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Tendai Rupapa
Senior Reporter
First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa has committed to keeping her ears on the ground to come up with interventions that best address the nation’s needs at a time when the world is grappling with the effects of Covid-19, which has affected economies and left more than 2,4 million dead worldwide.
She made the commitment while apprising the 25th Ordinary General Assembly of the Organisation of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD) of the work she has been doing in the country in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Other First Ladies also notified the assembly of the various initiatives they have been undertaking for the benefit of citizens of their nations.
The general assembly is running under the theme, “Showing resilience in face of Covid-19 by building on past gains and learning from the challenges of the present”.
Amai Mnangagwa is the OAFLAD vice president and through her Angel of Hope Foundation, has been doing philanthropic work to ease the plight of women, children, the elderly and the disabled, among many other vulnerable groups.
She has also mobilised resources like food, toiletries, blankets, sanitisers and face masks to ease the plight of the poor during lockdown.
“I made sure I armed our communities with vital information and held interactive sessions where I spelt out what needed to be done,” said the First Lady in her address. “The sessions helped bridge knowledge gaps, for instance I informed that Covid-19 does not discriminate based on race, gender and other biological and other ethnic varieties found in humanity.
“I personally produced washable home-made face masks and I was even personally teaching the elderly how to mask up since it was a new disease we did not know much about. It brought the new normal in which people no longer shake hands, attend funerals in large numbers, not to prepare bodies for burial and distribute clothes of a dead relative without caution.
“Cases of domestic violence reared an ugly head during the period under review and so did cases of child marriages and juvenile delinquency encompassing prostitution, drug and alcohol abuse. I organised forums where we advised the youths to leave such wayward behaviour. These educational and information dissemination efforts paid off.”
The corporate sector, the First Lady told the assembly, also came on board and now there were companies in various sectors of the economy coming in to assist.
“Going forward, I shall always keep my ears on the ground and get true assessments of issues affecting people and seeing how best I can come in,” she said.
Speaking at the same occasion, OAFLAD president Madam Antoinette Sassou N’guesso of Congo said Africa had shown solidarity and resilience against Covid-19 and could achieve much more success by fighting gender-based violence, early marriages and gender inequality.
She said this year’s theme resonated with the health state the entire world was experiencing.
“We have lost dear people in our nations, but besides Covid-19, Africa has showed resilience and solidarity,” she said. “In that vein, we would also want to thank the First Lady of China who came on board and assisted the First Ladies of Africa.
“Our vision as OAFLAD is to develop Africa, empowering children and youths in line with Strategic Development Goals (SDGs). Despite the clouds distracting our vision, we should remain focused, they will disappear soon and we continue with our strategic plans.
“We have to build the Africa we want, hence we need to achieve results by fighting gender-based violence, early marriages and gender inequality.”
She commended her fellow First Ladies for making the negative impact of Covid-19 bearable.
Other First Ladies gave accounts of the works they are undertaking to ease the plight of citizens in their respective countries.
Ghanaian First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, said through her Rebecca Foundation, she mobilised resources that included personal protective equipment (PPE) with the support of donors which were in turn donated to health facilities for the benefit of frontline workers.
She said her foundation worked with traditional and community leaders in assisting vulnerable communities.
“The Rebecca Foundation’s Covid-19 response included support to women, children, the elderly and special need schools,” she said. “We provided face masks, sanitisers, food and toiletries in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus since most of the targeted groups live in populated areas.
“Through the use of social media, radio and television, I advocated adherence to Covid-19 protocols to stop the spread of the virus. The Rebecca Foundation will continue with its relief efforts and as the pandemic rages, my foundation will continue engaging its partners.”
Mrs Akufo-Addo stressed the need for First Ladies to share ideas and work together to find lasting solutions to challenges affecting their citizens.
“My fellow sisters, let us continue to share ideas for the betterment of our continent,” she said. “It is good to engage each other in order to restore normalcy to humanity because only by collective effort can we overcome this.”
Burundi First Lady Mrs Angeline Ndayishimiye, who recently joined OAFLAD and was welcomed by Amai Mnangagwa when she chaired the Steering Committee on Wednesday, said she would continue organising forums to better the lives of women and the girl child.
She said these were the groups that bear the brunt when there is a crisis.
“Following the pandemic and subsequent lockdown imposed by the Government of Burundi, I mobilised preventive equipment and I would like to thank the First Lady of China who donated PPE’s to us all through OAFLAD,” she said.
First Lady of Niger Mrs Aissata Issoufou Mahamadou said she had been supporting the government by raising awareness in communities to curb the spread of the pandemic.
The First Ladies shared notes on the challenges they are facing in their countries like teen pregnancies, gender-based violence and alcohol and drug abuse, all spawned by Covid-19-induced lockdowns.
They encouraged each other to continue working hard and find ways of preventing minors from falling pregnant and ensure young girls who fell pregnant returned to school after giving birth.
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