adminCalled “God Building Marriages and Families”, the programme was largely inspired by the popularity of Pastor Lucia Gunguwo’s teachings on marriage and relationships.
Pastor Gunguwo of Eternal Word Ministries based in Harare has been delivering sermons on marriages and relationships that have become popular, and some of her works are now available on CD and flash disk though without her permission.
“About three or four months ago, I held a session on marriage and relationships counselling for a group of church women based in Waterfalls. Unbeknown to me, someone in the audience was using her mobile phone to film the event.
“The CDs of the convention were leaked onto the market where people started buying them. It was only recently that I got wind of the development when people would stop me in the streets testifying to how the sermon on the discs has transformed their marriages and relationships.
“The sermon even found its way onto the Internet and now it is being played not only in Zimbabwe but also in Botswana, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.
“Some people in these countries are requesting me to go there and speak in their countries,” she said.
Mai Gunguwo — as she is fondly called — added: “At first, this affected me a great deal because the sermon was meant for that gathering alone.
“But when people gave me the feedback on how it changed their marriages for the better, I asked myself, ‘Why not do it if it’s transforming their relationships’?”
She, however, says she was not happy with the way that the pirates were using her name and work to make money for themselves.
Some of the pirates were even using their own faces on the pirated discs, a situation that has prompted her to release her own CDs which will augment her existing literature on marriage and relationships.
“Some of these people are putting their own faces on the pirated discs. I think this is not good because some of them may be people of questionable characters and morals yet they associate themselves with my name.
“I hope that the television programme will go a long way in helping mending relationships and marriages as well as showing people what Mai Gunguwo is really like,” she said.
Mai Gunguwo said her aim was to encourage people to develop strong and stable marriages, saying she was worried by the rate at which most marriages and relationships were breaking down.
“Most people are affected by Western influences which have also crept into their marriages whereby couples marry tonight and break up tomorrow,” she said.
Meanwhile, Mai Gunguwo will launch her marriage and relationships brand on July 7 at the Zimbabwe College of Music in Harare.
“This is going to be open to everyone, because this is an interdenominational gathering but with a thrust on marital and relationships issues.
“The morning and afternoon sessions will be strictly for women while in the evening couples will be free to attend. We will then have a big function on July 28 at the
Harare International Conference Centre apart from similar other conferences around the country,” she said.
Born on January 5, 1972 in Mutoko, Mai Gunguwo — who is married to Apostle Tatenda Gunguwo, the founder of Eternal Word Ministries — is currently studying for a diploma in family counselling with a college based in Belvedere, Harare.
Online Reporter