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Tendai Rupapa in MUDZI
FIRST Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa yesterday took her interactive and educative Gota/Nhanga/Ixhiba and Nharirire Yemusha programmes to Mudzi as she works tooth and nail to ensure no individual or place is left behind in her mission to promote good morals and curb drug abuse, teen pregnancies, disrespect and general lawlessness among youths.
The Gota/Nhanga/Ixhiba programme targets youths, while Nharirire Yemusha targets parents and guardians.
Nharirire is an offshoot from the Gota/Nhanga/Ixhiba after children countrywide partly blamed their mischief on parents who reneged on their responsibilities.
The visit by the First Lady followed an invite from Chiefs in Mashonaland East Province and members of the Mudzi community who sought to benefit from the mother of the nation’s inspiring teachings which are transforming the lives of youths and various groups countrywide.
It was a hive of activity ahead of the First Lady’s arrival at Chief Chimukoko’s homestead as women and girls could be seen pounding millet with a mortar and pestle, while others were grinding peanut butter on stone, drying vegetables and cooking traditional foods, as some shelled ground nuts.
Chief Chimukoko is a female chief who was installed in 1962 when she was aged 13.
Children could be seen playing nhodo, a traditional game. A group of men and boys on the other side were skinning a goat as others carved hoe handles as a good number discussed various issues at the chief’s court.
The mother of the nation was welcomed the Buja way, giving her a glimpse into the cultural practices of people in various communities which she visits.
Her visit came at a time when communities were voicing concern over the surge in misbehaviour among youths largely due to Western influences and the collapse of the extended family unit.
The First Lady was in the Nhanga with Mashonaland East Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Aplonia Munzverengwi, chiefs’ wives and elderly women, while several traditional Chiefs and elderly men took the boys through some life lessons.
“We have come to teach our daughters as elderly women,” she said. “As you see me here, I have a zeal to make our children grow in the full knowledge of that which is expected of them by their mothers, society and the country at large.
“I want our daughters to treasure their bodies and acquire education so that they have a bright future. You elders here are the ones with the knowledge of this area’s local culture, please take the lead in teaching our daughters who will be mothers tomorrow and we want them to be well cultured.”
Gogo Otilia Zimbudzi attributed the challenges being faced nowadays to the changing times.
“The life of nowadays is different from the old way of life,” she said. “These girls are no longer afraid of men and do not fear engaging in premarital sex. They no longer take due regard of their parents’ teachings saying these are now outdated.
“They no longer have time to perform household chores and spend much of the time with men in the bush. Once they leave to fetch water, they disappear and only return under the cover of darkness.”
Her words were echoed by Gogo Loveness Mbirimi who said it was strange that most children of nowadays were at the forefront of destroying their own lives.
“We want our children to have good lives, but they are at the forefront of destroying their lives through mischief,” she said.
“A Form 2 girl is eloping to a boy who is in Form Four, meaning they are impregnating each other at a tender age.
“These boys are going about impregnating girls, leaving us with a burden of looking after grandchildren with multiple totems. It would appear as if parents will not be playing their part, yet the child was mischievous. We have become hypertensive because of these children, both boys and girls. Thank you Amai for initiating this programme.”
Yet another discussant, Gogo Yanai Pangaya, said children of nowadays were now rushing to live with one another without learning about each other’s character.
“These children are now eloping fast and falling pregnant immediately after meeting a boy,” she said.
“During our time this was unheard of. They do not know the way to their uncles and unties. However, this is two-way, this is also caused by the fact that vana tete have become undependable.
“Once their niece is married, the aunt becomes jealous of their brothers and sisters-in-law. The children end up seeing visits to the aunt as useless. Long back, such things did not exist as people followed culture and uncles and aunties played their part well.
“True, our morals have been lost Amai right up to us as elders. We are thankful for your programme which is advocating a return to our culture.”
The wife to Chief Nyajinha added her voice, saying today’s youths had lost respect but had faith that through the First Lady’s programme they were going to change.
“These children no longer respect their elders. My children we want you to know that the woman next door is your mother when she counsels you please listen,” she said.
The First Lady weighed in saying a child must know what is expected of them when they wake up.
“When a child wakes up, is she aware of what she must do before leaving for either school or the fields. Are you performing household chores, girls?” she said.
Some of the girls said they first clean the house and yard before leaving while others said they simply rush to various destinations immediately after waking up.
The girls were grateful for the teachings and promised to change and listen to their parents through performing household chores.
On menstrual hygiene, most of the girls said they could not afford sanitary pads because of prices and made use of alternatives which compromised their health.
The First Lady gave the girls reusable sanitary pads which are being sewn by Angel of Hope Foundation for the benefit of the less privileged.
She taught them how to use the reusable pads and keep them clean.
She promised the community sewing machines, material and all the accessories to start sewing their reusable pads.
