We are very grateful to our colleagues at Friends of Nzega for their funding of this project.
Borehole drilling in progress and FUM's Clerk of Works Mr Gomegwa (blue shirt)
inspecting the working of the new pump with village officers
The doctor's house was in need of refurbishment, partly because of a leaks due to poor roof design. The clinic building also needed a small amount of reinforcement in one corner.
Students from Cranbrook School in Kent offered to pay for this work and a group of students planned to visit in July 2020 and help with the work. Unfortunately the corona pandemic caused their visit to be cancelled but they kindly agreed that the work could go ahead.
The leaky roof has now been replaced, new aluminium windows fitted and with burglar bars, the internal ceiling has been replaced, the floor now tiled and walls repainted.
The FUM borehole and pump, completed in 2016, were still giving good water despite the drought. The doctor’s house was looking good after work by FUM, and the patients’ new toilets at the clinic were nearing completion. The clinic was being upgraded with a government RBF grant.
Nick Vinall
FUM Treasurer
The clinic is well used, with good staff, but could do with some refurbishment. The doctor's house has a significant roof problem. There is a new delivery bed for births.
The group received a full and rather fierce looking Sung-Sungu greeting under “the tree”.
An elderly man was delighted to show us a photo of John Gillett (FUM's co-founder) under the same tree back in early ‘80s.
He then read a lovely speech for Priscilla Gillett, John's widow.
Jo Taylor
FUM Medical Liaison Officer
The clinic looked in quite good order with evidence of some recent work to repair some cracks in the walls. There is a working fridge, powered by solar panels, and the mattresses and nets provided by the FUM were being used.
There is an average of 17 deliveries per month and the staff here are trained on the HIV prevention programme, giving advice on prevention of transmission from mother to baby – this depending on the status of the family as it is seen that the very poor cannot cope with the regimes needed for safe bottle feeding.
The villagers spoke previously of a lack of staff; living in a remote village is not popular with trained staff. The situation has been eased by FUM building a staff house nearby.
There is a bicycle for the twice weekly Outreach Programme to support the Vaccination Programme for babies and children. The nurse said they often vaccinate 28 babies per day!
Jo Taylor
FUM Clinics Liaison Officer