Maternity clinic reaps the benefits of solar hot water

Zimbabwe

Submitted by Samson Mhlanga
Published 12 months ago

Mother Paula Maternity Clinic is situated in the suburb of Paradise Park in the town of Marondera, near to the capital, Harare. The clinic is operated and managed by the Catholic Nuns of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood, and is named after the co-foundress of the congregation.

The clinic is the brainchild of Sister Nellie-Auxilia Zakazaka, a Missionary Sister of the Precious Blood, who is a medical doctor specializing in obstetrics and gynecology. After qualifying as a specialist, Sister Zakazaka was given permission to convert an existing building into a clinic and the facility was established, opening its doors in March 2020 with a staff complement of six.

The facility had difficulty coping with the consistently inflated electric tariffs and the clinic approached a local installer who had installed a solar system at a nearby orphanage.

"The clinic expresses its profound gratitude to SOLTRAIN for assistance in obtaining and installing five 200 litre and one 100 litre systems which have assisted greatly in the smooth running of our clinic," says Sister Nellie-Auxilia. "Marondera's climate is cold in winter with temperatures frequently reaching one degree or less. With the installation of these sola thermal systems, our staff and the patients will always have a warm bath and hot water for cleaning and other purposes. In terms of cost savings, the installations have cut our electricity consumption from 920 kWh to 366 kWh a month, which is a great relief," she adds.