Chronicle Editor
Raymond Jaravaza, [email protected]
IT’S not uncommon for Ms Chipo Marinda to fail to buy her monthly Blood Pressure (BP) medication when her funds run short and she is left with no choice but to default the medication.
She spends an average of US$20 on BP medication every month, money which the 53-year-old granny sometimes fails to raise.
Ms Chirinda is unemployed and survives by selling second hand clothes in her neighbourhood in Luveve suburb, Bulawayo.
This month, however, Ms Chirinda has one less monthly expenditure to worry about and can use the money she saved for the BP medication to buy winter clothes for her five-year-old granddaughter instead.
She is one of the beneficiaries of the Brian Samuriwo Foundation sponsored free medical health check-ups and free medication programme that was launched in Luveve suburb on Saturday.
Comrade Samuriwo is the aspiring Member of Parliament for Luveve/ Emakhandeni constituency in the harmonised 23 August elections.
His foundation, a non-profit organization that he founded years ago, assists the less privileged including capacitating youths with self-sustaining projects such as carpentry and brick laying.
“I’m not ashamed to say that sometimes I default on taking my BP medication when I fail to get money to buy the pills. It’s a reality that I have to live with, money is hard to get these days and US$20 for the medication is a lot of money for someone like myself who is not gainfully employed.
“I was diagnosed with the condition in early 2020 and I’m still adjusting to living with BP.
“When I heard that Samuriwo was bringing doctors for free medical check-ups and medicine, I was one of the first people to come here early in the morning.
“The doctor said my BP is stable and I was given free medication that will last a month so I’m very relieved,” Ms Chirinda told Chronicle.
Four doctors, nurses and a pharmacist were on site at Madamburi Shopping Centre in Luveve for the free medical services.
Hordes of people but mostly the elderly thronged the shopping centre to access the services, which Cde Samuriwo said was a non-political event meant to benefit all residents of Luveve.
“I was raised in Luveve and some of the elderly women and men I’m seeing here today are my parents and this is a way for the foundation to give back to the community that raised us.
“The medical services will be available every Monday going forward because we want to reach out to everyone in Luveve and Emakhandeni,” said Cde Samuriwo.
Seventy-three-year-old Mrs Janet Masuku, a diabetic, has been battling the condition for more than 20 years.
“I have not been to a check-up in a long time and I’m so happy that a child who grew up here in Luveve brought doctors and nurses to assist us for free. I have been given my medication and I really want to thank Samuriwo for the good job he is doing for us the elderly,” said Mrs Masuku.
The Brian Samuriwo Foundation also assists bereaved families in Emakhandeni and Luveve by availing a truck to ferry firewood, water and food for free to families who would have lost their loved ones.
Online Reporter