{"id":7743,"date":"2025-09-14T13:47:23","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T13:47:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/?p=7743"},"modified":"2025-09-14T13:47:25","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T13:47:25","slug":"bishop-mtumbuka-visits-st-cynthia-health-center-impressed-with-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/index.php\/bishop-mtumbuka-visits-st-cynthia-health-center-impressed-with-services\/","title":{"rendered":"BISHOP MTUMBUKA VISITS ST. CYNTHIA HEALTH CENTER, IMPRESSED WITH SERVICES"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong><em>By Noel Chatepa<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Saturday, September 13th, 2025,\u00a0His Lordship Martin Anwel Mtumbuka, Bishop of the Diocese of Karonga visited St. Cynthia Health Center in Chisankhwa. The visit was part of the bishop&#8217;s pastoral visit\u00a0to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Chitipa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0465-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7745\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0465-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0465-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0465-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0465-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0465-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0465-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong><em>Bishop Mtumbuka signs the visitors book<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>During his visit&nbsp;Bishop Mtumbuka had an interaction with the facility\u2019s staff members and&nbsp;took a tour of the facility&nbsp;to appreciate the infrastructure and services&nbsp;the health center&nbsp;offers&nbsp;to the community. The health center was constructed and funded by Dr. Steven Peck through&nbsp;Cross Catholic Outreach and it is operated&nbsp;under the Health Desk of the Diocese of Karonga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0477-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7747\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0477-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0477-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0477-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0477-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0477-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0477-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong><em>Bishop Mtumbuka with Clergy, Diocesan officers and staff of St. Cynthia<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In an&nbsp;interview following his tour, the Bishop shared his impression of the Health Center. &#8220;I am impressed with the way the facility is being run and how it has grown,&#8221; he stated. He also commended&nbsp;Mrs. Teresa Kamanga, who has led the facility since 2020 and is soon to be transferred to lead the soon-to-be-opened St. Theresa Health Center in Zambwe, Chitipa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0500-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7746\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0500-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0500-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0500-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0500-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0500-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0500-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong><em>Bishop Mtumbuka (R) inspects the medicine stores with Karonga Diocese Health Desk Officer Joseph Kimangila(L) and Mrs. Kamanga (C)<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;I would like to thank the management and staff of the facility for the way they have managed the health center,&#8221; Bishop Mtumbuka said. &#8220;And to particularly thank Dr. Steven Peck who funded the construction and running of this facility through Cross Catholic Outreach. The facility is being kept well and in&nbsp;good&nbsp;condition,&nbsp;it has an adequate supply of medicine and all the equipment for various medical use is in good condition.&nbsp;We are now gradually transitioning towards the facility being fully run by the diocese,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/DJI_0138-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7748\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/DJI_0138-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/DJI_0138-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/DJI_0138-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/DJI_0138-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/DJI_0138-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/DJI_0138-600x338.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong><em>An aerial view of St. Cynthia<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Bishop also congratulated Sister Jane Kapembwa, who has now been appointed to lead the administration&nbsp;of the facility.&nbsp;The appointment of the Sister reflects on the Bishop\u2019s emphasis of having the presence of Religious persons in Diocesan institutions to ensure Catholic values are upheld.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0481-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7749\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0481-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0481-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0481-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0481-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0481-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0481-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong><em>Bishop Mtumbuka shares a lighter moment with Sister Jane Kapembwa while Deacon Romain Khonde looks on.<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For the staff, the Bishop&#8217;s visit was a&nbsp;source of inspiration. In an interview, Mrs. Teresa Kamanga reflected on the significance of the visit. &#8220;This visit is special as we have been visited by the Bishop and it will help us to forge ahead in our work,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It has inspired the staff and motivated us to do more.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0467-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7750\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0467-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0467-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0467-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0467-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0467-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0467-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong><em>Mrs. Teresa Kamanga who will soon be leading the establishment of the Zambwe clinic<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>St. Cynthia Health Center\u00a0is situated approximately 18 kilometers to the east from the Chitipa District Hospital, and it\u00a0plays a pivotal role in delivering essential healthcare services to the surrounding communities. The facility offers\u00a0services that range from outpatient care and maternal health services to health education and disease prevention programs. Currently serving a population of 10,382 people, the facility attends\u00a0to an estimate\u00a0of 232 patients every month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0506-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7751\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0506-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0506-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0506-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0506-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0506-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0506-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong><em>The staff at St. Cynthia presenting a token of appreciation to the Bishop<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Bishop&#8217;s visit not only affirmed the hard work of the staff at St. Cynthia but also strengthened the bond between the spiritual mission of the Diocese and its commitment to the holistic well-being of the people&nbsp;in the Diocese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0510-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7752\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0510-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0510-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0510-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0510-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0510-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/chisankhwaaa-st-cynthia-0510-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><strong><em>The Bishop blessing the staff at St. Cynthia with a prayer<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Noel Chatepa On Saturday, September 13th, 2025,\u00a0His Lordship Martin Anwel Mtumbuka, Bishop of the Diocese of Karonga visited St. Cynthia Health Center in Chisankhwa. The visit was part of the bishop&#8217;s pastoral visit\u00a0to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Chitipa. During his visit&nbsp;Bishop Mtumbuka had an interaction with the facility\u2019s staff members and&nbsp;took [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":7744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"iawp_total_views":140,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[59,60,117,131],"class_list":["post-7743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-bishop-martin-anwel-mtumbuka","tag-bishop-martin-mtumbuka","tag-health-desk","tag-karonga-diocese"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7743"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7753,"href":"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7743\/revisions\/7753"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.karongadiocese.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}