Chronicle EditorThandeka Moyo-Ndlovu , Senior Reporter
WHILE PASSION for cars at a tender age could have pointed to a career in car manufacturing, a brother’s advice gave birth to someone who is believed to be Binga’s first medical doctor.
He found joy and satisfaction in making wire cars and fixing gadgets for his family as well as his neighbours’ in Siabuwa village.
After finishing his Ordinary-Level at Binga Secondary School which then was not a high school, Dr Maphios Siamuchembu (42) who is Bulawayo’s Provincial Medical Director (PMD) moved to Bulawayo where he completed his Advanced Level at Gifford High School.
In 2000 he enrolled at the University of Zimbabwe to pursue a degree in medicine, becoming what his forefathers only could dream of.
Vivid pictures of his people back in the village walking more than 20km to access health care from the handful of clinics in Binga was enough motivation which kept him moving until he made it to the medicine class of 2000.
His background could have easily deterred him from the taxing career path, but he knew he had to do it for his parents and the whole community which is often looked down upon.
Dr Siamuchembu is also one of the few Binga Secondary pupils who scored straight 10 As at O-level.
When he was appointed as Bulawayo’s PMD with effect from October 1, this year, some of his former school mates came from all over the country to celebrate the milestone.
“I was born in 1979 in a small village called Siabuwa in Binga and did my primary school there before going to Binga Secondary. Growing up, we never saw any doctors even at our district hospital where years could pass without a single medical practitioner,” said Dr Siamuchembu.
He said he grew up seeing people walking long distances to the nearest health centres and when his elder brother encouraged him to pursue medicine, it all made sense.
“My brother also wanted to be a doctor but due to resource challenges, he ended up pursuing another career path,” said Dr Siamuchembu.
In 2005, Dr Siamuchembu was back in Bulawayo for his two-year housemanship at the United Bulawayo Hospitals and Mpilo Central Hospitals.
After he completed his training in 2007, he was deployed as a government medical officer to Karanda Mission Hospital in Mt Darwin, Mashonaland Central where he worked for two years.
He was then promoted to provincial epidemiology and disease control officer for Manicaland.
“I went to Mutare and worked there for some time before getting a Chevening scholarship which took me to Leeds University in the United Kingdom for my Masters in Public Health. I was at Leeds until 2013 and came back home and joined Karanda Mission Hospital again. I then decided to specialise and become a surgeon in 2014 and I am glad I have managed to chase that dream until I graduated last year.”
Dr Siamuchembu graduated from College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa as a specialist surgeon in 2020 and had initially registered at the University of Zimbabwe for the same course before his studies were discontinued after he was involved in student politics.
He is one of student representatives who bemoaned UZ fees hikes in 2018 and was forced to drop from the course.
“I moved to Bulawayo again in 2018 and continued my training with the College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa while working at UBH and in 2019 I graduated as a surgeon and became their senior registrar in surgery six months before I went to Mpilo for the same post and duration. I eventually became a specialist surgeon in 2020 until my recent appointment as the provincial medical director for Bulawayo,” said Dr Siamuchembu.
He said his vision for the province was in line with Government’s efforts to ensure members of the public access quality health services as spelt out by the National Development Strategy 1.
“I am happy to be serving my people and my worry so far is that people in Bulawayo generally have poor health seeking behaviour which often leads to compromised quality of life. As a population, I think we are not upfront when we are unwell. We start by going to the prophets, inyanga, home remedies and we only come to hospital when most of these alternatives have failed us.
I do not know if that stems from history and being African but my vision would be to encourage the people of Bulawayo to utilise the modern medical health facilities because in my experience they help people a lot,” he said.
Dr Siamuchembu said when diseases are diagnosed early, even diseases like cancer can be cured but when people waste time seeking alternatives, by the time they come to health facilities, doctors can only palliate and make one comfortable before he or she dies.
“I am hoping to have a vibrant health education and promotion team to encourage people to seek health care services early,” he said.
Dr Siamuchembu said his father who is aged 82 and now has cancer, once worked as a groundsman at Gifford High School in Bulawayo. He said his experience at Gifford High School must have inspired him to send his children to school. He said his mother is the second wife and he was her first child who was born 10 years after his father married his mother.
“My father is very ill, he has chest problems, hypertension and in 2018 he suffered a stroke which affected his left side. He also has cancer but my mother on the other hand is still very strong. These two are my living heroes and are still living in Binga as peasant farmers. Iam what Iam today because of their sacrifice and commitment to my education given their poor background,” he said.
Dr Siamuchembu said he was a divorcee.
He enjoys driving, playing music, surfing the internet for various things including social media platforms.
“I love good food (fruits, vegetables and seafood), and fruit salad and watermelon are my current favourites. I also love spending time with my three children. While surgical operations are tiring if long and complex, they are also very satisfying for me when successful,” added Dr Siamuchembu.
Reverend Maxson Nsiansia who comes from Dr Siamuchembu’s Siabuwa village said the Bulawayo PMD is their pride and keeps inspiring hundreds of young people from the area to aim higher.
“We can safely say that Maphios is the first Tonga doctor to qualify that we know of from our area since there may be others who may not be in Zimbabwe. He has always been an inspiration from his childhood days when he was the first learner to attain 10 straight A’s thereby breaking a record for our community and district back in 1997,” he said.
“Now that he is the PMD, we are so proud and we know that he will be a good steward and ensure that our people are served since he also heads referral hospitals that cater for the southern region. We have upcoming medical doctors from Binga who were inspired by Maphios’ story and we know that our lives will never be the same again.”
Binga South legislator Joel Gabuza, a former teacher said Dr Siamuchembu as his former student in Binga had always been an intelligent boy even from his childhood days.
He applauded Government for appointing him as PMD saying he was patriotic and unlike many health practitioners who have left the country for greener pastures, he is committed to serving his people.
“I am so happy that finally his dedication to Zimbabwe’s health care system has been rewarded because his juniors have long been promoted and many others have left the country for greener pastures. I am sure we have had doctors from the district who may not be in the country but Dr Siamuchembu remains the first who has taken our people to a whole new level.
We are proud of him and we know that his works will continue motivating other youths to work hard and fly high the flag of Tonga people,” said Mr Gabuza. — @thamamoe
Online Reporter