- Do you live or do you have any family who live in Zimbabwe?
- Do any of your family members, both immediate and extended, use public health services like Parirenyatwa, kuGomo, poly clinics etc?
- Have you ever taken or visited a sick friend, colleague , family member in any of the public hospitals and clinics?
Welcome to Let’s Celebrate Zimbabwe’s Senior Nurses, a website dedicated to acknowledging, appreciating and honouring Zimbabwe’s senior nurses aged 60 years and above who have agreed return to nursing in the public health sector from their retirement in order to help out with the nursing staff shortage.
If you have answered yes to any of the above questions, I am sure you will agree with me that these nurses are providing a vital and invaluable service to our nation, doing the best they can under the extremely tough conditions they have to operate in.
I am particularly humbled by their willingness to help, especially considering that the pay they receive simply does not meet the demands of modern day living in Zimbabwe. My sister’s mother-in-law is one such nurse. She accepted the invitation to come back to work at Harare Hospital 1 year into her retirement. Her dedication to her profession is simply out of this world and she is truly committed to her job.
The idea to say THANK YOU to our senior nurses first came to us when we kept noticing how each time we went to the clinic with my sister’s new baby or to visit someone in hospital it was always the senior nurses who were there to serve. It really struck me how important their role was and had me thinking, ‘How would our nation cope if the service and contribution of the senior nurses was not available?’
What is the situation like right now?
- Critical staff shortage in public hospitals
- Nurses taking early retirement
- Ministry of Health struggling to retain all the nurses they are training
- Low pay and extremely difficult conditions
- With an estimated unemployment rate of more than 70 percent, the majority of Zimbabwe’s 12 million people rely on public health care, which is considerably cheaper than private facilities.
- Senior nurses (together with student nurses) are the plugging a hole in the severely impacted Public Health System
- Morale is low
- Very little appreciation coming from the public in general
What is likely to happen in the foreseeable future if no appreciation is shown?
- Morale remains low
- Situation will remain the way it is and likely to get worse and more and more nurses will retire early and nurses will not want to stick to the job any longer
- Fewer nurses would choose to come back to nursing in the public sector
How could things look in future if our nurses experienced a little bit of acknowledgment,appreciation, respect and honour for what they do?
- High morale
- More nurses coming back to nursing
- Greater commitment to being of service to the people
- High levels of service
- A real partnership between nurses and members of the public
- A responsible and caring Zimbabwe
This is how good the future could be, hama!
What would it be like for you if you joined us in giving the most amazing Appreciation Christmas party ever to our senior heroes? How would that leave you feeling inside? What would it mean to you to put a smile a someone else’s face and to make someone happy with your thoughtful act of kindness?
Please send us an email with your name, phone number and email address and someone from our team will call you to discuss ways of you can help that may be of interest to you.
THANK YOU!!
