The hard-working midwife
Well-known, Moruca-born midwife Zina Cornelius.
Well-known, Moruca-born midwife Zina Cornelius.

The sky is the limit for Zina Cornelius

THE sky is the limit for midwife Zina Cornelius who hails from Moruca and who has defied the odds and continues to seek opportunities to enhance her life.
“You can be all you can once you believe in yourself,” this mother of seven said, adding that she doesn’t intend to give up but to make life better for herself and family.

Zina came from humble beginnings and when she was faced with assisting her husband to provide for seven children, she sought employment in her community and started working in the Malaria Department assisting to take smears from patients.
However, after becoming an all-rounder at the Kumaka District Hospital as a result of a shortage of staff, she decided she wanted to do more to become qualified in the medical field.

HARD WORK
At this point, there was no turning back for Zina who applied for the Health Worker Programme in 1998 and she was successful.

She noted that from 2006 to 2009, when it was just the Medex and herself at the Kumaka District Hospital she used to reside in the compound and practically ran the complex whenever the Medex was away. She stated that that was a very important time in her life and she continued to make use of all the opportunities that came her way. Following her experience, today, Zina is a qualified midwife in her community.
Back then, Zina told the Pepperpot Magazine, what she was doing was quite an achievement because she was the only midwife in her community, and she felt proud of herself given all the hard work she endured to get qualified.

“I worked in all the departments of the Kumaka District Hospital, even in the pharmacy and I have learnt a lot and one day, it occurred to me that I can become anybody I want and I worked towards that goal,” she said. Zina stated that her journey was not easy but when you like what you do it becomes the driving force for upgrading yourself no matter what difficulties may come your way.

DELIVERING BABIES
She related that the Kumaka District Hospital which is located in Region One (Barima-Waini) serves the entire sub-region of about 17,000 residents from 11 satellite areas starting from Santa Rosa, totalling about 13 villages.

The midwife added that only the most serious cases are referred to the Suddie and Charity hospitals. On some days, she said, it is often busy at the Kumaka District Hospital and of course, as one of the senior midwives there, she has had more than her fair share of delivering babies.

The medical professional said that she used to deliver babies at home but now, babies are delivered at the district hospitals in their communities. She recalls the days of visiting patients’ homes when there would be almost 90 births per year in that community. While there are still many deliveries there, she said that most patients are referred to Suddie and Charity hospitals for varying medical reasons and complications. Other patients are also referred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), if necessary.

“I have delivered about 300 babies back then when I was the one midwife in the area and about 15 babies per month, but now we do not deliver so many babies because of the referrals to other hospitals,” she said.

She told the Pepperpot Magazine that she became a trained midwife in 2004. Now, with more midwives at the hospital, she said that she is able to work shifts which allow her to manage household chores and tend to her children.

LIFE IN MORUCA
Zina said that most residents enjoy the quiet life in her village and earn from small-scale farming of cassava, vegetables and coconuts which they sell at the Kumaka Market.
The midwife said, “We are also into farming where we plant ground provisions and vegetables on a small scale for consumption and for retail whenever there is too much for us.”

She pointed out that the main means of transportation is by road and boat. The village has a nursery and a primary school and the secondary school is located at Kumaka, which is about three and a half miles away.

She added that youths engaged in sport activities but some young people in that community are unemployed and for them to get a good job they have to leave the village. “Most youths do not want to leave their families behind to seek employment elsewhere but the possibility of them getting a job there is very slim,” she said.

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