This sparked wild celebrations as the children ululated, sang, danced while others shed tears of joy. They said they missed school when on their monthly periods owing to lack of resources.
During the interaction with the First Lady, one girl said some boys threatened to beat them up whenever they turned down proposals.
“The boys are pestering us with love proposals. If you refuse he threatens to beat you up and you end up accepting the proposal.
“Some waylays you in the forest on the way from school and force you to accept them before you can be allowed to pass through. We are afraid because some of the boys are much older than us and married,” she said.
The First Lady urged the girls to report such boys and men to elders and the police so that the law takes its course.
Chief Enos Pfungwa Musarurwa, who was with the boys in Gota, could not hide his gratitude and showered the First Lady with praises.
“We are thankful for this programme because our culture had been left behind,” he said.
“Children no longer had manners, they were being married off without the proper teachings from elders. Today in the Gota we taught the boys and imparted them with wisdom of what was expected of them.
“Cleanliness, good morals and importance of education were emphasised during the teachings. Amai has also created cultural tourism at Chiefs homesteads where all children should come to learn including the elders.”
Chief Musarurwa said boys too needed to be educated and be amenable to being assigned tasks.
“Nowadays the girls are spending time at growth points dating elderly men,” he said.
“The boys also end up dating elderly women and expose themselves to various sexually transmitted diseases. As traditional chiefs we are fully behind this programme and already we are witnessing change in their behaviour in some parts of the country.”
Seventeen-year-old Jacob Makoni thanked the First Lady for her programme adding that he benefited a lot from the teachings in the Gota.
“This programme has assisted us greatly because most children of school going age like us are involved in all manner of mischief,” he said. “They are taking drugs which leads them to forsake their studies or beat up teachers.
“Some of the children are falling in love at school. Our elders taught us the disadvantages of taking drugs and alcohol at a tender age. We thank the First Lady heartily for her teachings.”
Addressing the Mudzi community, the First Lady said she was delighted that people had come together to find lasting solutions to challenges affecting youths.
“I am happy that we sat down together moulding our children,” she said. “However, this is not a licence for the children to rush and start homes but we are on a mission to build a brighter future for them. To parents this does not mean that we should marry off the children but we want them to treasure their education, culture and morals.”
She gave examples of young women who excelled in their fields and urged the young girls to emulate them.
For those seeking to further their studies, she urged them to take up courses being offered by the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) through partnership with Angel of Hope Foundation.
The mother of the nation launched the programme in Mashonaland East last week.
“When we went round the country with Nhanga/Gota/ Ixhiba some children blamed their parents that they no longer have time with them, prompting me to start Nharirire yeMusha,” she said.
“What is Nharirire?” she asked, eliciting various responses from the gathering.
One woman said this was someone who guarded the homestead, while an elderly man said both men and women were Nharirire since they protected and looked after children.
Another man said; “I think women are the Nharirire since they spend most of their time at home while we are out to work and they then apprise us of what would have taken place in our absence.”
The First Lady weighed in saying: “We are seeing chiefs gathered here in their numbers because the issue of culture and morals is critical.
“Yes, men are heads of households, but you should love and respect your spouses to ease tension in the home. But what is causing domestic violence which leads to high divorce rate.
“Where has the initial love gone? Endless fights by parents are driving children away from their homes and engaging in illegal activities, what causes this nhai vana mai nana baba,”
An elderly woman attributed violence to disrespectful women.
“This is being caused by women who do not give their husbands their proper position in the home. Some women fancy themselves heads of households, much to the chagrin of men,” she said.
Amai Mnangagwa urged women to respect their husbands and be submissive, loving and peaceful.
“We say no to violence. “To curb this, I set up a national gender-based violence call centre in my office 575. Please utilise this number and report all cases of GBV. This Nharirire programme seeks to control us as parents. Let us live in peace. I hope you shall apply all we have learnt here in your marriages and return to the love of old and set aside time to sit down and train your children the proper way,” she said to applause.
Chief Chimukoko, expressed gratitude to the mother of the nation for her intervention which showed her love for the country’s citizens.
“I am grateful for the work that is being done by the First Lady of going around communities teaching children culture and manners,” she said. “Our children had gone wayward and we had failed to control them but Amai is coming in handy. May she continue visiting various areas of jurisdiction teaching people in the full knowledge that if he or she does not do so our culture would collapse.
“Children are indulging in sexual activities before time, bunking school and getting pregnant at tender ages. Boys are also involved as they are the ones impregnating these girls and denying responsibility.”
Mashonaland East Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Aplonia Munzverengwi expressed gratitude to the First Lady for visiting the area despite the scotching heat.
“Amai, what you have done is only done by someone with love for the people. We are happy that you are uniting chiefs and their people and fostering unity in communities. We are benefiting a lot as a country from your programmes,” she said.
Traditional Chiefs and the elderly who taught the children were given food hampers and toiletries by the First Lady while the children were given school stationery.
Online Reporter