Hope Has Been Sewn in the Community of Chigodora
Excerpts from the speech made by Veronica Nyoni, Head of the St. Werburgh’s Primary School on July 15, 2005 at the official dedication of the St. Werburgh’s Mission Clinic
I stand before you today with a joyful mind. A giant step in development has been achieved for the betterment of the Chigodora, St. Werburgh’s community and surroundings. My heart bleeds as my mid is taken aback to how little children walked over 10 kilometers to the nearest health clinic.
Thanks go to the powers that be and the ministry of Health in granting the Church of England permission to put up the clinic. Help from the local community, school children, former students, Plan International which equipped the clinic and the Portland-Mutare Sister City Association U.S.A which did most of the funding. Thus, today, we have such a beautiful building: THE ST. WERBURGH’S MISSION CLINIC.
Everyone is quite happy as we celebrate and enjoy the fruits of our hard work. Although this has come to be, lest we forget, we have to fight on amid make sure we take full care and be in the battle against controlling the devastation of today’s most deadly and feared disease, HIV/AIDS. Out of continuous suffering, very strong souls have emerged. We need to join other people of the world to overcome it. Hundreds of orphans have come by our village. They need shelter, food, education, clothing, the list is endless, but above all, they need health delivery services most.
The major reason why the epidemic seems to be out of control is ignorance about the disease. Gone are the days when we used to whisper about it, but LET’S TALK OR EVEN SHOUT ABOUT IT. Great need is there ladies and gentlemen TO ACT AND ACT NOW so that we address attitudes and cultures in which our children are being nurtured, to elicit the behavior change necessary to reduce the vulnerabilities, especially the children who are going to be our future leaders.
Words run short of us, but remember God has a very special reason why you were made to be part and parcel of these achievements. Thousands of appreciating eyes and minds are looking and bumbling with happiness. Let’s join hands together and soldier on to open even more doors of developments. They aren’t locked, but only shut waiting for our continuous courage to open them. IF IT’S NOT US, THEN WHO? IF IT’S NOT NOW, THEN WHEN? LET’S CONTINUE TO HOPE AND KEEP THE LIGHT ON.