961 where she found Mrs Joanna Nkomo (MaFuyana) the wife of the late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo, Rebecca Sibanda (Mrs Malaba), Josephine Ndlovu NakaElizabeth the wife of Otto Khumalo and Fransisca Ncube (Mrs Matobo Malaba).
She was blessed with seven sons James, Henry, Callistus, Paul, Joseph, Michael and Johannes and a daughter, Sifiso.

James, Joseph and Johannes are late.