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Tendai Rupapa in CHIRUMANZU
THOUSANDS of people sang, danced and ululated to welcome former Chirumanzu-Zibagwe legislator First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa, who visited the constituency for an educative and interaction session.
Dr Mnangagwa also donated hundreds of uniforms she personally sew for learners at Nyagari Primary School and other nearby institutions.
As legislator for the constituency and before becoming the First Lady, Dr Mnangagwa, who is passionate about empowering communities, spearheaded countless projects in the area, which are still thriving.
At that time, Amai Mnangagwa also built a classroom block at the school and drilled a borehole for learners and the community.
So touching was the reunion between the First Lady and the community that she could be seen fighting back tears.
Amai Mnangagwa stepped down as a legislator for the constituency to focus on her duties as the mother of the nation.
She personally dressed the learners and fed them a mouth-watering meal of sadza, beef, beans and dried vegetables, which were also served to all those present.
The children looked radiant in their new school uniforms that were personally sewn with love by the caring First Lady.
Through her Angel of Hope Foundation, the First Lady mobilises resources and yesterday she came along with an assortment of foodstuffs that included mealie-meal and rice, which she handed over to all those present including traditional chiefs.
During the lively interactive session, the First Lady spoke candidly against drug abuse, child marriages, disunity in the families and divorce among a host of other challenges affecting communities.
“Homes are destroyed because drugs have taken root. Let us look at a husband and his wife. How is the relationship between the two of them?”
The question seemed to have set the cat among the pigeons as it elicited a lot of responses and viewpoints from the gathering.
One member of the community decried the surge in divorce cases, saying these were affecting children a lot.
“We have many court sessions with the chief and most concern divorce. This then leads to challenges among the children, whom you are looking at Amai. There is nothing good for the children when their parents go their separate ways. Some of these lead to loss of cultural values.
“We all know that a woman should be a supporting pillar for her husband. What is happening these days is that if a woman has access to money when the husband is broke, she then wants to be the head of the household.
“Men are told that they are bringing nothing home and this leads to family squabbles and separation. The biggest cases at our traditional courts involve women pushing for divorce. This is despite the fact that their children are now suffering. At this point, our culture is lost.
“Also Amai, the way our wives are dressing, leaves a lot to be desired, varikupfeka zvisina hunhu as married women. What are they teaching our girl child, they should be role models to our girls,” said the discussant to applause.
The viewpoints were backed by other discussants who blamed both men and women for the discord in homes.
Said an elderly man: “If I ask my wife to wear a long dress, she says she has the right to wear a short one. She raises the issue of 50:50 equal rights. I guess these women’s understanding of equal rights is misplaced. If I tell her to send our child to school, she says no, ‘Sabina must go to the bar to look for men so that we get money’ or that she should get married before finishing school.
“This is fuelling child marriages. On the other hand, men are also to blame. If a woman asks for money to buy relish for the family, the man refuses because he wants to spend it at the bar. These are the challenges among men and women and this has resulted in children finding solace in drugs like mutoriro. As fathers, we are also heavily consuming alcohol in full view of the children, who in turn copy us.”
The mother of the nation concurred with the viewpoints.
“He has raised issues that affect people a lot. For you to go in and out of marriages repeatedly is not good. Some women board three buses and finish off on a pirate taxi going to her man’s house, so what is this thing we are seeing? Zvinozoipira papi? You are now competing for rights.
“What did you come to do at this home? As a woman, you have come to mould and build and you have forgotten how you came and are causing challenges in this home. Let us discuss vana baba nanamai tione pane dambudziko tibve tagadzirisa,” the First Lady said.
In her contribution, one speaker blamed most challenges on the abuse of social media and mobile phones.
“I think parents and children are separated by the internet and spending time on the phones. We no longer have time to discuss issues as a family.
“If a man asks his wife to prepare tea, he is told off that ‘can’t you see the stove? Make your tea and leave’ because the wife will be busy on social media and forgets to perform her wifely duties. On the other hand, our children will also be busy on their phones copying western cultures. No one has time for the other. Let’s have time with our children and discuss things together as a family,” the young woman said to applause
During the discussion, one woman sang praises to the First Lady for helping preserve marriages with her teachings. She recounted the many times she contemplated leaving her marriage, but stayed on owing to the values of respect and hard work that were instilled in her by Dr Mnangagwa.
