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By Elvis Dumba
Raffingora – A 78-year-old man in Raffingora has been silently making an impact on the small populous community by taking care of various sick and elderly people in the area.
78-year-old Ingram Mutandabute has taken it upon himself to assist the sick in the area and some of the patients under his care have made him stand out as a rare community member.
“I just want to assist those in pain and as a Christian, I just thought I have to do something to those in hard times. Using God’s compassion, I have been doing this for some time now,” he said during an interview.
Mutandabute who said he does not have any medical training said the idea of him to assist the sick and the elderly came to him after a church service.
“It was after a church service when all this began. It just came to my mind how I could plough back into the community in order to be an effective instrument of God. That’s how I began to take care of the sick and elderly people who are sometimes neglected.”
Among those under Mutandabute’s care are cases so severe that it takes a compassionate heart to give assistance. One of his patients is a 105-year-old Zamwendo Sithole who has a cancerous wound on top of his foot which Mutandabute ensures is clean all the time. He also bathes the man every day since the man lives with his widowed daughter-in-law.
During a visit to some of his patients, Zvimba North Constituency legislator Marian Chombo broke down in tears after visiting 79-year-old Abba Kim who has a cancerous wound on his head that is eating away part of his scalp. Mutandabute is responsible for ensuring that the wound is cleaned every single day.
The man’s children are reported to be living in South Africa but have neglected their father.
“My biggest challenge is to get cotton wool and gloves to use. I have been requesting these from our local hospital but sometimes they don’t have the stock and I’m forced to use my bare hands sometimes,” Tandabute said.
From patients with open cancerous wounds to the elderly, and people with disabilities, Tandabute faithfully and passionately carries his duties expecting nothing in return but for those under his care to live a comfortable life.
People of a nervous disposition cannot look twice at the conditions of some of Tandabute’s patients.
Another patient with a cancerous wound is Regis Chirapashura who is bedridden with a cancerous wound on his genital area eating away his genitals. Once again, Tandabute is responsible for ensuring that the wounds are clean.
Chombo who received a request for support from Tandabute was shown around visiting Tandabute’s patients in the company of local businessman Kuda Machiri who pledged to work with the Members of Parliament in assisting community residents with similar challenges.
Machiri donated groceries and a pair of crutches which were handed over to various families during the visits.
” I’m grateful to have such people who have a soft heart for those in need. I didn’t expect that I was visiting people with such severe cases. I will definitely engage the social service department so that they work closely with this amazing volunteer,” Member of Parliament for the area and Deputy Minister of Local Government and Public Works Marian Chombo, said.