Zimbabwe is in the grip of its worst-ever cholera outbreak.  So far [as at 19.01.08], more than 46,000

Killron Dembe

suspected cases have been reported and more than 2,400 people have died from the epidemic.

Cholera is affecting all sectors of the community but its effects are most devastating among the poor as they face other challenges, such as access to health facilities, medication, food, transport and even access to basic communications like a telephone. The disease knows no boundaries: even families of health workers and aid agency staff have been affected. Killron Dembe, the Fundraising Coordinator at Oxfam GB in Harare shares the ordeal that he went through on new year’s eve when he received a message that his mother had contracted cholera.

“The drama began on New Year’s Eve, when I received a confusing message that either my mother was critically ill with cholera or had died from cholera. The telephone message had been sent by a cousin from a town called Chiredzi in Masvingo province, which is about 50km from my mother’s village. There are no telephones in my mother’s village.

The call left me in a state of panic and confusion, as I was not sure whether to buy a coffin for my mother or to rush to my rural home to check her condition. As the eldest son, I was ultimately responsible for arranging for my mother’s burial (if she was dead) or her treatment if she was critically ill.

After discussions with my family, we agreed that my young brother would go to assess the situation and report back. I rushed to Oxfam and got some rehydration kits and aquatabs for my brother to take home in case he found my mother still alive. On arrival however, my brother found my mother in a critical condition and could not come back to Harare to tell us about her condition. My mother had been admitted to the nearest Cholera Treatment Centre.

For two days we did not get any messages from my brother: this created more panic and confusion. Every time the phone rang we all held our breath in case the news was about my mother’s death.

I called a friend who stayed near my mother’s home to find out what had happened. On his return, he  told me that my mother was now safe at home after being released from a cholera treatment centre. I shed tears of joy when I heard that my mother was still alive.

While I am happy that my mother is fine now and in good health, my ordeal is not yet over, as I have been summoned to an extended family meeting to explain why I did not tell my mother’s relatives about her illness more quickly. According to Zimbabwean tradition, if my mother had died, we would not have been able to bury her in the absence of my maternal relatives. The Zimbabwe  government, however, insists on immediate burials of cholera victims, so there could have been a lot of tensions between my maternal and paternal families had she been buried in their absence.

My mother must have contracted the disease when she stayed in a cholera treatment centre when her grandchild was hospitalised for three days with suspected cholera.

I am concerned about the water sources my parents are using, as the nearest protected borehole is about 7km away from their home. My mother is elderly. She cannot go to fetch clean water that far every day and has to rely on open wells that are close to her home.

I grew up drinking from the same open wells but I think with cholera spreading, there is risk in drinking from these water sources.

It’s ironic that I work for an organisation that is fighting against cholera and yet my mother almost lost her life.

Oxfam staff have been absorbed in the cholera response even over the Christmas and new year holidays and many have not had time to educate their own families about the disease. Cholera is a reality: let’s not look at it as if it is something that affect others. If we are not careful, we can be victims too.  I encourage all of our staff to take time off to educate their families about the disease lest they are caught unprepared to deal with the disease.”

More from the Oxfam Press Office at http://www.oxfam.org.uk/news