Trustees visit March 2025

 

My husband Richard and I visited Murambinda Mission Hospital for 1 week in March 2025 on behalf of FMH. We both worked in Murambinda from 1994 -1996. I was last there in 2020, but Richard’s last visit was in 2008, so much had changed, but many things were the same.

There was still the famous traditional welcome at 7.30am prayers. It still wonderfully sunny and temperatures at the end of March very pleasant although only a few weeks ago would have been too hot for us. Some of the nurses who we worked with in the 1990’s are still working, now in senior positions, and so it felt like a homecoming.

Our remit was to maintain good relationships (Zoom is no substitute for spending time with people in the flesh) and review projects that FMH have funded. We also wanted to listen to staff and hear about the challenges they face and gain a greater understanding of where FMH should best direct our resources.

We were given unbridled access to all areas and were encouraged to speak to all key personnel and department heads as well as the Murambinda Hospital Board chairperson. We also talked to the doctors and nurses and students and nurse aides, administrators and kitchen staff. We found everyone to be very welcoming and open and willing to tell us about the hospital, what is working well and what they would really like FMH to help with. In our lodging in the mission grounds, we experienced firsthand the effects of prolonged power cuts and there not being any water for 48 hours at a time.

Everyone we spoke to expressed their gratitude to the Friends of Murambinda Hospital. On the first morning I gave a short presentation about FMH and how we raise our funds and John Miller’s virtual sponsored cycle ride from Lands End to John O’Groats and Bill Colombi’s 75 dawn hikes up Roseberry Topping really made an impression. To know that people in the UK care and want to help people in faraway Zimbabwe is really appreciated.

I was invited to give feedback on our findings, and we encountered a real willingness to discuss the issues raised.

First and foremost, we were overwhelmingly impressed. We can say with certainty that every penny sent to Murambinda Mission Hospital is well-used and accounted for. The hospital is managed by thoughtful caring people who really want to do their best for the very poor population they serve. There are many barriers and it often a struggle to pay the bills. They never have enough medicines or equipment and there are frequent power cuts. They are woefully under-resourced and face many difficult decisions about how best to treat people. The management team and doctors and nurses work well together to find solutions e.g. how to manage a cholera outbreak that goes on for 3 months and how to respond to a growing older population and still meet everyone’s needs.

We found many areas that FMH can help with. Working solar power to the maternity department will save money if the generator isn’t needed to be switched on as much and a baby may not need to be delivered by the light of a mobile phone. In the nurse training school students are often forced to cook on wood and study by torchlight and cannot access the internet which seriously hampers their studies. Other needs include ongoing maintenance to the hospital, possibly expanding the operating theatres to provide a wider range of procedures e.g. hernia repairs to those who cannot afford to go to the big cities, replacing the plastic cover on the polytunnel so food can be grown to feed the patients a more varied diet.  Also, essential equipment for the care of the sick newborn like an incubator etc. etc. As you might imagine the list is enormous.

Our visit has certainly inspired us to continue the work of FMH and on behalf of everyone at Murambinda Mission Hospital, who were most insistent I pass this on, I thank all our donors for their love and support.

Please be aware that this visit was entirely at our own expense. All donations to FMH are used to support the hospital as the trustees cover all administrative costs themselves and the charity has no paid staff.

SUNRISE 75 CHALLENGE

https://www.totalgiving.co.uk/mypage/75challenge

Bill Colombi to celebrate good health at the age of 75, has walked up Roseberry Topping, near Great Ayton in North Yorkshire, from home, seventy five times in the course of this year to fundraise for FMH. The climb, from my start point to the summit, is 721ft (not including the ups and downs along the way). It is the equivalent of climbing the Matterhorn 3.76 times. This comparison is chosen as Roseberry Topping has been described as a somewhat smaller version of the Matterhorn. The walk to Roseberry Topping is a round trip of 5.7miles, so the total for the challenge will be approximately 428miles – coincidently the equivalent of walking to Roseberry Topping from either Lands End OR John o’ Groats.

Please celebrate this magnificent achievement by donating on Bill’s TotalGiving page https://www.totalgiving.co.uk/mypage/75challenge

FMH Online meeting

We are having our next meeting on Saturday 14th May from 14-15.00 UK time via Zoom. This will be to review recently funded projects, to discuss current activities and future plans at Murambinda. We will be able to catch up with members of the Hospital Management team, discuss future student electives, and fundraising plans. If you would like to join us please email f.m.h@live.co.uk.

