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UK based samaritan donates commode chair to Binga crocodile attack victim

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI 

A UK-based Zimbabwean woman has donated a commode chair with a supportive armrest to a Binga man who survived a vicious attack by a crocodile after jumping into Mlibizi River while running away from a herd of elephants leading to his both legs and left arm to get amputated.

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Windas Sianene Muleya (43) from Chief Saba jumped into the jaws of the giant reptile while running away from a herd of five elephants that was encircling him during a fishing expedition in September last year. 

His legs and arm were first amputated at Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo before another amputation on both legs in neighbouring Zambia after doctors there said the initial procedures were botched.

His cousin Tendayi Zulu told VicFallsLive that  the family had incurred a lot of costs while seeking treatment for Sianene, both in Zimbabwe and Zambia, making them fail to purchase a user-friendly chair. 

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“The commode chair was recently donated by a lady called Veronica Sibanda who is based in the UK,” Zulu said. 

“She actually sent money and the chair was bought in Bulawayo before being  sent home by bus on the 15th of January 2023. 

“The lady also promised to buy books and meet the school fees bills.” 

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Muleya is the father of three minor children, one of whom the mother is deceased. 

In an earlier interview, Muleya said the government was yet to give him any assistance despite some officials showing an interest in his case when his story first hit the headlines.

He said his old-aged mother and brother are the ones who assist him with his routine hygienic check as he often soils himself. 

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Muleya narrated for the first time how the September 28 incident that altered his life forever unfolded.

He said he was fishing close to his homestead on the confluence of Mlibizi and Zambezi rivers when he suddenly saw a herd of five elephants charging towards him.

Seeing that there was nowhere to run to since he was on an island and the elephants were charging from the only route out of the area, he decided to jump into the river and the crocodile attacked him and he had to fight it off by gagging it until it let go of him. 

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He was immediately taken to Binga District Hospital where upon admission, he was transferred to Mpilo Central Hospital in Bulawayo where a decision was made the following morning a decision to amputate his left leg and left arm.

After spending several weeks without healing, his family took to Zambia and the surgeon doctor at Livingstone Hospital informed them that the amputation was not properly done as the legs were not aligned prompting them to redo another surgery. 

After spending 17 days at the institution, Muleya was discharged and had to move in with his mother at her homestead together with his children. 

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Initially there was a wheelchair that was donated to him, but he could not push it because of the dust and sand soils in the homestead. 

Zulu said Muleya is still in need of handouts such as the clothes and toiletries for his minor children. 

For assistance, family can be reached on Zulu’s mobile number  +263 77 680 8607. 

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In the community

Zambia Limits Worship Time To Two Hours To Curb Cholera

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BY AFRICANEWS

Churches across Zambia have received a mandate to restrict worship sessions to a maximum of two hours.

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The directive, issued by Ndiwa Mutelo, a high-ranking official overseeing religious affairs, also prohibits the sale of perishable and ready-to-eat foods within church premises.

To further minimize the risk of disease transmission, worshippers are strongly advised to refrain from handshakes and hugs. In an official statement, Mr. Mutelo emphasized the importance of maintaining hygiene within worship centers.

Churches are now required to provide safe drinking water, designated hand washing points, and make available alcohol-based hand sanitizers to their congregants.

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The urgency of these measures is underscored by the significant cholera outbreak in Zambia, with more than 7,800 reported cases since last October. Over the past 24 hours alone, the health ministry has recorded over 400 new cases and 18 fatalities.

This latest intervention aims to mitigate the impact of the cholera epidemic, emphasizing the collective responsibility of religious institutions in safeguarding public health.

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SOURCE: AFRICANEWS

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Lubangwe villagers walk over 30KM to access nearest clinic

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BY LWANDLE MTHUNZI

Access to primary healthcare remains a major challenge to communities in Lubangwe resettlement area in Hwange where the nearest clinic is more than 30km away for some.

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Lubangwe Railway Farm 55 resettlement was established in 2000 during the country’s land reform when scores of villagers, mostly families of war veterans, were settled in the area.

Government did not construct schools and clinics and old farm buildings were converted into learning facilities.

While some schools are now available as a result, although far away from some villages, the communities remain with no health facility which makes access to health a major challenge.

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The worst affected are pregnant women and people living with chronic diseases such as HIV and TB who have to regularly get their monthly allocation of life saving tablets.

