Online Reporter
Blessings Chidakwa in Antigua Guatemala, Guatemala
FIRST Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa has called for stronger cultural ties and empowerment initiatives between Zimbabwe, Latin America and the Caribbean through joint exhibitions, gastronomy initiatives and youth arts festivals.
She said cultural exchanges could promote Zimbabwean culture and tourism in the Caribbean, deepen mutual understanding and create opportunities for people-to-people engagement.
Dr Mnangagwa said this at the Interregional Meeting of First Ladies and First Gentlemen in Antigua Guatemala, where she was invited to share Zimbabwe’s community-based initiatives after they saw her humanitarian work through the Angel of Hope Foundation’s social media platforms.
Her humanitarian work has gained international visibility and generated growing interest in Zimbabwe’s grassroots programmes, prompting keen interest from other nations that want to learn how Zimbabwe is addressing social challenges while sharing their own experiences and approaches.
Held under the theme, “Soft Power, Social Leadership and Democracy”, the gathering brought together First Ladies and First Gentlemen to share initiatives addressing social and community challenges.
Dr Mnangagwa showcased her life-changing initiatives through a documentary highlighting her work through the Angel of Hope Foundation.
The presentation covered health, women’s empowerment, youth development through the Rehabilitation Centre, agriculture, culture and community development.
It also featured Agric4She, AgroTourism4She and Solar4She, which support women’s empowerment, livelihoods and community development.
The presentation generated particular interest in initiatives supporting vulnerable communities, empowering women and young people, improving access to healthcare, and preserving Zimbabwe’s culture, heritage and indigenous knowledge.
The human stories behind the programmes also resonated with social challenges facing communities in other regions, providing common ground for further dialogue and collaboration.
The interaction opened opportunities for engagement in women’s empowerment, health, tourism, culture, heritage, indigenous knowledge and community development.
Dr Mnangagwa said First Ladies and First Gentlemen had a responsibility to use their platforms to promote human dignity, inclusive development and stronger communities.
The First Lady said they should also champion social priorities affecting vulnerable groups.
“We have a responsibility to use our platforms to champion social priorities that might otherwise be neglected, whether in access to education, advancing healthcare, protecting the vulnerable, or fostering economic inclusivity,” she said.
Women’s economic empowerment also featured prominently through Agric4She, Solar4She and AgroTourism4She.
The programmes support rural women to turn agriculture, household resources and renewable energy into livelihoods and enterprises.
Agric4She supports women in farming, livestock production and related activities, while AgroTourism4She links agriculture with tourism.
The latter encourages rural women to use their homes, farms, local produce and cultural heritage to develop tourism-related enterprises.
Solar4She promotes solar energy as an enabler for women-led businesses, particularly in communities where unreliable electricity can constrain economic activity.
Dr Mnangagwa said social leadership should address practical challenges affecting ordinary people.
She said Zimbabwe was ready to share its grassroots empowerment models and learn from social systems across Latin America and the Caribbean.
“We must bridge the gap between State institutions and the everyday lives of our citizens,” she said.
“Zimbabwe stands ready to collaborate, share our models of grassroots empowerment, and learn from the innovative social systems being developed across Latin America and the Caribbean,” she said.Dr Mnangagwa said culture and the arts could strengthen social cohesion while creating avenues for international engagement.
“My patronage reflects a broader national vision that recognises culture and the arts as powerful instruments for social cohesion, formation, and international engagement,” she said.
Dr Mnangagwa proposed collaborative projects bringing Zimbabwean and Caribbean cultures together through music, traditional arts, gastronomy and youth festivals.
“I also wish to propose collaborative projects, such as Zimbabwe-Caribbean cultural exhibitions, that include gastronomy and youth arts festivals, to promote Zimbabwean culture and tourism in the Caribbean region and, vice versa, to promote people-to-people exchange,” she said.
Such initiatives could enable communities to share traditions while opening pathways for tourism, creative industries and local enterprise.
As Zimbabwe’s Culture and Heritage Ambassador, Dr Mnangagwa has placed traditional foods, indigenous knowledge, arts and heritage within the broader conversation on tourism, enterprise and community development.
Her gastronomy initiatives encourage communities to embrace traditional foods, highlighting their nutritional value while preserving culinary heritage and creating opportunities for food-based tourism.
The gathering also enabled participants to experience Antigua Guatemala’s cultural heritage, highlighting the contribution of heritage to tourism, gastronomy, creative industries and local enterprise.