Sr Barbara Armstrong LCM

20/8/32-2/10/21

It is with sadness that we heard the news that Sr Barbara had died peacefully on the 2nd of October 2021 at Milford Care Centre,  Castletroy, Limerick, Ireland. Her funeral was on 4th October 2021, at Our Lady Help of Christian’s Church, Milford .

She had been Matron of Murambinda Mission Hospital from 1980 to 2013 and was instrumental in its growth and development. She was much loved and respected for her many qualities including her warmth, drive, high standards and unwavering commitment to the poor. She is greatly missed. We send our condolences to her family and to her fellow sisters of the Little Company of Mary.

If you wish to send condolences please do so via Griffins Funeral Services:

https://rip.ie/cb.php?dn=471524

Target achieved!

We have now reached our original target of £18,800 for solar power and COVID-19 PPE at Murambinda Hospital! Thank you to everyone who ran the Lyke Wake Walk in June and to everyone who supported and donated. This now allows us to access further funding from the Alastair and Margaret Miller Trust meaning we can now give the project the go ahead.

https://www.totalgiving.co.uk/mypage/lykewake4murambinda

Training going well!

Training continues for the Lyke Wake Walk challenge. Last week 4 of the runners (Denise, Sal, Nina and Carolyn) were out running in the bluebells underneath Roseberry Topping on the North Yorkshire Moors. We are getting closer to our target having passed the £8000 mark and any further donations would be very welcome with less than 4 weeks to go!

www.totalgiving.co.uk/mypage/lykewake4murambinda

Recce completed!

Training for running the Lyke Wake Walk continues. Yesterday Carolyn Rigby, one of the trustees, Richard and Alice ran 25km to explore the end of the route. In June a group of family and friends will be running 40 miles across the North Yorkshire Moors to raise money for solar power and COVID-19 PPE at Murambinda Mission Hospital. Any donations are gratefully received via the donation link below or via the website. We’ve now passed the £2000 mark!

www.totalgiving.co.uk/mypage/lykewake4murambinda

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Sponsored 40 mile Challenge

Hi! Carolyn Rigby, one of our trustees, and a group of family and friends are running the Lyke Wake Walk (40 miles!) across the North York Moors in June. This is to raise money for solar power and COVID-19 PPE at Murambinda Mission Hospital. This is a significant challenge for all involved, which will take at least 12 hours. Any donations are gratefully received via the donation link below.

www.totalgiving.co.uk/mypage/lykewake4murambinda

Online shopping

If you are shopping online if you go to your usual store via Give as You live you can get a percentage of the price donated to FMH by the store at no cost to you via https://www.giveasyoulive.com/ eg M&S and John Lewis are currently donating 1%, Argos 1.5% and Boots upto 2.5%.

If you shop at Amazon you can get Amazon to donate 0.5% of what you spend to FMH at no cost to you by using Amazonsmile and nominating Friends of Murambinda as your chosen charity. https://smile.amazon.co.uk/ch/1073978-0

Or you may prefer to support your local independent shop!

New Projects

At our recent meeting we agreed new projects to improve the access to digital images of x-rays within the hospital to improve doctors working efficiency, reduce reliance on x-ray films and reduce running costs. We also continued to provide support and incentives to all staff. In addition we are to provide tools and materials to improve the cleanliness and upkeep of the hospital.

We also reviewed and evaluated projects completed in the last year thanks to your donations.

Cycling for Murambinda – the end of the Road!

John Miller is delighted to report that he reached John O’Groats yesterday morning after 874 miles of hard cycling. By last night your sponsorship had reached an unbelievable total of £19,592.16 and there is more money to be paid in this week, so in the end it will be over £20,000! We could not have believed this possible at the start and on behalf of Friends of Murambinda, staff and above all patients at the Hospital, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

COVID 19 EMERGENCY APPEAL

FMH has just received a new and urgent appeal from Murambinda Hospital for help in facing the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic.

They need the capacity to create an adequate isolation ward and infection prevention stations, plus bleach, hand sanitisers, gloves, masks, gowns and eye protection for staff. They require £88,100 for 6 months supply.

As part of our response FMH is organising a sponsored cycle – see below.

