Nqobile Tshili, [email protected]
AT the tender age of 12, Sithandweyinkosi Ngwenya, who had just relocated from Sasedza village in Tsholotsho, Matabeleland North, to begin her Form One studies at Emakhandeni Secondary School, received a powerful message – she should become a doctor due to her remarkable intelligence. This message became her guiding light throughout her secondary and high school years, ultimately leading her to enroll in the University of Zimbabwe Medical School.
Today, she is Dr Sithandweyinkosi Ngwenya Mushunje, the sole pediatric surgeon at Mpilo Central Hospital, and she’s giving back to the community that recognised her potential and inspired her to become a medical doctor. In doing so, she’s shattering societal barriers and disproving the notion that nothing significant can emerge from Tsholotsho.
Dr Mushunje’s role is a vital one; she specialises in operating on children born with complications and abnormalities that cause immense concern for parents and their young ones. She’s the beacon of hope for these families, operating on infants born with issues such as anal malformation, intestinal problems, and discontinuous intestines, which prevent them from feeding properly.
Dr Mushunje
Saturday Chronicle had the opportunity to catch up with Dr Mushunje at the hospital, just after she finished operating on one of these infants.
“Today there are three neonates (children who are less than four weeks old) that I’m operating. One was born without an anus, the other one was born with a problem in the intestines and the other one was born with discontinued intestines and could not feed because of that. That is the bulk of our work here at Mpilo Central Hospital,” said Dr Mushunje explained.
Before her arrival at the hospital, infants with such complications were often sent to hospitals in Harare or even abroad for treatment. However, her presence has brought about a significant change, with more and more patients seeking her expertise.
“My specialty is very important because previously all these babies were sent to either Harare Hospital or outside of the country where there are pediatric surgeons there. Now they are being sent here and because the workload is a lot,” said Dr Mushunje.
Dr. Mushunje expressed the need for another pediatric surgeon to help with the growing workload.
“I do like to see them all coming but I would like to get some help in terms of getting another pediatric surgeon which is what I’m hoping for. In terms of the community, people are getting to know that I’m here and they have been coming in numbers to my clinic. On Wednesdays, I finish after 2PM, because they just keep coming but we try to keep a lot.”
She finds deep satisfaction in her work, particularly in witnessing parents leave the hospital with smiles on their faces, knowing their child has a chance at a normal life.
“For me just seeing a parent who is smiling when they are taking home a baby who was previously not eating or pooping gives me satisfaction, especially here at the Government sector where parents are at your mercy. They have no other option but to trust you,” she said.
“So, seeing them go home with smiles on their faces is what motivates me to come back to work each day. I get satisfaction when I get a thank you and grateful parents and their children when they go home.”
Dr. Mushunje attributes her journey to becoming a doctor to her community, which recognised her potential when she was still a teenager. Their encouragement planted the seeds of her medical career, and she discovered a special affinity for working with children along the way.
“As a child I decided that I was going to be a medical doctor when I was around 12 years old and starting my secondary education. By then it was inspired by a lot of people telling me that you are so intelligent and you should be a doctor and it was so enticing especially with the Tsholotsho background,” said Dr Mushunje. “So when I finally studied medicine I discovered I liked being a doctor and children is what I want to be dealing with. That is how I chose pediatric surgeon as a specialty. So I think medicine chose me and I just liked the prospect that I could come from Tsholotsho and break the boundaries and become a doctor.”
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