When Dr Hu Sha left her one-year-old daughter in China to join the 20th China Medical Team to Zimbabwe, she carried more than a stethoscope in her luggage. She brought a heritage thousands of years old — the healing art of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) — and an unspoken question: could it still matter in today’s modern world?
Her story, later adapted into a short film by students from Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, went on to win first prize in the national “Telling Chinese Stories Well in English” competition — a fitting tribute to a doctor whose life itself tells a story of healing, courage, and connection.
At first, the journey was daunting. “Everything was unfamiliar — the language, the conditions, even the weather,” she recalls. “But what struck me most were the eyes of the patients — full of anticipation.”
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One of those eyes belonged to Kiyo Niso, a stroke patient who had lost movement in his hand. After two acupuncture sessions, he clasped Dr Hu’s hand, exclaiming “Chinese magic!” It was a small victory that spoke louder than any translation could.
As word spread, Dr Hu and her colleagues built a Traditional Chinese Medicine exhibition room and emergency clinic, turning curiosity into understanding. Zimbabwean children came to learn about herbs, try cupping and acupuncture, and exchange smiles with the soft-spoken doctor who had crossed continents to heal.
Her kindness soon earned her a local name — “Dr Chipo,” meaning gift in Shona — and in 2024 she received the Republic Excellence Medal, one of Zimbabwe’s highest civilian honours. “Dr Hu brought not only medical skills, but China’s friendship,” said the Minister of Health at the ceremony.
To Dr Hu, the honor symbolized something deeper: the enduring scent of honeysuckle, or rendong, the herb her grandfather once brewed to “clear summer heat.” That same scent, she says, “drifted across mountains and seas, reminding me that compassion knows no borders.”
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