AboutPatrick

Kitwe

Patrick was born on 26 May 1999 and raised in Kamatipa, a small compound in the heart of Kitwe on the Copperbelt. He was the first born, and his parents were just getting by. Even so, they gave him what he needed: food, a roof and a good early education. Watching them help neighbours in small, practical ways is the thing he says shaped him most.

He started at Harvard Preschool in nearby Kawama. The family moved often, so schools changed too: Natwange Primary School through Grade 9, then Chimwemwe High School for Grades 10 to 12.

Finding a voice

As a child Patrick stammered. He could not finish a word without tapping himself, and he was mocked for it. In Grade 10 he was chosen as a prefect and decided to use the role to learn how to speak. He taught himself to control his speech and to address a room.

In Grade 11 he was made acting vice head boy, and confirmed in the role in his final year. That same year he appeared on ZNBC, Zambia's national broadcaster, as one of the student leaders asking the government to build the school a hall.

Choosing nursing

After high school he spent almost three years working in his father's furniture business. When the time came to choose a career, he knew only that he wanted one that helped people. Nursing had been his mother's dream, one she never got to fulfil, and the money available made it possible.

He trained at Ndola College of Nursing at Ndola Teaching Hospital from 2020 to 2023, and served as class representative in his first year.

At the bedside

His first contract came straight after college: a home care case in Lusaka. He travelled from Ndola to look after a client, assisting with physiotherapy, giving medication, monitoring blood pressure, attending hospital visits and simply keeping company.

In July 2024 he took a live-in position providing round-the-clock care, covering personal hygiene, drug administration, hospital visits and whatever else the day needed.

Seeing how many trained nurses could not find work, he decided to build something instead of waiting. He started his own home nursing practice so he could keep practising, keep learning and be useful to more people.

Now

Patrick lives in Lusaka. He works part-time at Pendleton Children's Clinic, a paediatric practice, and runs his home nursing business across the city. His aim is to widen access to skilled, compassionate care in people's homes while continuing to grow as a clinician.

Away from work he plays chess, takes photographs, follows sport, travels when he can, tries new food, and will happily lose an evening to a film or a book.