Island Hospice & Healthcare

My name is Erica. I live in Sakubva, one of the high density suburbs in Mutare. I live with my husband and my daughter. My husbnad and I are both unemployed. I started showing signs of illness in 2014. By then, I was living in the village. The illness degenerated into unbearable pain and I was taken to Mutare for treatment. I tried everything within my means to get healed, including traditional medicine to no avail. In September 2016 I visited a clinic in Harare where I was diagnosed with cancer. I was shocked to hear the results of this diagnosis. Based on my knowledge of cancer, I felt hopeless and that life was not worthwhile. We sold the only cow we had in the village to get funds for chemotherapy. The money was unfortunately insufficient to cover all medical requirements, to the extent that I missed my review in 2017. I was only able to buy one out of three recommended injections. The situation turned worse a because morphine was hard to come by in Mutare. I had to endure great pain every day and night. I often had sleepless nights. I got paralysed and could hardly walk out of this room. My wish was to find time to enjoy the cool breeze outside my house and socialise with my friends as I used to do in the past.

In 2017, I went to Mutare  hospital for pain management. I was referred to Island Hospice and Healthcare  (Island) for specialised palliative care services. I started to receive morphine regularly at no cost. Island donated a wheelchair to support my mobility. The Island team of nurses and social workers started to visit me regularly for continuous support.

The coming of Island in my life brought great relief. The pain has gone low. Now I can spend peaceful nights as long as I am taking my medication. After two years of spending the whole day indoors, I am finding time to bask in the sunshine. My happy face tells you how happy I am. 

My name is Sekai (not real name) and I live in Mabvuku which is a place outside of Harare.  I am 10 years old and I live with my mother and my older brother – he is now 16 years old. My mother and I are both ill.   When I was 6 years old and because we were sick we were forced to move away from our relatives that we were staying with. My mother had no money to rent a good house. We moved into a small cabin. My mother got sick. She stopped working and school fees were not paid.  Then we had little sadza and relish (food). I had to take care of my mother; cook, wash and give her company. I felt sad because I was the only young person that I knew looking after their mother. I used to feel like running away from home.

My mother started getting help from Island Hospice &Healthcare after the council clinic told us about the help they can give us. They [Island Hospice & Healthcare] also started caring for me. Since I was young the Island nurses and social workers come and visit us at our home – they talk to me about my feelings and they also give me and my mom medicine. A social worker from Island referred me tothe department of] Social Services where I was registered for education support. I then started attending the young carers programme* at Island. I enjoyed being with other children there who are going through what I am. I am happy someone in my community is looking in on us and making sure I am happy, playing and going to school.

 It [the young carers programme] made me realize that I am not the only young person experiencing the burden of caring for a sick person. By sharing my experiences and listening to the experience of others, I feel lighter.  I feel much better now and do not feel like running away from home anymore. I am a better carer to myself and my mother but I have help. I am happy to attend school regularly and see my mother not suffering as much as she used to before we had help.

About Our Young Carers Programme

*Island Hospice & Healthcare, was established in 1979 as the first hospice in Africa providing palliative and bereavement care. Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing problems associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial & spiritual. We offer direct care and several programmes including young carers.

With two thirds of the population below the age of 25, Zimbabwe has a youthful population. A prevalence rate of 15% makes Zimbabwe one of the hardest hit countries by HIV and AIDS globally. AIDS is orphaning an entire generation of children as every fourth Zimbabwean child is orphaned, the second highest orphan rate in the world.  Island Hospice & Healthcare works with children who have lost one parent, may be caring for the remaining dying parent, and are often HIV positive themselves. The impact of unresolved/unaddressed bereavement on the mental health of these children as they develop and into adulthood is of concern. To address this Island developed a young carers programme which provides psychosocial support through counselling, equipping and supporting young carers with skills to care for a loved one living with a life limiting illness, facilitation of community youth care clubs; and community driven case management with community home based carers. 

For more information please see: www.islandhospice.care