Not a member? Join today!

Photo Friday: Medicine at Macha

Winifred (Hostetter) Worman instructs an aid in handling operating room equipment at Macha Mission Hospital in the 1960s. Worman and her doctor husband, Bob, served at the hospital for a number of years. (Brethren in Christ Historical Library and Archives)

In Part, the magazine for the Brethren in Christ Church, just published a fascinating article about the groundbreaking HIV/AIDS research underway at Macha Mission Hospital, a Brethren in Christ-sponsored institution in rural Zambia. In honor of that astounding work, today’s Photo Friday celebrates the history of this institution.

According to the hospital’s website:

Macha Mission was established in 1906 by Brethren In Christ Church. In 1924, a Registered Nurse arrived from United States of America, with the present hospital being built about one kilometre from the main mission station in 1957. The number of hospital beds has gradually increased (in number) from 120 to the present 208 government-approved beds. The hospital now includes men’s ward (43), women’s ward (53) maternity ward (34), Paediatrics ward (51) and Continued Care Facility (27). . . .

The website also indicates that the hospital went “on the grid” — that is, obtained access to 24-hour, government-monitored electricity flow — in 1976. Which means that when today’s photo was taken in the 1960s, the institution was running on intermittent access to energy. A most incredible feat!

You can learn more about the work of the Macha Mission Hospital and its staff at the hospital website, or at In Part Online.