Island Hospice & Healthcare

Introduction and background

Island Hospice and Healthcare (Island) delivers palliative and bereavement care through five tailored models of service delivery namely: (i)home-based care, which brings support directly into patients' homes (2)hospital-based care, integrated within healthcare facilities (3)rural and community outreach, extending services to underserved areas (4) roadside clinics, meeting clients where they are (5) virtual consultations, offering telehealth care from anywhere. Together, these models ensure that care adapts to each patient's individual circumstances, remaining accessible, flexible and responsive regardless of setting.

Within these service delivery models, Island implemented a range of interventions and achieved notable outcomes during the period February 2026 to May 2026.

Intervention and Outcomes: February 2026- May 2026

During the reporting period, Island supported individuals and families coping with life-limiting conditions, bereavement, and trauma. Clients received a range of psychosocial interventions including mental wellness sessions, bereavement support, debrief sessions, and organised partner loss support groups. These services strengthened emotional resilience and provided structured support to individuals and families coping with life-limiting conditions.

Island extended psychosocial support to frontline personnel, including debriefing sessions with Gonarezhou National Park staff. These sessions addressed cumulative workplace trauma while reinforcing awareness of Island’s services among high-risk occupational groups.

Island implemented targeted training sessions for health professionals, community volunteers, caregivers, and nurse aides to strengthen skills in delivering culturally responsive palliative care. These sessions enhanced the quality and consistency of care across service delivery points. In April and May, Island delivered caregiver modules aimed at strengthening practical caregiving skills and emphasizing the importance of caregiver wellbeing as a core component of sustainable service delivery. Spiritual care training was conducted to strengthen staff capacity to address the emotional and spiritual needs of patients and families facing illness, grief, and end-of-life challenges. This enhanced the integration of spiritual care as a key component of holistic palliative care support.

Island strengthened community engagement, partnerships, and organisational visibility through targeted outreach, awareness, and collaborative platforms aimed at promoting palliative care awareness, and holistic wellbeing.

Island participated in an integrated cancer awareness and screening outreach in Chirumanzu District in collaboration with Cancer Serve, the National AIDS Council, and other partners. Island also engaged in faith-based and community dialogue platforms, including a Ladies’ Church Conference held at Rest Haven Retreat in Harare. The session focused on holistic palliative care approaches that promote comfort, dignity, emotional support, and spiritual wellbeing for individuals receiving end-of-life care at home. The engagement strengthened community understanding of palliative care and highlighted the role of faith-based spaces in amplifying awareness and support.

During the reporting period, Island provided care to 1,022 patients, an increase from 658 patients in the previous period. These patients received a combined 2,994 care contacts, reflecting an average of approximately three contacts per patient. Service delivery was predominantly virtual, which had a total of 1,142 contacts, followed by home visits (664) and roadside clinics (539). Other modes of engagement included hospital office consultations (336), ward rounds (258) and hospital visits (55).

The following stories illustrate Island’s meaningful impact within the community:

Story of Change 1:A Journey Through Grief and Healing            

My name is Mr. Dube (pseudo name), and my life changed forever in September 2025 following a tragic road traffic accident. I was travelling with my wife, daughter, granddaughter and a hired driver to attend a function in Kwekwe when our vehicle was involved in a head-on collision.

I survived the accident, but my wife, daughter and granddaughter did not. In a single moment, I lost the people who meant the most to me. My wife and I had shared 32 years together since meeting as teenagers. We had built a life, raised a family and created countless memories. The loss left me devastated and struggling to make sense of what had happened.

In the months that followed, I experienced overwhelming grief, trauma, anger and loneliness. I wrestled with difficult spiritual questions and searched for answers through different Christian traditions, a prophet and a traditional healer. I often found myself crying in isolation and reliving the events of the accident. Even the memories of my loved ones became painful reminders of what I had lost.

Through my workplace wellness programme, I was referred to Island Hospice and Healthcare. The weekly counselling sessions I received from a bereavement specialist became an important part of my healing journey. The counselling provided a safe space for me to talk about the accident, process my grief and confront the emotions I had been carrying. Together, we worked through the traumatic memories, spiritual conflicts and recurring dreams that continued to trouble me.

One of the most difficult emotions I faced was anger. I found myself directing it towards the police, the registrar's office, neighbours and even members of the community. Through counselling, I came to understand that these feelings were a normal part of grief and learnt healthier ways of expressing and managing them. Writing letters to my wife, daughter and granddaughter became an important outlet for my emotions and helped me process my loss.

Over time, I began to notice meaningful changes in my life. I was able to talk about the accident without becoming overwhelmed. The psychosomatic pains I had been experiencing gradually eased, and I started reconnecting with colleagues whom I had previously withdrawn from. I returned to work and regained confidence in my ability to move forward with life. With the support of my therapist, I now feel ready to watch the funeral videos, something I once feared and avoided completely.

