A battle for individual wellness
It seemed like the survival of the fittest at Argosy Farm in Marondera, where young and old people competed to get family planning and reproductive health services. The issue between these two groups was because they thought the products will run out before they got them. Maria (21) openly pushed against the older women as she sought to get control pills. Maria who is a mother of one, when asked why she behaved the way she had done said, “health services are very limited at the farm, more so free services.” Maria who worked at the farm since 2019 appreciated the services that were brought to the farm as the nearest health facility is Chiparahwe Rural Health Centre, which is about 10 kilometres away from the farm.
By Proud Sigauke (Student Intern at ZNFPC Mash East province)
Maria who was an adolescent mum is eager to wait, until she has her next child as being a single parent, has its own challenges. She is forced to work double shifts when they are available so as to increase the amount of money she can take home. Although the service providers on the ground encouraged Maria to go on a Long Acting Reversible Contraceptive method, she did not take up the offer, as she needed to be back at her working station.
Maria’s story is not a unique one in the farming communities of Marondera as there are young parents, who are forced by circumstances to work more, so as to provide for their families. The outreach services being done by Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council Mashonaland East provincial office are a way to take services to people like Maria, who fail to get time for their own health and well-being. As a result of this, the outreach services conducted at Argosy Farm was oversubscribed but the commitment from the team members ensured that no one was standing away. Other services that were provided were as follows, HIV testing and counseling, condom demonstrations and distribution, information dissemination of reproductive health, group health talks on menstrual health and management.