SHILLONG, Dec 12 - After facilitating delivery of over 1,000 babies in the past 62 years, an octogenarian nurse in the hill State of Meghalaya has finally called it a day.
Kyiek Mukhim, 80, a nurse-cum-midwife, hailing from a remote village of Meghalaya�s East Khasi hills district, took voluntary retirement due to age-related ailments.
Mukhim, lovingly called as Kong Kyiek in her locality, had worked full-time at the Kharang Rural Centre (KRC) till June this year. She was given a warm send off by the management committee of the KRC on Saturday last, where other employees and her children were also present.
�Old age got the better of me and I have to pass on the baton to a new set of people who I believe will continue to work for the welfare of the poor and the needy in the village,� she told PTI.
She has lost count of being engaged in safe delivery of new borns all these years.
�I have lost count of the exact number of babies I have delivered but I can tell you that on an average I attended two deliveries a month at Kharang and adjoining villages and if that is totalled it would cross 1,000.
�There were many years in between that I worked alone at the Centre without any doctor and there were so many medical emergencies that I handled,� she said.
Mukhim was given a memento, some cash and a letter of appreciation from the KRC as a mark of respect for rendering great humanitarian service. The KRC was founded by English-born humanitarian worker Annie Margaret Barr. Mukhim, a mother of six, was one of the first few students adopted by Barr at her rural centre in 1952.
She went on to complete her education, nursing training and internship at the Shillong Civil Hospital, Ganesh Das Hospital and the TB Hospital here for three years after which she started working at the KRC. Mukhim married Dranwell Wahlang in 1957 at the age of 20.
Located at about 40 km from here, Kharang village has 352 families with a population of 2117, as per 2011 census.
The adjoining villages � Pingwait, Mawlein, Dienglieng, Nongjrong � with over 800 households have an approximate population of 6,000.
�Her service towards the villagers living in and around Kharang has been phenomenal and a lot of people who I have come across have always told me stories of her goodwill. May she be blessed with good health,� a senior doctor said.
A former nurse serving with the Army, Major Elgiva Shullai, expressed her gratitude for the long social service that Mukhim rendered at the KRC.
�She is the living example of a true nurse and lived to the expectation of the people. She wished nothing more nothing less but for the service of humanity. I salute her,� she said. � PTI