Although the loss of my wife, daughter and granddaughter remains profound, I have learnt ways of coping with my grief and carrying their memory with me. My counselling sessions continue at a reduced frequency, and I remain grateful for the support I received from Island Hospice and Healthcare. The care I received helped me navigate one of the most difficult periods of my life and gave me hope that healing is possible, even after unimaginable loss.

Story of Change 2: From Pain to Healing and Family Building

 At 36, my life changed in a way I never imagined. I was diagnosed with vulva cancer and a retroviral infection, and from that day, everything I knew about my body, my work, and my role in my family began to disappear. Multiple surgeries followed, then a stoma, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. The treatments came one after another, and I eventually lost count. Pain became my constant companion.

I, who had always been the one holding my family together, suddenly had nothing left to give them. That helplessness cracked something open in me. Childhood trauma which I thought I had buried surfaced. I grew up as an orphan, always being told my mother remarried and abandoned my siblings and I at our grandparents' house, totally uncared for. I had carried a quiet hatred for her for years. Now, sick and alone, that old pain collided with the new. It was no longer just my body that hurt. I was experiencing an emotional and psychological breakdown and there were days the weight of it all felt heavier than the cancer itself.

By March 2025, when I was referred to Island Hospice and Healthcare, I had reached rock bottom, and I could not see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, everything changed when Island nurses and social workers visited me at my home. They did not just treat my illness, they showed up for all of me. They came to my house again and again, counselling me and giving me pain medication which finally helped me to sleep without gritting my teeth through the night. They dressed wounds I could not bear to look at myself. They brought colostomy supplies, food hampers, and something I needed just as much people who kept asking how I was and meant it. For the first time in years, I felt like a person again, not just a diagnosis. Through their counselling, I started to untangle the anger I had carried since childhood. Slowly, that anger loosened its grip to the extent that I reached out and reconciled with my mother. Furthermore, I now have a relationship with my half-sister, and my mother has come to stay with us for weeks at a time, helping care for my children and me.

At home, my son had quietly become the adult in the room, out of school because I could not pay his fees, doing housework, raising his younger siblings, taking on painting and cleaning jobs to help get us food on the table. Underneath it, he was angry, watching his O Level dreams slip away. Island Hospice's social workers counselled him too and fought to get him registered with the Department of Social Welfare and back into school. He is sitting his O Levels this year. A year behind his classmates, but standing in a classroom again, and happy. Piece by piece, our family stopped surviving and started healing.

Today, just over a year after I first arrived at Island Hospice's doorstep unable to walk, I walk on my own. My wounds have closed. I work again, and I care for my children with my own two hands instead of watching others do it for me.

My story is not just about cancer. It is about what it looks like to be put back together, body, mind, and family, by people who refused to treat only the parts of me that were easy to see. It has been over a year now, and Island is still walking this road with us.

Introduction and background

 Island Hospice & Healthcare (Island) delivers palliative and bereavement care services through several models, namely: (i) home-based care, (ii) hospital-based care, (iii) rural and community outreach, (iv) roadside clinics, and (v) virtual consultations. These models are tailored to meet the diverse needs of patients and clients based on their individual circumstances and settings. Each approach is designed to ensure that care remains accessible, flexible, and responsive, whether in the comfort of a home, within a healthcare facility, or through remote engagement.

Intervention and Outcomes: October 2025 - January 2026

Between October 2025 and January 2026, Island provided palliative and bereavement care to individuals living with life-threatening conditions, as well as to those experiencing grief and loss. The organisation delivered a wide range of mental wellness services, including bereavement support, trauma-focused debriefing sessions, and partner loss support groups, tailored to support the emotional well-being of clients.

Island conducted multiple training sessions and workshops to strengthen the capacity of healthcare workers, caregivers, and community volunteers. These programs strengthened participants’ practical skills, knowledge, and attitudes, enabling them to deliver high-quality, compassionate, and culturally sensitive palliative and bereavement care.

In addition to capacity building, Island engaged in extensive community outreach and awareness activities to raise awareness of palliative care, strengthen stakeholder collaboration, and promote early referral and service integration. Key initiatives included Men’s Health events, such as the Gentlemen’s Evening and the Men’s Fair, which addressed men’s health challenges and cancer power walks to raise awareness on breast and prostate cancers. Other activities included wellness days, radio programs on bereavement and grief, exhibitions, and participation in national and international forums, all of which enhanced public awareness, fostered partnerships, and increased the visibility and influence of Island within both community and professional networks.

Between October 2025 and May 2026, Island provided care to 628 patients and clients, resulting in 2,853 total care contacts. Most services were delivered virtually (1,108 contacts), followed by home visits (739) and roadside clinic (453). Additional engagements included hospital office consultations (264), ward rounds (213), and hospital visits (76).