 

CYCLING FOR MURAMBINDA

In 2000 John Miller cycled the 874 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats to bring in the new Millennium.

As a long-time Murambinda supporter, in 2020 he’s doing it again, to raise money to help the Hospital face the dreaded coronavirus pandemic, as well as all the usual challenges.

Because of the UK lockdown the route has now changed in that John is doing it on a static bike in the front bedroom of his Glasgow flat. He says, ‘It’s the same distance, but harder because the static bike won’t freewheel!’

By 5th May he had completed 471 miles and raised £4,905 including GiftAid, due to the astonishing generosity of FMH supporters.

To sponsor John, please use the button here

Donate now

To donate by cash or cheque e-mail mary.miller15@btinternet.com for details of how to contribute.

Thank you so much! John aims to finish by late June – we’ll keep you posted on his progress.

RECENT VISIT TO MURAMBINDA HOSPITAL

Two trustees of Friends of Murambinda visited the Hospital in late February to 7th March 2020.

They found the Hospital staff in good heart despite the difficulties a downturn in the economy has brought to the country. The rural population is struggling with additional challenges in terms of an unprecedented drought and an epidemic of disease among the cattle on which many depend.

The trustees learned that the urgent priorities for external funding are:

  • Incentives to retain essential staff, and support in particular for the nurse aides and general hands who are trying to survive on next to nothing (Friends of Murambinda is trying to maintain supplying a grocery package to each staff member every quarter)
  • A new service vehicle to replace the hard-used one that has to serve all the transport of hospital goods and services, refuse collection and disposal and so on
  • An upgrade to the Hospital Nutrition Garden. The Garden improves food security and is almost the only section of the Hospital that both reduces costs, by supplying the vegetables needed to feed the patients, and brings in some income by selling the surplus.
  • Extending the availability of solar power, which FMH and other donors have been funding incrementally over the last few years, to cover all areas of the Hospital.

NEW CORONAVIRUS EMERGENCY

So far the rate of coronavirus infection in rural Africa remains low. But last week FMH received an urgent request from Murambinda Hospital for the purchase of supplies to help with infection control, and for PPE for staff. The loss of even one of the dedicated staff at Murambinda would be an irrecoverable tragedy.

FMH is therefore launching a new appeal to support a sponsored cycle and any other initiatives to contribute to the funds.

 

 

 

My experience as a medical student at MMH was far better than I could have imagined……

Having been involved in raising funds for MMH throughout 3rd year I was raring to get stuck into life in the hospital. Three of us spent 4 weeks at the hospital and we honestly couldn’t have asked for a better experience. From the moment we arrived at the hospital we felt instantly at home and all the doctors and nurses couldn’t have done enough for us………..

Read more about Louise, Roisin and Rochelle’s month at Murambinda Mission Hospital in the Student Elective page.

 

Cyclone Idai

 

Thankfully Buhera District was spared the worst effects of Cyclone Idai. However some houses were destroyed and people trapped. One child brought to the Hospital had died before arrival from cyclone induced injuries. A man was admitted unconscious due to injuries but made a good recovery with hospital care. Rains have caused serious crop damage. In neighbouring Chimanimani District hundreds are feared to have died.

Cyclone Victim,Murambinda Mission Hospital
Mwerihari River in flood

Half Iron Man Emma!

Emma C

Emma Connnolly is taking part in the Cotswolds Half Iron Man on 10th June to raise money for FMH.

  • 1.9km (1.2 miles) swim
  • 90km (56 miles) bike
  • 21km (13 miles) run

She writes

On 10th June I am taking on my biggest sporting challenge yet with the Cotswolds Half Iron Man.

Having never really been interested in cycling before time on the bike has been a big part of my training. Luckily this coincided with moving to Stalybridge and being within a stone’s throw of the Pennines and the Peak District. I have become an enthusiastic cyclist and have really enjoyed exploring the hilly countryside with the Saddleworth Clarion Cycling club and getting a taste of the joys of fell running with the Saddleworth Fell Running Club.

It hasn’t all been so idyllic however and I am hoping the gruelling hours on the turbo in winter, the gym in the mornings, pounding the pavements through snow, rain and shine (and more snow and more snow!) and endless lengths in the pool will pay off and help me to survive my first half iron man!

Thanks to everyone who has supported me in my training! 

Please support this amazing effort: Click here to donate via her MyDonate page