Online Reporter
Walter Nyamukondiwa
Mashonaland West Bureau Chief
FIRST LADY Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa’s 575 hotline is not just a number, as Nelson Mwanza of Mutorashanga, who lost both his parents at a young age and had to survive on handouts, found out after deciding to try it.
At just 16 years, Nelson found himself living alone at Number 368, Tafara 2, in Mutorashanga, after the death of his mother in 2022.
His father had died 12 years earlier.
Nelson (now 19) briefly lived with his brother Evidence, who left after marrying.
Home alone, without a stable income to buy food, clothes and other necessities, life was difficult for him, and he had to survive on food handouts from neighbours, particularly his friend Ngonidzashe.
Their houses are adjacent. He hardly cooked at home, as there was rarely any food. As a result, he only went there at night to sleep. The story of his life changed when he finally decided to call the 575 toll-free hotline he got from a friend several weeks earlier.
“I hesitated to call the number thinking that my situation was too desperate,” said Nelson during an interview at his home on Saturday afternoon.
“However, one day I summoned all the guts to call the number and I was pleasantly surprised with the welcoming tone of a lady named Pamela. She was very helpful and attentive as I explained my plight.”
That call was to be the beginning of several calls where he would get advice on how to deal with the situations he was facing in his life.
“Considering I had no job and income, an agent on the 575 Hotline who said she had been sent by the First Lady to assist me suggested that I should engage Zimasco, where my late father used to work. The option of joining the security services, including the police, army and prison services, was out of the question as there was no call-up at the time,” narrated Nelson.
“The agent would always say the First Lady was enquiring after me and was at hand every step of the way as I engaged with the office, and I am happy that it bore results, and I can say now I am working and look forward to my first salary at the end of the month.”
He now works as a dispatch clerk where he manages the movement of chrome ore and equipment at a mine in Mutorashanga.
First Lady Dr Mnangagwa introduced the 575 Call Centre in 2021 to provide an anonymous platform to victims of gender-based violence, abuse and any other distress at no cost.
The platform has helped rescue children trapped in marriages and victims of gender-based violence, among others.
His friend Ngonidzashe said they were friends from a young age, taking after their mothers who shared cordial relations.
“At first he would feel shy to come and eat at our home and I would call him to come and play and coax him into eating. My mother treats him like my brother,” he said.
Mrs Florence Madzivanzira, who is Ngonidzashe’s mother and has been providing support to him over the years, was elated by the development.
“I take him as one of my own sons and that is why I support him. My desire has always been that he should get a job so that he doesn’t fall into crime and other vices,” she said.
“I am very happy and thankful for Amai Mnangagwa for coming up with the 575 Hotline. We are happy that he has found somewhere to start from through the support of the First Lady’s initiative, the 575 Hotline.”
Headman Edna Chimwaza of Mutorashanga Tafara 2A expressed optimism that many people in difficult situations would continue to be assisted through the hotline.
Online Reporter