S/HERO: Community Nurse uses her own funds to build health clinic

Meet Rebecca Swaray, a Community Health Nurse that used her own funds to build the only health clinic in Thompson Bay Community. She first started as a nurse at the clinic in 2005 and is now the in-charge.

“I did not do this because I am rich.” She said. “I am like any average nurse. I did it because I felt I should help Thompson Bay community especially because I knew this would benefit the children and the pregnant women.”

“I decided to help build the clinic back in 2017 during the rainy season. Then, the clinic was a make shift tarpaulin structure. I could not stand the sight of children, mothers and pregnant women drenched by rain while waiting for medical checkup and treatment.

“At the beginning, I thought it would be a huge task to improve the structure to the zinc building we have now. We are still pushing and one day we will have a hospital here.”

The clinic is a corrugated zinc building that sits at the top of Thompson Bay hills. It has served the community for over four years and is the only clinic providing basic health and emergency services to mothers, pregnant women and children from Thompson Bay, Cockle Bay and other temporary settlements along Wilkinson Road in Freetown.

Thompson Bay has a population of over ten thousand people including women and children.

Save the Children through the Momentum Country and Global Leadership program is refurbishing the health clinic to make it safer, enhance its operations and create a comfortable space for patients to receive treatment.