“Amai, we are grateful for you taught us how to respect and love our husbands. You also taught us to work hard using our hands while helping our husbands to look after the family.
“There are some women who used to be lazy and waited on their husbands for everything and when the husbands failed to provide, then fights started in their home. These women would deny their husbands conjugal rights to fix them, but Amai this is now a thing of the past nekuti makadzidzisa munhukadzi kushanda muno muChirumanzu-Zibagwe constituency.
“We are now our husbands’ helpers and at the same time submissive. You did well in this constituency and people you helped have so much to show for it,” she said to applause.
A young man attributed the surge in divorce cases nowadays to lack of courtship as people were delving into marriage without learning about each other.
“What should we do now that you are already married? Should we come back and do the Gota/Nhanga/Ixhiba sessions? Some men do not know what to do and if their mothers counsel their wives, they get furious yet the wife will be wrong.
“We shall tailor-make a programme to teach youths who are already married to protect marriages and allow children to grow in a peaceful environment,” the First Lady said.
People broke into laughter when one man decried the use of charms by women.
“Women must desist from using charms. They are lacing men’s food with magical potions (kudyisa varume). If a man is given charms, he becomes ‘useless’ and that is not love. Let us have genuine love and love one another properly without using muti,” he said.
Even the First Lady laughed at the contribution and asked the women where they were getting the charms.
Some of the women confirmed that the use of love charms was being practiced in many homes.
“Are these charms available? Are there such charms that make husbands foolish? One day he will discover this and you divorce. Zvakanaka here izvozvo madzimai? If you use muti you will be killing your partner,” said the First Lady.
Another man urged people to be prayerful and God-fearing for the protection of their marriages.
Dr Mnangagwa called for regular communication between parents and their children.
“Women must tell their husbands what would have taken place in their absence and sit down for a discussion. Learn to have conversations with your children so that they know their parents; afford them an opportunity to air their views.
“These may be small ideas of a child in Grade One, but listen to them. That is where it starts and in future that child will not trouble you. I thank you parents and that boy who said he wants Gota and his wife needs the Nhanga even when they have their own home. I will go and plan that programme,” she said.
Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Larry Mavima thanked the First Lady for clothing learners in the area with uniforms.
“We thank you for coming to give our children uniforms. This is wonderful and gives children zeal to learn because they will be smart. As Midlands Province, we support you strongly saying no to drug abuse, no to child marriages and no to domestic violence.
“We are blessed to have been given a mother who is loving, God-fearing and treasures our culture as Zimbabweans. I also thank you for helping us keep our environment clean,” Minister Mavima said.
A pupil at the school expressed gratitude for the uniforms.
“We used to come to school looking like assorted biscuits because of the different apparel we wore. This made others leave school fearing to be ridiculed for wearing tattered clothes, but Amai today you have made us equal and given us dignity.
“You have empowered us to come to school without any fears of being laughed at because we will all be wearing the new uniforms that you have brought us. May God bless you so that we keep witnessing your love,” she said.
Parents too were elated.
Mrs Elizabeth Chigumbura said: “We are touched by Amai’s good gesture as a community. We can’t express our happiness. We are humbled by her commitment to charity. She is a beacon of hope to the vulnerable. What she has done for us is great and we wish to pay her back with good grades from our children whom she loves so much.”
Mrs Lillian Chigwiro said: “True to the name of her organisation, the First Lady is an angel of hope. Today, she has dressed our children. What Amai has done for our children and us as families is worth praising. We wish her a long life as our children can now concentrate on their school work without fear. We also want to thank her for the food donations we received.”
The school head Mr Paul Makore hit the nail on the head and said the school owed its success to the First Lady.
He said Friday was not the first time Amai Mnangagwa had assisted his school.
“This school looked deserted with mud and pole houses which were polished with cow dung. We never begged, but Amai saw it fit to do good for her children. All these buildings around the school were built by her way before she came a First Lady.
“We never again asked for assistance, but after Amai saw the school was in need of water, she drilled a borehole. I once thought the First Lady was doing these works because she was close to the school but now that she is now the First Lady, she continues to remember us.
“Despite her tight schedule, the little time she gets she runs everywhere with it to assist those in needy. All she mobilises through her foundation, reaches the intended beneficiaries. Today she came to give us uniforms for our children, which she personally designed and sew. God bless you Mama,” he said.
Online Reporter