Karanda Mission Hospital

Leaving town you pass a number of police checkpoints.  When they learn where you are traveling their eyes brighten and they wave you through.  As the vehicle picks up speed it is necessary to shout during conversation to overcome the loud rattles of the aging Land Cruiser.  You elect to roll down the windows and let a smile or nod suffice.  The broken fuel gauge reads empty, but it looks like the rear tank is full.  Pyramid stacks of just picked produce are selling for a dollar along the road.   It is surprising how in short time the arm out the window is starting to redden like one of the roadside tomatoes in the African sun. 

Every so often your knuckles whiten as an oncoming lorry takes more than its fair share of the black tar.  Soon however the tall golden swaying grass charms you into a relaxed state.  Breathing in the warm air, licking the dust off your teeth, taking in those uniquely African smells, you remind yourself to savor these moments.   Everything here seems to focus on the moment.  The past is often too painful to think about.  Nobody knows what tomorrow will bring.  The focus is on where you are and whom you are with at that moment.  It’s a welcome adjustment.

Three hours later, signaling a turn the vehicle leaves the hot tar, heading north on the rough gravel road.  A young family is walking with a sick child towards the hospital.  Stopping you allow them to cram in back with the supplies.  “Matebos Chiremba.”  Thank you doctor.   After 30 minutes of pounding the Cruiser climbs steeply out of the riverbed, around a sharp turn and suddenly the Karanda Mission Hospital sign confirms that we’ve arrived safely. 

Outside Karanda Mission Hospital gate

Karanda Mission Hospital is one of the most respected hospitals in Zimbabwe.  Patients travel from all over Zimbabwe and neighboring countries to receive care.  It was started by TEAM about 50 years ago and is located in a rural area about 250 kms northeast of Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe.  Karanda is a 150-bed hospital with an outpatient department that sees 150 - 300 patients per day depending on the season.  They perform 100-120 deliveries a month with about 10% of those being by Caesarean Section.  They have a very busy Antenatal Clinic, Immunization and Well Baby Clinic.  Dr. Dan Stephens, a general surgeon who has worked at Karanda for over 20 years, has recently been joined by Dr. Paul Thistle, an Ob/Gyn surgeon, who has practiced in Zimbabwe for almost 20 years.  Together they provide care in nearly every surgical discipline. 

TEAM Zimbabwe

Karanda has long had a strong educational presence in Zimbabwe hosting medical students for clinical rotations and running a Nursing School with 30+ students enrolled in a 3-year training program. 

Dr. Dan Stephen’s father, Dr. Roland Stephens, is a general surgeon who directed Karanda for much of its history up until his retirement this January.  Previously, he had been doing most of the orthpaedic surgery work.  This is now Dr. Dan Stephens’ responsibility.  Originally we had hoped to spend all of our time in Zimbabwe working at Karanda doing orthopaedics.  Due to licensing logistics, which turned out to be a blessing, plans changed and we spent much of our time working in Harare.  We were still able to make it out to Karanda for multiple orthopaedic surgical visits.  During these visits Dr. Stephens quickly became adept at using the SIGN nail system to treat long bone fractures of impoverished patients with difficult injuries.  This implant system, which is free to patients, is generously donated through the support of Dr. Patrick Ebeling and Dr. Justin Esterberg.

At 5 AM before the sun was up this past March, Dr. Akimu Mageza, an orthopaedic resident working in Harare, joined me on a trip out to Karanda.  That day we were able to treat 4 patients with SIGN nails and another patient who had suffered a hip fracture.  Dr. Mageza was thrilled to experience the mission hospital setting and amazed by what is being accomplished there with limited resources.  We are currently working on a collaboration that would have the orthopaedic residents visiting Karanda regularly to treat patients with Dr. Stephens in the rural setting.

Some of the Karanda team, including Dr. Christopher Kidwell, our physiotherapist, Charity, and theatre nurse, Prosper, came to Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare to learn the Ponsetti method of treating babies born with clubfoot.  This method uses 6 weeks of serial casting and a tenotomy followed by bracing to correct clubfoot in children.  This is a life changing treatment that is now offered at Karanda Hospital in collaboration with our good friends in the physio department at Parirenyatwa Hospital.

Peter working with Zimbabwean ortho resident

.At the end of March, I was joined by my good friend, Dr. Peter Sanders.  We again visited Karanda where the team was able to attend to many orthopaedic patients.  Dr. Sanders led some very practical lectures on orthopaedics and shared a wonderful devotion with the nursing team.  I would like to thank the Stryker team in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which sent orthopaedic hardware with Dr. Sanders to care for the poor.  The equipment has been put to immediate use!  Stryker has been very generous to our efforts in Nepal in Zimbabwe.I just got word from the surgeons in Nepal that donated Stryker drill kits worth well over $50,000 had arrived  – just as the old equipment gave out!  God’s timing is perfect.  

We ask for your prayers for the Karanda Mission.  I recently received this communication from, Jon Christiansen, a missionary at Karanda:
“Not normally being an alarmist, I find myself alarmed.  This past year was one that presented the Karanda with inadequate rain.  Looking back, the Lord prompted me to pursue the drilling of one more borehole to supply water at Karanda.  Well over two months ago we began to see our other wells dry up.  To date, the only well that is producing a little water is the new one that we just put in place.  This water is all that we are now having available to supply the hospital and residential area of the facility.  The surrounding village pumps are going dry as well, putting more pressure on the Karanda system.  Our newest well is now going into “dry run”.  We are running out of water.  We are asking you folk to pray about this.  We need an immediate solution from our Lord – He can open the flood-gates.”

Elephants enjoying a part of Zim spared by drought