Trailblazing nurse spends 80th birthday at UK hospital where she trained
Agnes Musikavanhu has returned to Morriston Hospital to celebrate her 80th birthday, more than 60 years after she first went there to begin her nurse training, having arrived in the UK from Africa.
Ms Musikavanhu (nee Garande), who lives in London, was one of hundreds of overseas nurses to have answered the call to help overcome a staff shortage in Swansea Bay over the years.
But Swansea Bay University Health Board noted that she was a “real trailblazer” having been one of the first to arrive, almost 60 years ago.
In 1967, aged 22, she set off alone from Zimbabwe, then called Rhodesia, to train as a nurse in Swansea’s Morriston Hospital. She had never set foot on a plane before, nor left her country.
Her career saw her later move to London, and also included a 20-year return to Zimbabwe, where she worked in public health and managed a private clinic of the illustrious group Lonrho as matron.
However, she said she has never forgotten the warm welcome she received in Wales all those years ago. She said: “My sons said, ‘Mam, you are about to turn 80. What would you like to do?’
“I said, ‘Do you know what? Of all things, I want to go back to Morriston Hospital in South Wales, where I came as a young girl. I want to spend my 80th birthday there.’
“I have happy memories of my time in Morriston. Welsh people are very warm, very friendly and very social. You can see that by the way they received me. That’s why I wanted to come here.”
Ms Musikavanhu highlighted that the world was a very different place the first time she visited Wales, and she did not know what to expect, compared to her homeland.
She said: “I was the first Black nurse to come here from Rhodesia. I was so frightened coming here – at the time there was segregation between White and Black people in Rhodesia.
“I felt lonely for the first two days but Welsh people are so lovely. They would say, ‘Come and talk to me,’ and ‘let’s go to the dining room together’. And soon I became familiar.”
Agnes Musikavanhu in Morriston Hospital as a young nurse
Ms Musikavanhu, who was accompanied on her return visit by her three sons, was given a tour of the hospital followed by tea and Welsh cakes before staff sang happy birthday to her in Welsh.
The hospital, with its new buildings, was unrecognisable to Ms Musikavanhu, she said, as was the workforce, which has also undergone a transformation by becoming far more diverse.
Ms Musikavanhu said: “I’m very, very pleased – very happy to see you have welcomed so many nurses from overseas.
“When I came here, I was the only one, and to know that you have recruited so many people from overseas, which is multiracial, is special,” she said. “I am glad that you have broadened up. It’s very good.”
Rebecca Davies, deputy head of nursing emergency care and hospital operations in Morriston Hospital, said: “I’m really proud of what Agnes did as a pioneer for all the nurses who have travelled to work here.
“It’s been really emotional, meeting and talking about nursing and how it has changed,” she added.
Agnes Musikavanhu and her family with Rebecca Davies (front, left) and John Hughes
Among those who shared a cup of tea with Ms Musikavanhu was fellow countryman Gondai Dhliwayo, an infection control nurse.
He said: “I’m originally from Zimbabwe. I left home when I was 18 in 2001 and did my nurse training in North Wales and got my first job in Swansea in 2004.
“I think Agnes is a bit of a trailblazer. One of the first Black women to come to Swansea at the age of 22. She’s an inspiration and for her to come back to where it all started is a good thing to do.”
Agnes Musikavanhu with Gondai Dhliwayo (right) and chef Tsitsi Vambe
