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Bongani Ndlovu, Chronicle Reporter
THE First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa through her Angel of Hope Foundation donated milk to three hospitals in Bulawayo yesterday.
Mpilo Central Hospital, United Bulawayo Hospitals (UBH) and Ingutsheni Central Hospital benefitted from the First Lady’s benevolence.
Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Judith Ncube, in the company of other officials, visited all the three hospitals to hand over the milk.
At Mpilo, the delegation was met by the acting CEO Professor Solwayo Ngwenya at the Nutrition Ward, where a brief handover ceremony of the milk was held.
Thereafter, the delegation went to UBH and their last stop was at Ingutsheni.
In her speech Minister Ncube said Amai Mnangagwa saw it fit for the hospitals to receive milk which was important in the nutrition of patients as part of the Angel of Hope Foundation’s mandate.
“Food is a basic human need and everyone, regardless of class in society and creed, should have access to nourishment,” said Minister Ncube.
Minister Ncube said Angel of Hope Foundation’s existence is premised on assisting people who come from remote backgrounds, the underprivileged, the marginalised, women, youth and children.
She said there was no donation too small as Angel of Hope Foundation will find a beneficiary for it.
“We travel the length and breadth of Zimbabwe repeatedly assisting in the best way we can, the elderly, the orphaned, the disabled, child headed families, women, youth, children including the girl child.
You will find that no matter how small a donation is, it will not be personalised but rather forwarded to someone in dire need of assistance,” she said.
“We believe as Angel of Hope Foundation that there is always someone to give.
Someone who will receive a lifeline through the donation we would have received and faithfully forward to the relevant demography.
Therefore, even if the donation is as minimum as a bar of soap, Angel of Hope Foundation will not rest until it locates someone in need of that bar of soap.
I trust and believe that this donation will assist the hospitals in providing admitted patients with nutritious feeding during their stay.”
Minister Ncube said as Angel of Hope Foundation, they will continue helping those in need.
“As Angel of Hope Foundation in accordance to the vision of our patron, her Excellency Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa who is also the Ambassador of Health, promises to continue working at the best of our ability as a charitable organisation in assisting with the accessibility of health care products to the Zimbabwean populace,” she said.
Speaking on behalf of Ingutsheni Central Hospital CEO, Dr Nemache Mawere said the donation was valuable to the institution.
“You don’t know how much this means to us. We would like to thank the First Lady Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa through the Angel of Hope Foundation, for the donation of milk. We do not charge fees at this hospital; we rely on donations.
Everything that comes to us is of value. More so we have children and most of our patients who struggle to eat because of their clinical conditions, they can’t chew.
This kind of donation will go a long way in improving their nutrition,” said Dr Mawere.
He pleaded with Minister Ncube to ask for more programmes from Angel of Hope Foundation to come to Ingutsheni.
“I’d also want to appeal to Minister Ncube that, please tell them to come back to Ingutsheni for more programmes.
We have seen them on TV with their truck, we have women who are admitted and do not have families that visit them, we want them to come and do their cervical cancer screening and all these programmes that they’re doing,” said Dr Mawere. — Follow on Twitter @bonganinkunzi
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