The stories below demonstrate typical changes to patients’ and clients’ lives because of Island’s interventions.

My journey with Island Hospice       

My name is Gugulethu (pseudo name), and I am 49 years old, living with stage 4 cervical cancer and HIV. I used to work for myself in South Africa, but when the cancer came, I had to return home to Zimbabwe. Now I live with my mother, who is a widow and works as an Island Hospice Community Home Based Carer, and my 29-year-old son. My son recently got a girl pregnant, so most of his money goes there. He doesn't have steady work either—but survive on piece jobs.

When Mpilo Hospital gave me an appointment, I was so afraid that I turned to traditional medicine instead and abandoned the hospital completely. The traditional medicine helped me, and I felt some relief, but the pain was still there, gnawing at me. And worse than the physical pain was the bitterness consuming my spirit. I was angry at everything—angry that I had cancer, angry that I had HIV, angry that my life had come to this.

That's when Island Hospice truly changed everything for me. They give me painkillers for pain management. Combined with the traditional medicine, the relief is profound—I could finally sleep, finally think clearly instead of being consumed by agony every moment. Then their social worker came to counsel me. He listened to all my anger and helped me work through the bitterness that was destroying me from the inside. Slowly, I began to accept my situation and find peace. He showed me that my life still has value.

In October 2025, Island Hospice gave us a food hamper. With no steady income in our house, that food meant we could eat with dignity. It wasn't just groceries—it was hope. The other Island Hospice CHBCs visits me regularly to check on me, monitor my condition, and remind me that I'm not forgotten. Through my mother's work with them, I've been embraced by an entire community of care.

Today, I'm stable, though I'm still not strong enough to work. But I'm no longer bitter. I'm no longer in constant pain. I'm no longer alone in this fight. Island Hospice didn't just help me manage my illness—they gave me back my dignity, my peace of mind, and my will to keep living. I am deeply grateful.

Story of Change 2: Family connection restored

 My name is John (not real name), and I serve as a pastor at a local church here in Mutare. In 2022, I received news that would forever change my life: I was diagnosed with rectal cancer. At first, I tried to face it on my own, relying on faith and the support of my family, but as the months passed, the illness gradually took more from me. By 2025, I had also begun experiencing symptoms of a stroke. I became bedridden, unable to walk independently, and I needed assistance with almost every aspect of daily life, eating, bathing, even turning in bed.

Watching my wife and our two daughters struggle to care for me was one of the hardest things I have ever experienced. The emotional and physical weight of my illness pressed heavily on them. My eldest daughter, still in O-Level, began to withdraw into herself. She became isolated, avoiding interactions and quietly shouldering the fear and sadness of seeing her father in pain. Her schoolwork began to suffer, and I could see the light in her eyes dimming under the burden of worry.

Back in 2022, Dr. Kitkat had referred me to Island Hospice and Healthcare (Island) for colostomy supplies. At that time, I was not ready to embrace full palliative care services, so I only accepted the supplies and kept going. But by September 2025, as my condition deteriorated further, one of my church members reached out to Island on my behalf, noticing the urgency of my situation.

The Island team visited our home to assess my needs and those of my family and they addressed not only my medical condition but also our emotional and psychological wellbeing. They offered counselling and support that went beyond treatment of the body, reaching into the heart of our family life. Special attention was given to my daughter. She revealed her fear that being near me might somehow worsen my suffering. The social worker gently guided her to understand that her presence could bring me comfort, reassurance, and emotional strength, a gift far more powerful than she had realised.

With guidance, encouragement, and consistent support from Island, my daughter slowly began spending more time with me. She assisted with small tasks, shared moments of conversation, and offered companionship. In these simple yet profound ways, the warmth and connection in our family were restored. The fear, silence, and emotional distance began to give way to togetherness, understanding, and hope.

Today, even as I continue to live with illness, I feel deeply supported, not just medically, but emotionally and spiritually. My family and I have learned that even in the most challenging circumstances, care, presence, and love can restore a sense of normalcy, hope, and closeness. Island did not just care for me; they helped care for our family, helping us find light even in a time of great darkness.

In conclusion, these stories demonstrate the profound impact Island Hospice and Healthcare continues to make in the lives of patients and families through compassionate, high-quality, patient-centred care. They reflect not only improved symptom management, dignity, and comfort, but also restored hope and strengthened support systems for those facing life-limiting illnesses.

With increased support, we can expand these programmes to reach more underserved communities, broaden access to essential palliative care services, and ensure that no patient suffers needlessly due to lack of care.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to our donors and partners who have entrusted us with their support. Your generosity has translated into meaningful, life-changing impact for the patients and families we serve across Zimbabwe.