Irene Mparutsa, a missionary
with the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist
Church, serves in Phnom Penh, Cambodia as the Community Health,
Agriculture, and Microenterprise Coordinator with the Cambodia Mission
Initiative.
Ms. Mparutsa was born in a
mission hospital in Mutoko, Zimbabwe, and has been in mission all her
life, serving mostly in health ministries, and as a Global Ministries
Individual Volunteer health advisor in Cambodia since 2003. Her father
was among the first group of African pastors to be ordained at the Old
Umtali Mission in 1912; her mother was one of the first African women to
become qualified as a trained teacher. She was one of 13 children born
to her parents.
Trained as a nurse, midwife,
and public health professional in England and Norway, Irene has worked
in Zimbabwe, Zambia, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. She was
affiliated with the International Federation of the Red Cross in Geneva
from 1989 to 1995. In 1999, she went to Cambodia as a health program
coordinator with Christian Outreach Relief and Development (CORD), a
three-year assignment that turned her toward missionary service.
While the world is her home,
Irene remains a citizen of Zimbabwe and counts the Zimbabwe West Annual
Conference as her own. She speaks Shona, English, French, Zulu, Nyanja,
and Khmer, the latter being the language of Cambodia.
After studying at Old Mutare
Mission, Nyatsime College, and Ranche House College in Zimbabwe, Irene
received her nurse’s training at Guy’s Hospital and other institutions
in England, and earned a certificate in public health from Oslo
University.
She has one grown son,
Tichafara (which means “joyful anticipation”), and three grandchildren.
”[After the CORD contract in Cambodia], I wanted to return to Zimbabwe
to serve as a Missioner of Hope…I found myself increasingly drawn to do
missionary work here [in Cambodia]. Though not certain about many
things, I am certain that I am where God wants me to be. I also believe
that God is using the Church to bring healing and hope to the nation of
Cambodia.”
Irene Mparutsa is available
for Covenant Relationship support in Western Pennsylvania Annual
Conference.
