BY GCWALISILE MHLABANE
MANZINI – More than 700 Manzini South patients are expected to receive free healthcare services this Saturday, September 12, 2026, as Eswatini strengthens its partnership with the Tzu Chi Charity Foundation through a community mobile medical outreach.
The outreach will bring volunteer doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals to the community, offering medical consultations, physiotherapy, hepatitis testing, nutrition services and breast cancer screening.
Tzu Chi Charity Foundation representative Sharon Fraser said the outreach would be the foundation’s 22nd mobile medical initiative and would bring together healthcare professionals and volunteers to serve patients in need.
“We are very grateful to have been invited to the community to hold our mobile medical outreach. We are expecting to serve more than 700 patients, and this will be our 22nd outreach,” Fraser said.
“Besides giving medical consultations, we will also have physiotherapists there, hepatitis testing, as well as a nutritionist team. The breast cancer screening network will also be joining us to provide comprehensive medical healthcare to the patients.”
The Manzini South outreach is also highlighting the growing relationship between Eswatini and the Tzu Chi Charity Foundation, with discussions now extending beyond healthcare to Early Childhood Care and Development, rural education and community empowerment.
Minister of Education and Training, also a member of Parliament for Manzini South, Owen Nxumalo said Government was pleased with the foundation’s commitment to supporting communities and was working towards formalising further cooperation.
“We are very happy that we have secured an agreement with Sharon Fraser from the Tzu Chi Foundation. We want to finalise an MOU so that the foundation can assist Early Childhood Care and Development centres in rural schools, where support is greatly needed,” Nxumalo said.
He said the partnership had the potential to bring meaningful development to schools and communities while supporting children to learn and live well.
“The foundation has partnered with Government to bring development to these schools, ensuring that children can learn and live well. I am extremely grateful to this foundation for the wonderful work they have done,” Nxumalo said.
The minister also highlighted the foundation’s work in Eluyengweni, where it has established a preschool to support young children’s education and development.
“In Eluyengweni, they established a preschool where they are teaching young children. They have shown great passion and love for young children, working alongside local volunteers. As Minister of Education and Training, I am very pleased with this achievement,” he said.
Nxumalo said the partnership was in line with the directive for Government and its partners to work directly with communities and deliver tangible results.
“This aligns directly with the directive given to us by His Majesty the King – that we must go out into the community, work hard and deliver tangible results that benefit the people,” he said.
Meanwhile, Fraser said Tzu Chi was looking forward to expanding its community development work into rural primary schools.
“We hope that beyond medical outreach, we will also go into rural primary schools to promote moral education and character education to nurture these young children,” Fraser said.
She said the foundation was also considering practical initiatives to support schools, including providing seedlings to encourage agriculture and farming, as well as craft materials to support and empower sewing projects.
“We will assist them by giving them seedlings as well, to encourage agriculture and farming at primary schools, as well as bringing craft materials to encourage and empower sewing projects,” she said.
Fraser further highlighted Tzu Chi’s commitment to Early Childhood Care and Development, saying the foundation had already established preschool initiatives in Eswatini where children were introduced to moral and character education centred on compassion and love.
Saturday’s outreach will therefore combine an immediate health intervention for more than 700 Manzini South patients with a broader partnership that could create further opportunities for rural schools and communities.
As Eswatini continues to strengthen cooperation with development partners, the Tzu Chi Charity Foundation partnership is opening possibilities in healthcare, early childhood development, education, agriculture and practical skills empowerment.
#Eswatini #TzuChiFoundation #FreeHealthcare #ManziniSouth #OwenNxumalo #Healthcare #Education #ECCD #CommunityDevelopment
