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Tendai Rupapa in MUTARE
FEMALE councillors from across the political divide are charmed by First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa’s non-partisan approach and traditional meal cookout competition which they say has helped foster unity, love and development in the country.
The programme, they said, also promotes healthy communities.
This comes at a time when most people no longer consumed traditional dishes despite their high nutritional value and medicinal properties, favouring exotic dishes which exposed them to cancer, hypertension, obesity, heart problems among other ailments.
Manicaland is the last province to be covered by the traditional cook-out competition whose finals are scheduled for Harare next month.
The women councillors spoke glowingly about the work being done by the First Lady and vowed to continue working with her and supporting her programmes for the betterment the nation.
The deputy chairperson for Ruwa Local Board councillor Grace Chekecheke who teamed up with other councillors to support the First Lady, described her programmes as a tool for empowerment.
“The First Lady’s traditional cooking programme is important in that if you empower the woman you would have empowered the nation, so we saw it fit to move with her and follow her footsteps because she is bringing back our traditional way of life that had been lost.
“While growing up, we knew women cared for the home, but people had lost our culture and food which keeps us healthy and protects us from various diseases,” she said.
Clr Chekecheke said the traditional meal cookout programme uplifted the tourism industry and wished the First Lady a long life to rollout more programmes for the benefit of citizens.
“May God bless her and keep her because she is non-partisan, not selective and she is blind to political affiliation. As women and people who look after families, we can see that Amai is fighting laziness. This also boosts our economy as women are also being taught to use their hands and grow crops and vegetables that can be preserved and later sold. As a ward councillor, I will go back home with what i am learning from the First Lady’s programmes, gather women and disseminate information to them,” she said with optimism.
The need to carry forward the First Lady’s programme was on the lips of many councillors, including Clr Tracy Chagaresango of Mbare Ward 3 who said she could not afford to miss the First Lady’s educative programmes.
“We are moving with the First Lady as female councillors from Harare. We saw it fit to move with her because her programmes are important for us as women and the whole country. There are some children who do not know even how to cook and we are grateful for this programme. As women we are backing her so that we do the same in our own wards. Even those we lead, we shall gather them and explain to them the importance of cooking and eating traditional foods. We shall take her programmes into our communities and invite Amai to see how much ground we would have covered,” she said.
Clr Chagaresango said the First Lady was doing great for the country and taking the nation back to the healthy food that was consumed in the olden days.
“Our traditional food is nutritious and medicinal hence it helps people to remain strong and not susceptible to diseases. Her non-partisan stance gratified us because our mother is not selective and she is encouraging the whole country to develop and go forward. That is why we are following her as she teaches us the importance of unity and love,” she said.
Speaking at the same occasion, Clr Elizabeth Chidza of Ward 4 Rusape, could not hide her joy for the opportunity to work with and learn from the Mother of the Nation.
“I am very happy with what the First Lady is doing because she is uplifting the whole country her main agenda being development and empowerment. She works hard to promote healthy eating and Amai is uniting us as a nation,” she said.
Councillor Sekai Mukodza of Ward 16 Chikanga, Mutare chipped in saying; “Amai has so much respect for our culture and we are learning a lot from her. Her programmes are also helping us in raising our children the African way.”
Among the 20 participants in yesterday’s competition held at Mutare teacher’s college were chiefs wives who thanked the First Lady for incorporating them in the competition designed to ensure people embrace traditional dishes and learn how to prepare them.
Mrs Esther Nhidza, who is Mai Chief Zimunya of Mutare said; “Amai traditional cooking programme has made our children love our traditional food. In the olden days most traditional food would just be mixed with maize and boiled, but now because of this programme we now know these dishes can be made in a more appealing way.
“We want to thank the First Lady because we have learnt a lot of cooking methods. She has brought unity among women and as chiefs wives we now have things to teach other women in our areas of jurisdiction,” she said.
Mrs Tsitsi Makumbe, wife to chief Makumbe echoed the same sentiments describing the First Lady’s programme as timely.
To show the many uses of the baobab fruit, a contestant went further and extracted oil from the seeds which she said helped cure skin disease while the youngest contestant Tafadzwa Chinyanga (21) a Food and Science Technology design student at Mutare teachers baked a baobab cake, again showcasing how cakes can be made using fruits from the wild.
So captivating were yesterday’s dishes that included a goulash prepared by Mrs Patience Musatukana which she named Manicaland goulash. She mixed chicken with pumpkin leaves, okra, carrots, tomatoes and onions which she served with millet sadza.
To add colour to yesterday’s African-themed event, were participants like Mrs Beauty Muzhingi of Buhera who showcased pumpkin juice.
To make the juice, she said a pumpkin is peeled and seeds removed. The flesh is then cut into cubes and boiled before being mashed and surfed to extract the juice. Lemons and oranges are then squeezed into the juice and a bit of sugar added to enhance the sweetness.
Manicaland is also home to the yams which is commonly known as madhumbe. A participant was innovative enough to come up with madhumbe fritters and chips. All these crafty interventions helped bring out the theme of yesterday’s competition: “Gapu raWasu Machikichori” which highlighted the tasty dishes from the Eastern highlands.
As environment patron who is always preaching about preventing deforestation and embracing environmentally friendly practices, the First Lady commended a participant Mrs Rachel Mugwagwa who prepared her dishes using a stove which uses sawdust or cowdung.
The stove can cook for 8 to 10 hours with an adjustable flame before changing the sawdust.
Mrs Mugwagwa said by using the stove, she was preventing the cutting down of trees.
In her remarks, the First Lady implored Zimbabweans to be proud of their nation and its food.
“Let us be proud of our nation, let us love it and its indigenous dishes. We should not be ashamed of our food. Let us join hands and bring back our identity as Zimbabweans starting with food, dressing, norms and values,” she said.
The Mother of the nation urged mothers, grandmothers and aunts to have time with children teaching them morals, values and norms.
She said she was learning a lot from the traditional cooking programme as she was also getting some knowledge from participants on how to prepare some of the traditional dishes.
“Violence in the home usually begins over food. As women, where do we stand in terms of cooking for our families. Most of our traditional foods are not sold and we grow on our own at home. Now if we do not want to farm, we always have challenges in the home as we accuse our husbands of not buying anything,” she said.
Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Nokhutula Matsikenyere said the First Lady’s cookout traditional meal competition was unique in that it fostered a new look in the way traditional food is viewed.
“The programme is unique in the sense that it is fostering a new look in the way we view and value our traditional food which is in so many ways highly nutritious and have sustained our people from time immemorial.
“First Lady, as Manicaland Province, we are so deeply indebted to you as this programme has incorporated our traditional leaders who are the custodians of our culture and values as Zimbabweans. Our traditional foodstuffs have been tried and tested and are the bedrock of our livelihoods and good health,” she said.
Mrs Redempter Gwasira mai Chief Makoni took the first position in yesterday’s competition while Mrs Dorothy Mukanganwa came second.
Online Reporter