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Tendai Rupapa-Senior Reporter
FIRST Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa last week took her informative Gota/Nhanga/Ixhiba programme to Masomo in Mbire district at the invitation of the community, which is battling a surge in child marriages, drug abuse and general lack of cultural norms and values among youths.
The programme was held at Chief Matsiwo’s homestead.
Amai Mnangagwa used the platform to speak candidly against the indiscriminate cutting down of trees and burning of forests which lead to lose of lives and destroys the natural habitat for wild animals.
She later handed over starter-packs to the community for a petroleum jelly and detergent making project under her nationwide empowerment programme.
The beneficiaries of the project are mainly women including former ladies of the night, teen mothers, orphans, widows and those with disabilities.
Led by Chief Matsiwo’s wife Mrs Aplonia Bhasera, the women will be trained by Angel of Hope foundation in partnership with the Ministry of Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development.
The ladies of the night vowed to quit the world’s oldest profession and earn clean money with the use of their hands.
The Gota/Nhanga/Ixhiba session was laden with activities, with boys making traditional kitchen utensils, slaughtering a cow and a goat and making a bow and arrow.
Girls were polishing the floors with cow-dung, preparing traditional dishes, grinding peanut butter on stone and pounding sorghum with a mortar and pestle.
The girls were also pounding watermelon seeds, sieving them and using them as vegetable oil.
Dr Mnangagwa was accompanied by Angel of Hope Foundation’s partners from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the United States of America (USA) who are in the country for humanitarian work in partnership with the Foundation.
Among them was Mrs Roz Peterson who also had a chance to educate and counsel girls in the nhanga where she also attested her love for Zimbabwe.
The First Lady, chiefs’ wives and other elderly women were in the Nhanga with girls while boys were in the Gota with traditional chiefs and elders from the community.
The First Lady said it was of paramount importance for girls to treasure their bodies as the temple of the Lord.
“We have come to teach children that their bodies are of value. If she values her body she would have respected us as her mothers because the body is of great value and any mistake she is ruined. We want them to value education. Children belong to everyone, therefore let’s help each other to teach them. In your culture here, vana mbuya what do you do?” the First Lady said.
An elderly lady concurred and said a girl was neither supposed to be fondled nor sleep with boys at a tender age.
“A girl child is not allowed to be fondled by boys and sleep with them at a tender age. Again, it is essential for our children to understand the value of performing household chores and that they should not go to sleep without cleaning dishes,” she said.
The First Lady asked why it was critical to clean the dishes before retiring to bed and was told by the children that this would help keep cockroaches and diseases at bay.
“Even rats will fill the house and some will die in pots looking for leftovers. Diseases will not end at such a homestead,” the First Lady said.
“What about the issue of boyfriends at a tender age, are you doing this? If a boy proposes love to you at school-going age what do you do?” she asked.
A Form 3 girl recounted how she dealt with a boy who was stalking her.
“There is a boy who would waylay me on the way from school, yet he no longer attends school. I reported him to my mother who in turn, advised his parents and he stopped harassing me,” she said.
The First Lady applauded the girl and urged other girls to follow suit and focus on their education instead of boys.
Mrs Barbra Chiponda said in the Korekore culture, a child who has come of age and menstruates cannot apply salt in food taken by her father.
“Again, she cannot enter the bedroom where her parents sleep and she stays in the nhanga. Amai in our Korekore culture, a girl who goes on her menses cannot share a bathroom with her father and brothers. A different bathroom is built for her. If such a child enters her parents’ bedroom, the mother will suffer chest and stomach pains. For the pains to go away, the child takes salt, be it coarse or fine salt and throws it in the fire and if I inhale the fumes, the pain will go away after some few days,” she said.
The First Lady said she had learnt something from the Korekore culture.
“This is the beauty of our diverse cultures according to places. What you have said, I started hearing it today and the children have also learnt. I urge children that where they will be married even outside their culture, they will keep following what they have been taught,” she said.
Minister of State for Mashonaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Monica Mavhunga, said yesterday’s lessons were timely because even census results had shown that the province tops in child marriages.
“In the recent census, our province is on top on child marriages. Also in terms of having many children, our province is topping. We are grateful for the programme you have brought to teach our children who are rushing to get married at the expense of their education,” she said.
The First Lady weighed in saying: “The increase in births is because of children who are rushing into marriage. My daughters, do you know that having a child at a tender age has health challenges. Think about your first husband who is education. You are our future leaders and we look up to you,” Amai Mnangagwa said.
Among the girls in the nhanga were teen mothers who said they had “dumped” their children at the homes of the boys who impregnated them and denied paternity.
Some left the children while they were still suckling.
However, the First Lady counselled the teen mothers and told them that it was wrongful of them to wean their children early. She encouraged them to form a group and she will initiate a project for them as a form of empowerment to provide for their children.
