By Paidamoyo Chipunza
The First Lady Grace Mugabe yesterday said it was possible for locals to initiate and complete million-dollar projects without aid from outsiders.
Officially opening the Mbuya Dorcas Hospital in Harare, the First Lady hailed the Zaoga Forward in Faith Church for building the state-of-the-art health institution.
“We take pride in knowing that there was no donor or external hand in the construction of the facilities we see here today.
“This is clear evidence that as indigenous Zimbabweans, we are capable of embarking on projects without soliciting for external assistance,” said Amai Mugabe.
She toured the wards, maternity wing, laboratory and x-ray units.
Mai Mugabe urged hospital staff to ensure high standards are maintained at the hospital.
She commended the Zaoga FIF church for complementing efforts by Government in providing quality health services to Zimbabweans.
“It is no mean feat for a church organisation to mobilise resources and simultaneously embark on two projects of this magnitude, a university (Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University) and a hospital and complete them at almost the same time.
Amai Mugabe also congratulated Professor Ezekiel Guti and his wife Dr Eunor Guti, founders of the Zaoga FIF, for working tirelessly for the success of the projects.
Speaking at the same occasion, Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa applauded Zaoga FIF for constructing the hospital.
He challenged the hospital to ensure value for services offered to its patients.
“What we are aiming for is not the cheapest care, but good-value, care that is both effective and affordable,” he said.
Mbuya Dorcas Hospital administrator Mrs Chiedza Mushawedu said the 28-bed hospital opened its doors on September 3, 2012.
She said the hospital has two approaches to treatment of ailments; medical and spiritual.
The medical approach uses science and is done by medical personnel while the spiritual approach uses the power of God and is done at the Healing and Deliverance Centre.
Mrs Mushawedu said the hospital takes pride in its highly specialised laboratory, which is second to none in the country.
The laboratory uniqueness is shown by its instant turnaround time to produce results for any medical tests compared to other health institutions, which takes at least a day to produce medical results.
The laboratory is also equipped with latest medical equipment for allergies and diabetes among other conditions.
The hospital has so far delivered 52 babies, 15 of which were through caesarian section, 34 normal deliveries and 3 were assisted through instrumental deliveries.
Mbuya Dorcas becomes one of the few private hospitals of such magnitude in the country. The Herald