Dr Mnangagwa also called for stronger interregional networks to facilitate dialogue, cooperation and the exchange of successful social programmes.
“By building strong, collaborative networks across our regions, we create channels for dialogue, cooperation, and mutual understanding,” she said.
“We can share best practices, scale successful social programmes, and offer one another mutual support.”
Dr Mnangagwa cited the Organisation of African First Ladies for Development, through which countries in the SADC region collaborate on HIV and AIDS, maternal mortality and gender inequality.
“Interregional networks allow us to scale these local successes into global frameworks,” Dr Mnangagwa said.
As Health and Child Care Ambassador, Dr Mnangagwa supports specialist medical outreaches and the mobilisation of medical equipment and supplies for public health facilities.
She also supports vulnerable mothers and families through baby preparation kits while promoting maternal nutrition, hygiene, infant care and greater family involvement in maternal and child health.
Her health work further includes HIV and AIDS prevention, testing and treatment awareness, cancer awareness, including childhood cancer, and efforts to take health information and services closer to underserved communities.
Among other initiatives championed by Dr Mnangagwa is the “Not in My Village” campaign, which brings traditional leaders and communities together to address child marriage and teenage pregnancy.
Her Nhanga, Gota and Ixhiba programmes guide young people into adulthood while promoting cultural values.
Her school feeding initiatives also support vulnerable learners with nutritious meals, helping improve their wellbeing and participation in education.
Global Alliance of First Ladies & Gentlemen founder and chair Cora Neumann praised Dr Mnangagwa’s grassroots initiatives, saying she was particularly impressed by her interactive community camps.
The camps bring together young women, girls, boys and families.
“I loved learning about the camps that she’s doing for young women and young girls and young boys, the camps that she’s doing for families,” she said.
Dr Neumann said the First Lady Dr Mnangagwa’s direct engagement with families in rural communities was helping strengthen their understanding of their responsibilities.
“I think that your spending time directly meeting with families in rural communities around Zimbabwe really makes a difference. It really impacts how families see their role,” she said.
Dr Neumann also welcomed Dr Mnangagwa’s work in addiction recovery, saying the issue was a growing challenge globally.
“I also was really happy to hear about, for the first time, the work that she’s doing with addiction and recovery,” she said.
“It’s a growing challenge all over the world, mental health and addiction, and so to see that she’s beginning to address that through rehabilitation and vocational training, I know that that will make a big difference.”
She said interventions targeting individuals could have a wider impact on their families.
“Because if you can change one person within a family, you can often change the whole family,” Ms Neumann said.
Guatemala First Lady Dr Lucrecia Peinado praised Dr Mnangagwa’s grassroots work aimed at improving the lives of vulnerable communities.
She said the initiatives demonstrated a strong commitment to human dignity and social development.
The Guatemala First Lady said Dr Mnangagwa’s work stood out for its direct engagement with communities and its focus on improving people’s quality of life.
“So what we saw from First Lady of Zimbabwe was a work very direct to the dignity of people, to the improvement of their lives, their quality of lives, and she opens her heart,” Mrs Peinado Villanueva said.
“She’s doing a wonderful, wonderful job and activities. She does it wholeheartedly. It is very evident with the videos and stuff, that she opens her heart and cares, embraces people with love.”
The Guatemala First Lady said the meeting also highlighted the importance of strengthening relations between Africa and Latin America.
“We also felt important a closeness, you know, with Africa and Latin America,” she said.
“I think that is very important that we keep this networking and contributing to one another’s strength, one another’s support for the livelihoods of our people.”
The Guatemala First Lady said the gathering provided First Ladies and First Gentlemen with an opportunity to exchange experiences on programmes addressing challenges affecting women, children and older people.
“The intent of us First Ladies is also to gather together and facilitate exchange, because all of us have very, very similar commitments to social development, to the improvement of the life of children, the elderly and women,” she said.
“So here it is also a moment to share how we do it, what we do, and also to exchange.”
The engagement provides a platform for global collaboration on issues that transcend borders, including women’s empowerment, youth development, health, family wellbeing and cultural preservation.
It also presents opportunities for Zimbabwean communities, artists, women and young people to build international connections around their talents, products, traditions and experiences.
The event was organised by Alianza ALMA and supported by the Global First Ladies Alliance and Universidad Rafael Landívar.