Edwin Nyoni, head of village 1 said had it not been for village health workers mortality could be high for people with chronic illnesses.

“We don’t have a clinic and people walk 25km to 30km to Ndlovu clinic because most have no money for transport. We risk our lives through the wildlife infested bush to Ndlovu hence we appeal to the government to help us establish a clinic nearby. We have village health workers who assist to reduce mortality and prevent home deliveries by making sure pregnant women and the chronically ill are assisted to go to hospital,” he said.

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In village 2 villagers are patiently waiting for the opening of a clinic after a building was identified for use as a health facility.

The structure has no electricity and water, said village head Joseph Munsaka.

“They promised to bring some nurses to use a building that is lying idle. They said they want to connect water and electricity and we hope this will happen soon to save lives,” he said.

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Gilbert Munkuli said sometimes health authorities visit with a mobile clinic at the nearby Nyongolo primary school.

He said some of his villagers walk more than 30km because they have no money for transport making access to health difficult.

“It is more than 30km to go to Ndlovu Clinic and health workers sometimes come to Nyongolo Primary School to give tablets especially to the chronically ill. Those with money sometimes hire cars but some die at home or fail to go to hospital which worsens the burden of diseases such as TB,” he said.

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Because of proximity to Hwange coal mining town where most people in Hwange worked at the Hwange Colliery Company, the burden of TB is high around the district as many families have lived in Hwange town at some stage before retiring to the rural areas.

Nesi Mpala of village 2 appealed to the government to open a clinic to save chronically ill community members.

“The clinic is far and people who seek medical attention suffer, with pregnant women and those with chronic diseases the worst affected. People living with HIV and Aids are better because health workers come to give them tablets but those with TB have to go to the clinic and struggle to travel because transport is expensive. We wish the government can give us a mobile clinic so that TB patients and pregnant women get help,” said Mpala.

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Government is working on a national health policy whose vision is to ensure primary health care is accessible to all communities although the plan has been in the pipeline for many years.

Health is a critical human right and key to attainment of Sustainable Development Goals.

 

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VFWT partners with Mvuthu villagers to tackle human-wildlife conflicts

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BY NOKUTHABA DLAMINI

The Victoria Falls Wildlife Trust (VFWT) has announced that they have secured funding to work with the communities of the new scheme of herding cattle, amid growing concerns of human-wildlife conflicts in the Mvuthu’s jurisdiction.

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This was announced by the VFWT Community Liaison officer Bongani Dlodlo on Tuesday at a village assembly meeting in the Mvuthu area.

He said the scheme aims to reduce the continuous attack of the domestic animals, mainly the cattle by predators such as the lions.

 

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The organisation will actively involved in various environmental issues in the area, including the introduction of mobile bomas years ago, making of chill dung to deter elephants among other rehabilitation projects.

“This will be a programme to run for three years, where we are going to create mobile kraals where the whole village, those who are willing will bring their cattle there and we will hire some willing community members above 22 years of age to look after them during the day and night,” Dlodlo said.

“We are trying to reduce the problem of your livestock getting killed and while under this scheme, we shall ensure that they get treated whenever they present some symptoms of not being well and we will also vaccinate and feed them so that they can increase the value in the market whenever you want to dispose of some of them.”

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Dlodlo also added that this will be done throughout the year.

“During the off-cropping season, we will be rotating them from one field to the other so that we also mitigate the issue of poor soils this community is faced with. By this, we hope that even your yield will improve for these coming years.”

Although some at the meeting met with skepticism, Dlodlo insisted that the villagers were not under duress to let go of their cattle and that the preparatory planning and strategies to be adopted were going to be done together with the communities.

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Fears were around the issue of religious beliefs around the rearing of livestock.

Other concerns were around the issue of having to walk long distances to milk cows and even having them to perform some day to day chores such as the fetching of firewood.

According to the Zimbabwe Environmental Lawyers, cases of human-wildlife conflicts have been increasing since 2016 by over 216 percent and Mvuthu villagers have often paid the price without compensation.

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Others also queried about what will happen if their livestock gets attacked while with the hired herders and Dlodlo responded: “We will not be paying for any compensation because ours to try and help this community, but because the herders and the place of herding will be chosen by you, we hope that this will be a holistic community project where you can always check on what is happening as we work together.”

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