admin
Vincent Gono, Features Editor
SELFLESS, loving, caring, passionate, committed, humane and inspirational are among the many superlatives that seek to undo the sensational headlines the international and local private media have so much expended their energies on in their morally corrupt crusade to misrepresent the image of First Lady Dr Grace Mugabe to the world.
She has often been portrayed as a heartless and insensitive woman with an unquenchable mania for political and social controversy while little focus has been given to the so many positives that she has done and continues to do for the people of Zimbabwe particularly the downtrodden.
Truth be told, Dr Mugabe’s charitable disposition and work is commendable. To her the philanthropic disposition is evidently a part of her DNA.
Sceptics have burdened themselves with the work of trumpeting her family life and yet keep their silence on the extended national family of the underprivileged and the so many children that she has adopted out of a sincere loving heart to give all the comfy of life that circumstances have conspired to deprive them.
It has to be pointed out boldly that beneath the veneer of all the negative representation of the First Lady Dr Mugabe there is a woman of substance with both breadth and depth and a solid unshakeable commitment to addressing issues of the less privileged. Her development thrust is anchored on taking care of the underprivileged and she doesn’t feel burdened for it is a crucial part of her. It has become the centre from where her life revolves.
Dr Mugabe owns and runs a sprawling state- of-the-art children’s home in Mazoe where much of her philanthropic work is concentrated. She designed the building on her own, and was also instrumental in designing her other house, something that goes on to show her artistic and architectural shrewdness.
What she means to a cross section of the vulnerable, the underprivileged and to people living with disabilities was witnessed last week when she officiated at the Danhiko Annual Paralympic Games where she is also a patron. She did not cut a forced figure among the vulnerable and less fortunate but rather became part of them with natural ease. The aura of official importance disappears as she mingled and shared lighter moments with the inmates giving hope to them and making them feel loved, protected, equal and most importantly not forgotten.
Dr Mugabe has taken it upon herself to ensure that the all the less fortunate of the country’s communities are taken good care of. She has built a very large family and has continued to provide for them even in trying economic times. She is the mother of the national family of people cut off from their families and has not turned away anyone looking for love and protection from the vagaries of social factors militating against them, something she described as a calling from above.
At Danhiko she promised to ensure that the Annual Paralympic Games that were almost shelved due to financial hiccups were held every year as had become the tradition. The official opening of the 29th edition of the Danhiko Annual Paralympic Games coincided with the 20th anniversary of her being the patron of the games. She highlighted her gratification derived from working with the less privileged saying nothing gave her satisfaction as assisting the needy.
“For the past 20 years I have been patron of Danhiko, I have enjoyed nothing more than dancing with these children. These children require us to treat and recognise them as part of our community and society. That is why I make sure that every year, without fail we have the games just to make them happy and have that sense of belonging. They need to have that feeling that they too are recognised as part of the society. We thank the Almighty for every day that we have at Danhiko,” she said.
She called on the corporate world to play a part in ensuring that such institutions that rely on donations were catered for adding that it was through divine providence that the games were a success as they had thought of suspending them.
“That is why I said during presentation of my speech that we thought at one time we would not continue to host the games. But with divine providence we have been able to soldier on and we hope we will continue to do that. I urge the corporate world to emulate what others are doing. Danhiko is not like other schools that can raise funds on their own to carry out day to day activities. They depend on well wishers and hopefully they will continue to support us,” said the First Lady.
She said the road had been long and arduous with the major drawback being the debilitating sanctions imposed on the country that were making it difficult for the country’s economy to function properly. She however, hailed the extensive upgrade of infrastructure at Danhiko Rehabilitation Centre which also offers vocational training to students.
Dr Mugabe underscored the role of sport in uplifting the lives of people with disabilities saying the games have become a launch pad for the international careers for some of the athletes adding that she was happy with the growth of the games.
From just 800 athletes and 41 clubs in 1997 when Dr Mugabe became patron, the Danhiko Annual Paralympic Games were held in Harare with over 2 416 athletes and 116 clubs last year.
Traditional sponsors like Schweppes, NetOne, CBZ, RBZ and individual sponsors like Mr McDonald Chapfika and former RBZ Governor Dr Gideon Gono have continued to support the games which have grown from being a national event to regional level attracting participants from Botswana and Zambia. The First Lady also took to the dance floor with different groups and those with disabilities. Participants at the Danhiko Annual Paralympic Games battled for honours in swimming, basketball, athletics, and wheelchair table tennis among other games.
Bongani Ndlovu