Icon of midwifery dies @ 94
TO many, the name Spilhaus House Clinic is synonymous with family planning services.
The place, run by the Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council (ZNFPC) in Harare’s Southerton suburb, offers critical services that include distribution of contraceptives and training on sexual reproductive health.
The last of the founders, Mbuya Margaret Joyce Marianne Khumalo, breathed her last on Friday.
The iconic midwife, who died at the age of 94, teamed up with Mrs Peddy Spilhaus, whom the building is named after, to teach people mainly those in farming communities, about family planning services and reproductive health.
This was back in the 1960s when the late expert in midwifery joined the Family Planning Association of Rhodesia.
Her daughter, Charlotte Nyamweda, said her mother’s long history of working in the health sector, specifically on family planning programmes, began around 1947 when as one of the first group of black girls, she enrolled as a student nurse at Nyadire Nursing College.
“My mother had a long history working as a midwife. After training she worked at Nyadire Hospital and St Augustine Hospital before she left for Mcord Zulu Hospital in Durban, South Africa.
“There she graduated as a state registered midwife and came back to Zimbabwe working in the maternity departments of Mpilo, Mutare Isolation, Kadoma General and Harare Central (Sally Mugabe) hospitals,” Nyamweda said.
Mbuya Khumalo was later seconded by ZNFPC to the United States of America to train as a marriage and youth counsellor.
After retiring in 1990, Mbuya Khumalo established herself as a dedicated woman in community and charity work, mainly in Mufakose high-density suburb where she lived with her family.
Her granddaughter, Margaret Plant, said her grandmother was a principled civil servant, dedicated to her work and a pioneer of education.
“My grandmother always said the sky was the limit when it came to pursuing education. She was a nurse at work but a mum and grandmother at home,” Plant said.
Family friend and a former midwife at ZNFPC, Mrs Nellie Terera, said the late Mbuya Khumalo had a calling as a nurse who showed compassion for those who required health services.
“She started a department of youth advisory for school children and she was very good.
“It took us about two to three years before we could find somebody to replace her. She was a difficult nurse to replace because she was good at her work.”
Mrs Terera said Mbuya Khumalo leaves behind a legacy of empathy, kindness, love and commitment.
Born to missionary parents on October 7, 1925, Mbuya Khumalo is survived by three children and 14 grandchildren. She will be buried today at Warren Hills Cemetery.