Talking to the girls, Mrs Peterson said; “I am very glad to meet all of you and see all the pounding of maize and the hard work that you do. One of my things that I am very proud of is my marriage to the same man for 45 years. We just celebrated our anniversary in June. I met my husband when I was at university, meaning I had finished my high school and gone on to get more education. This is what the First is teaching you, not to rush into love affairs and first concentrate on your education.
“We were in a class and he was very kind to another student who was not liked by many people and that told my heart this is a good man, this is a kind man, this is a gentleman and I would encourage all of you to choose your future husbands wisely. A man that will be faithful to you, that will be good to you, that will not hurt you because I have been lucky to have that.
“As a couple, we work together for the good of our family. It doesn’t have to go one way; we both have to decide whose responsibility is this? What can I do to help him with his responsibility? And he decides what he can do to help me with my responsibility. So like what Amai said, it is important to always communicate as couples to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.
“I would love for each of you to have that experience when you get married. We believe that God created men and women, it takes two and the most Heavenly father would like us to have a good union and be good to each other and raise wonderful children and teach them what we have done to run our lives like you are doing. To mothers, grannies, aunties, have time with your daughters, grandchildren discussing life issues with them.
“Our children must not fear us. My advice to you is to take to heart what the First Lady is teaching you. I love you all, and I love Zimbabwe, it is an amazing country,” she said.
Mr Chinheza Chigwajara, who is Chief Matsiwo, said he was elated by the First Lady’s visit.
He acknowledged that since the attainment of Independence in 1980, no First Lady had visited his area of jurisdiction and thanked Dr Mnangagwa for her love.
“We felt if the First Lady came, children would remember everything she would have said. If you look at how children are being married off these days, early child marriages are common in the communities in which we live.
“We are near the border with Mozambique and control is a challenge because at times they just run away to Mozambique. When the First Lady goes around the country like what she is doing, it helps us as chiefs to go about our duties easily.
“We are grateful for the work being done by Amai countrywide. There is violence in homes and if a person of Amai’s stature speaks about it, people will take heed. She is bringing about development with her visits and lessons. Her visits help communities,” he said.
The Chief’s wife was grateful to host the mother of the nation and thanked her for honouring their invitation.
“We invited Amai here because of the challenge of early marriages. Children are getting married at tender ages, despite the fact that we go about teaching and speaking out against this.
“Their age is too tender to be married even at 13 they are eloping. We need to teach them that marriage is not something to rush into. As Amai’s ambassadors, chiefs’ spouses are doing all in their might to restrain these children in the villages.
“We have called her to reinforce the teachings we are inculcating in the children. Children are dressing shabbily in front of elders and are taking drugs. There is an illicit brew called ‘Sensor’ which they are consuming. We have called her to counsel these children,” she said.
In her address to the community, the First Lady acknowledged that concerns over the behaviour of children were being raised countrywide, hence her intervention.
“It is my pleasure to meet you Mbire villagers to help each other counsel our children who have lost morals. It’s a nationwide phenomenon and as parents we understand Gota and Nhanga because we grew up with the practice hence my decision to bring back the teachings today.
“I also heard that child marriages were rife in this province. School dropouts due to pregnancy are also on the increase. We thought this was confined to urban areas but it’s also prevalent in rural areas. Our children are now abusing drugs. They are being eaten inside by drugs and both boys and girls are abusing alcohol. In the olden days it was taboo to see a girl drinking beer and smoking but they are now at the forefront of embarrassing us as mothers.
“It is now difficult to counsel them and make them perform household chores. There are so many pregnancies with boys denying paternity leaving parents with a huge burden. We hear there are those who refuse to have their children corrected by others yet a child belongs to everyone. As parents we no longer have time with our children. The Gota and Nhanga teachings have come a long way and why should they die when that is where we came from? What of violence in the home? Who is starting this? This may be forcing children to elope at a tender age.
“I want to thank the Chief’s wives whom I am working with in communities. I also wish to thank Angel of Hope Foundation partners who have come all the way from America to witness what is happening here and see where they can assist.
“Today, as Angel of Hope Foundation we have brought a detergent-making project which we are leaving with the chief’s wife so that you learn and get something to sustain you,” she said.
Responding to social issues, Mr Livingston Mudziviri, said men were pained greatly when cheated.
“Men are pained when cheated because as a man I would have bought the woman because paying lobola is akin to buying her,” he said.
Mrs Primrose Dube said she would take revenge when cheated.
“If my husband cheats I will find a pain ease (a boyfriend) and we do our things 50-50 in that home. When a husband discovers I have a boyfriend there will be pandemonium but when he cheats he wants me to forgive him.”
Some ladies of the night confessed to wreaking havoc in most homes and bedding married men.
They embraced the detergents making project and vowed to leave prostitution while thanking Amai for her words of wisdom.
Dr Mnangagwa donated rice, mealie-meal, cooking oil, sugar, finger millet and snacks to the gathering.
The boys and girls in Nhanga/Gota were given stationery and in addition girls received reusable pads from the First Lady.
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