Online Reporter
Tanaka Nkala, [email protected]
BEFORE dawn breaks over Bulawayo, Sister Shuvai Makainganwa is already awake.
While most of the city still sleeps, she quietly prepares for another emotionally demanding day at Ingutsheni Central Hospital, where every shift brings her face to face with pain, hope and the fragile human mind.
By 6AM, she is dressed in her crisp white uniform, carrying not only her nursing tools but the emotional weight of patients and families who depend on her care.
“Some days are very difficult, but when you knock off and go home, knowing you helped someone, that is what keeps us going every morning,” she says softly.
For Sister Makainganwa, nursing is more than a profession. It is a calling that demands compassion, patience and emotional resilience.
On Friday, as nurses from across Bulawayo marched from Mhlahlandlela to City Hall to commemorate International Nurses Day under the theme “Our Nurses, Our Future,” Sister Makainganwa walked alongside fellow nurses whose daily lives are built around sacrifice and service.
Clad in white uniforms, the nurses sang, danced and educated members of the public through health demonstrations and seminars. But beneath the celebrations were deep personal stories of exhaustion, heartbreak and determination.
For many nurses, a typical day begins with checking patients, administering medication, calming anxious families and responding to emergencies, often without rest.
At Ingutsheni, where Sister Makainganwa works, the emotional burden can be especially heavy.
“The mind is like the CPU of a human being. As psychiatric nurses, we help people dealing with substance abuse and mental health problems understand their situations and begin rehabilitation,” she explains.
Throughout her day, Sister Makainganwa listens to troubled patients, comforts distressed relatives and works to rebuild lives fractured by mental illness and addiction.
Sometimes, despite their efforts, patients do not survive.
“At times, we lose patients that we would have developed bonds with and it becomes painful,” she says.
Yet even in grief, nurses return the next day, ready to care again.
The commemorations also became a moment for nurses to confront public misconceptions about their profession.
“Most people say nurses are rude and rough, but when you get to the hospital, the first person who helps you is usually the nurse,” said Sister Makainganwa.
Behind every rushed hospital corridor interaction, she says, is a nurse juggling dozens of patients, emotional trauma and life-or-death decisions.
Sister Primrose Sibanda, a nurse at Mpilo Central Hospital, says the commemorations were meant to honour that often unseen reality.
“Today is all about our mandate as nurses. It is about what we offer to the public and the role we play in saving lives,” she said.
Sister Sibanda explained that nurses from different specialties, including oncology, trauma, paediatric and midwifery units came together to educate the public about the work they do daily.
“All these specialties work together under one umbrella to save lives. Empowering nurses is key to improving healthcare delivery in the country. If nurses are empowered, then it means we are in a better position to save lives,” she said.
For mental health nurse Nyasha Mashuku, nursing has been a lifelong dream.
Growing up near Ingutsheni Central Hospital, where his parents worked, he admired the nurses he saw every day.
“I used to see the nurses working and I admired what they were doing. My greatest motivation comes from my family and my passion for helping others,” he said.
