Source: Maternity waiting home transforms care for expecting mothers in Goromonzi – herald
Yeukai Karengezeka
Herald Correspondent
EXPECTING mothers in Goromonzi Ward 1 have received a major boost following the official launch of a state-of-the-art maternity waiting home at Masikandori Clinic, the first facility of its kind in the area.
Inaugurated on Wednesday, the new block is expected to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates while easing the burden on pregnant women who previously had to travel long distances to clinics, often during labour.
The fully furnished facility can accommodate up to six women at a time.
Local residents have expressed immense gratitude to the Government and development partners who funded the project.
“I am so happy that we now have a waiting home and I’m expecting to give birth soon,” said Mrs Samantha Mapingire, a resident of Murape Village.
“This is my third pregnancy, and in the past, I faced challenges because I had to wait until I was in labour to visit the clinic, which is far from where I live.”
Masikandori Clinic’s sister-in-charge, Ms Alice Machaka, highlighted the importance of such a facility. She said the clinic serves 42 villages, including patients from outside the health institution’s catchment area.
“The main challenge we faced was that more mothers delivered at home than at the clinic,” she said.
“Some delivered on the way to the clinic, while others faced complications that led to the loss of the mother, the baby, or both. This waiting home will provide a safe space for expectant mothers and reduce such tragedies.”
Construction of the maternity waiting home was part of a project implemented by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), funded by the Republic of Korea and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
The initiative is under the KOICA-funded project: “Supporting Peaceful, Safe, Sustainable Reintegration for Returning Migrants and Host Communities in Zimbabwe Impacted by the Non-Renewal of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP).”
Zimbabwe Food for the Hungry International (ZFHI) served as the implementing partner, while the Civic Forum conducted Community-Based Planning (CBP) to identify local development priorities.
The maternity waiting home was selected as the most critical infrastructure need for Ward 1.
The project directly involved the local community, with 239 beneficiaries participating in all stages of construction, including carrying bricks, gathering sand and water and maintaining the worksite.
Of these participants, approximately 60 percent were women, 40 percent men, with 46 percent being returning migrants and 54 percent host community members.
In recognition of their efforts, each beneficiary received a sustainable incentive package, which included two goats, a wheelbarrow, maize seeds and fertiliser.
Notably, the community demonstrated remarkable initiative by independently constructing two public toilets near the maternity home and clinic — projects that were not originally planned but were voluntarily completed.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, IOM chief of mission, Mr Thomas Kalsan, lauded the collaboration between the stakeholders.
“Today, we not only celebrate the completion of a health facility — we celebrate the strength of partnership and solidarity,” he said. “This maternity waiting home stands as a testament to what we can achieve when governments, development partners, and communities come together with a shared vision of dignity, inclusion and progress.”
The event was attended by several dignitaries, including Korean Ambassador Park Jae Kyung, Chief Chinhamora, local headmen, village heads, councillors and Goromonzi West legislator Biatah Nyamupinga.
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