Cry for Chiweshe

When Paul Thistle left Canada for the wilds of rural Zimbabwe, armed with a medical degree, healing hands and abiding faith, he was prepared for any inevitability, but it never occurred to him that the real danger would come from within his own church—the Salvation Army. For 17 years, this award-winning surgeon devoted his life to caring for the 270,000 residents of Chiweshe district at Howard Hospital, a rural facility renowned for its exceptional medical care.

To the people of Chiweshe, he was their healer and mentor, but his tenure came to an abrupt end when he received marching orders to return to Canada. Shock waves rippled through the community, resulting in a 2-day protest.  Dr. Thistle and his family were given 24 hours to vacate the hospital and 48 hours to leave the country on orders of local church officials. With no surgeon to replace him, patients were left to fend for themselves and many died as a result.

CRY FOR CHIWESHE is not only a story of reciprocal love and respect between a devoted physician and the people he served, but a bloated bureaucracy guilty of criminal negligence that leads to a trail of greed, lies and cover-up.