Building dreams…How Bester Chamboko created a thriving hospital from scratch

AGAINST a backdrop of significant challenges, 72-year-old consultant midwife Bester Chamboko has transformed her unwavering optimism into a thriving empire. As the owner of Bulawayo’s Maternal and Child Care Centre, a three-storey beacon of hope, she defies conventional wisdom, proving that success is not solely reliant on capital but on a resolute spirit and perseverance. Starting with minimal resources, she has built a cornerstone of maternal and child healthcare in the community.

On Thursday, Chamboko shared her inspiring success story with Saturday Chronicle; a journey from adversity to triumph in an exclusive interview conducted at her hospital.

Chamboko began with a vision of success despite growing up in a rural area with limited opportunities. She remained focused on her goals, overcoming limitations to achieve her dreams.

“I grew up as a very nervous little girl in the rural areas. I was worried about my nervousness and made a lifetime decision to challenge everything that kept me down and poor,” she said.

She explained that her now large hospital began as a small business at the corner of 14th Avenue and Fort Street in 1985, before relocating to its current location in 1993.

“We have been open since 1985, starting at a small business premises at the corner of 14th Avenue and Fort Street. Initially, I provided maternity care through home confinements and deliveries. However, as time passed, we grew because our clients, who loved our service, insisted on our expansion when they became uncomfortable with our original location. In 1993, we moved to our current location, which I bought with instalments when it was a dilapidated three-bedroom house. I started this hospital on my own,” she said.

She started with nothing, coming from poverty and lacking any inheritance apart from being a nurse. She avoided borrowing from the beginning and worked with determination despite low standards of living.

“When I was renting at Fort Street, I had to find extra jobs, including part-time work at Mater Dei because our profits weren’t enough to cover the rent. My advice to people is to hold onto a good idea and persevere despite discouragement. I worked with a clear vision even in poverty, avoiding borrowing due to the stress and interests involved. To make ends meet, I took night shifts at Mater Dei and balanced my work of patient care with sewing and selling petticoats for extra income to cover our rent.

“I believed in starting small and growing my vision one day at a time. We began with just two basic delivery packs and a scale for weighing babies. It worked well because we were young and had only a few clients at the time. I never complained to the landlord about the rent but would rather find ways to raise the money. My advice is for people to know exactly what they want and stay focused. Don’t wait until you have enough funds to start — take action now, as waiting could take a lifetime for some,” she said.

Chamboko said the backbone of her success has been focus, intent, and quality service, as she understood that people are not foolish not to recognise quality work. She seized every opportunity that empowered her to grow in her field before founding her clinic.

“We were small but we were providing high-quality care, which attracted support from many. I ensured I received relevant training, becoming a state-qualified nurse and training as a midwife in Scotland. My pursuit of excellence led me to study neonatal intensive care in Northampton in 1979, enabling me to better care for both children and their mothers, as a midwife.

“I learned about special care for autism because my third daughter was born with a disability. I travelled to America for further education on supporting autistic individuals, which enabled me to help my daughter. I became knowledgeable about autism-specific nutrition and now I assist many others,” she said.

She explained that the immediate cause for starting her own clinic was the challenges she faced at Mpilo after returning from Europe to work as a tutor.

“I returned from Europe to teach student nurses at Mpilo but I faced significant challenges there because I was excellent. My excellence and the compliments I received led to bitterness from some senior colleagues. One office mate in particular displayed intense hostility, and things escalated when I returned from leave to find blood on my desk, suggesting witchcraft. This incident made it clear that the hostility was coming from her, and I felt compelled to resign from Mpilo. In August 1985, I opened my clinic.”

Chamboko said she grew resilient to hatred after learning from a tutor in America that if people hate you, it often means you’re doing something right. She said this advice helped her thrive despite the negativities.

She faced challenges with doctors when she moved to her current site but kept on progressing.

“Back at Fort Street, we were a small, relatively unknown clinic. However, when we moved to our current location, our excellence in service attracted new problems, as nearby doctors lost customers to us. They took steps to question my authority, claiming that I was giving injections without proper training, not knowing that I had received extensive training in immunisation during my time at Mpilo,” she said.

She explained that those doctors petitioned the Ministry of Health, claiming she lacked the necessary qualifications due to professional jealousy.

“I began offering immunisation services at my private clinic in Zimbabwe, and other clinics soon copied my approach. I remember a doctor friend once told me that the hostility I faced was partly due to the fact that I was black, I was a nurse, and I was in their street. When I presented my qualifications to the registrar in Harare, he was surprised by my credentials, noting that the complaints against me seemed to stem from professional jealousy. He advised me to continue my work despite the negativity,” she said.

In 2002, she demolished the old building to make way for the construction of what is now the three-storey hospital building.

“In 2002 we bulldozed the old structure and started making way for this building’s construction. When I presented my structure’s design to my architect, I didn’t have enough funds to start building, but I had already demolished the old structure. The architect laughed and said the structure would take three lifetimes to complete. I clearly told him, ‘I’m not joking — watch me,'” she said.

She said the 250% interest rate required by the banks for borrowing was impossible for her. Instead, she leveraged her overseas experience and connections to secure work abroad.

“I returned to work in the UK, having left the contractor to continue building the structure. I am grateful to Mrs Ncube, who managed the funds I sent and ensured the work continued. I returned to settle in 2014, after we had this more than a million-dollar building and equipped it to rightfully be called a hospital, as inspectors declared it to be a hospital in 2018,” she said.

“For my life, misfortunes truly led me to many opportunities,” she concluded.