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Tendai Rupapa in BANKET
THERE was jubilation, characterised by song and dance, as over 100 teen mothers and survivors of early child marriages from Mashonaland West Province toasted to a new lease of life they received from First lady Auxillia Mnangagwa, who through her Angel of Hope Foundation and its partners, empowered them through self-help projects so that they can be self-reliant.
The beneficiaries received starter packs immediately after the detergents making training so they can start generating their own income.
Most of the young women had been left hopeless after dropping out of school due to early pregnancies.
This was the second time the teenage mothers were meeting the First Lady after initially meeting in January where they shared harrowing ordeals they went through and Amai Mnangagwa pledged to address their grievances by setting up income generating projects.
True to her word, the First Lady yesterday fulfilled her promise.
One of the teen mothers who remains in her marriage said she once harboured suicide thoughts because all was not rosy as the husband was spending all he had on other women and booze while denying her food and money for her general upkeep.
She said she was grateful for the projects initiated by Amai as she could now look after herself and her child.
Her wish is to go back to school.
Another 17-year-old beneficiary was all smiles as she said she now perceive life differently.
“I am 17-years-old and I fell pregnant when I was 16. I am glad our mother has helped us and we have been given a second chance in life. When she came here in January we told her the challenges we were facing and as a woman of action, our mother has honoured her promise and we are happy for the projects. She schooled us on how to make detergents like dishwashers, petroleum jelly and toilet cleaner among others. I am grateful for the opportunity she has afforded us as teen mothers. We promise you Amai that we will never let you down because these projects are going to change our lives for the better. Now I am able to also look after my grandmother,” she said.
Her testimony was similar to that of another beneficiary who is a year younger.
“I am 16 years old and now heavily pregnant. I was impregnated by a 26-year-old man who disappeared and skipped the boarder after I had eloped to him forcing me to go back at my parent’s house.
‘’I wish to thank our mother, Amai Mnangagwa for the kind gesture. She visited us a few months ago and we had a heart-to-heart discussion where we shared our history behind how we fell pregnant as young children. We never thought she would come back to assist us in no time and I thank her for coming back to rescue us. She has fulfilled her promises and brought all things she said she would bring and for that we are grateful. We shall pass the life skills we got here to the next generation,” she said.
Yet another rescued teenager says she still longs to attain a decent education and would use the proceeds from the project further her education.
“I am 18 and I gave birth at 17. The responsible man denied paternity and my father is taking care of me and the child. My mother is now late. The First Lady is a loving mother who loves all her children. We appreciate the lessons she gave us and we learnt the hard way that we should not have rushed to sexual relationships before time and now I will go back to school with the profit I will realize from the project,” she said.
Also grateful and keen to warn others, one of the beneficiaries urged young girls to always respect their parents and stay focused.
“I am 17 and I gave birth to my child at 16. Amai, the First Lady came to the community where we live and promised to come back after hearing our concerns and wishes. Indeed, she came back and we were trained for some days while learning to make detergents. I urge youngsters not to rush to have sexual intercourse like in my case the guy ran away leaving me and the child. Listen to your parents and not rush to mischief.”
Another girl who got married at 15 thanked Amai Mnangagwa for the motherly love she always exhibits.
“From here I’m going forward and since we have been empowered, I will look after my children. I will not be mischievous again because life is hard. I also want to thank Amai for the food hampers and baby blankets,” she said.
In her remarks, the First Lady humbly pleaded with traditional leaders as the custodians of the culture to have time with children in their areas of jurisdiction teaching them good morals.
Amai Mnangagwa is spearheading efforts to end early child marriages and teen pregnancies that have caused many challenges and disempowered the girl child.
The mother of the nation said she was grateful to have returned to Banket after her initial visit where she sat down with the young mothers who as a result of unwanted pregnancies had dropped out of school.
“These young women expressed their regret on dropping out of school and becoming teenage mothers and highlighted their wish to venture into income-generating projects. As a result, I engaged one of our partners and we came up with the detergents making project. These young ladies began training few days ago and are getting starter packs to kick-start their venture,” she said.
She said she was glad the young mothers had learnt new life skills through which they can empower themselves and earn a living.
“I want to encourage you all young mothers not to shy away from using your hands as this will enable financial security in your households, fostering a feeling of empowerment as women,” she said.
According to the constitution of Zimbabwe, the First Lady said, anyone below the age of 18 was a child and that definition was in line with the global and regional guiding principle.
“Any person above the age of 18 is legally considered as an adult. In light of this we have children having children as they would have gotten pregnant below the age of 18. The problem of married children is that they are vulnerable and at risk. According to the provincial concurred and combined hotspots, child marriages have been a dominating challenge in urban environments, high activity areas like mines, border lying regions. High activity areas are even more difficult to mitigate the challenge as most cases become lost to follow ups,” she said.
To mitigate the challenge, the First Lady said, the Government had adopted the child protection case management approach which embraces a multi stakeholder systemic approach embedded within an effective community surveillance system enforced by community cadres supported by traditional and religious leaders at village and ward level.
The mother of the nation implored chiefs, the elderly and parents to curb early child marriages and encourage them to complete education before choosing to settle down.
“Government has moved away from the antique remedial response approach to a proactive early warning system that identifies child marriages before they occur. Child marriage is a violation of children’s rights and it stalls individual, physical, emotional, psychological and social well-being. In addition, it perpetrates the forfeiture of the right and access to education,” she said to thunderous applause.
She encouraged teenage mothers to become ambassadors who advocate against teenage pregnancies in their communities.
Mashonaland West Provincial and Devolution Minister Mary Mliswa-Chikoka praised the First Lady for her unwavering support for the girl child.
“We are happy here in Mashonaland West because of what you are doing to empower the girl child Amai. These children are now businesspeople through your efforts. You girls have been given fishing roads naAmai so go out to fish. We encourage you to use the starter-packs you have been given wisely and as a province we expect you to uplift the communities in which you live. Amai we want to thank you for the love you have for your family of Zimbabwe. You are a good example,” she said.
The First Lady also donated food hampers and baby blankets to the beneficiaries.
Online Reporter