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First Lady Dr Grace Mugabe

Tendai Mugabe Senior Reporter
The First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe yesterday donated several foodstuffs and $250 000 to 50 charity organisations countrywide. The donation of $5 000 per organisation was part of the proceeds realised from a fundraising dinner held in honour of her Golden Jubilee over the weekend. The foodstuffs and money were handed over at a function held at Amai Mugabe’s Children’s Home in Mazowe and would last the organisations for the next six months.

Among the beneficiaries were Chinyaradzo Children’s Home, Bako reNhamo Children’s Home, Danhiko Projects, Rose of Sharon Welfare Organisation, Khuyelihle Children’s Village and Thembiso Children’s Home.

Speaking on the sidelines of the donation, Amai Mugabe urged people running charity organisations to be honest and upright.

She said charity work had serious temptations, adding that custodians of the organisations should fully declare donations received.

“Zvine matemptations azvo because tinopiwa zvinhu,” she said.

“I am talking from experience. I had donations sometimes without anyone present. But iwewe uchava honest enough here kuti ndapiwa this donation wosvikoipresenter usina kumbohafura. Uchaipresenter here yakakwana kana kuti iwewe uchati iwewe hapana andiona. Hapana andiona saka ndoda kumbonokora before I present it. (You should be honest and not remove goods from the consignment for personal use.) We should not fool ourselves because there is one man up there who watches over us in terms of protecting us, who is watching us minute by minute what we are doing on earth here so we must be careful.

“Don’t fool yourself that nobody is watching you. Every second God is looking at us on what we are doing. That is why dzimwe nguva kana kuti ukapiwa chinhu, munhu akakupa anosviba moyo anenge atosviba moyo kuti handichadzokeriko. Haana kuudzwa kuti wanokora, hapana azviona. Tiri vanhu venyama hatina mapowers aya ana Mwari ekuona zvese but unongoona munhu asviba moyo wogoshaya kuti sei vanhu vasviba moyo vasiri kundipa. Vanenge vasiri kukupa because of mabasa ako. So kana pane anozviita kuti anotora zvisiri zvake you must take self introspection from now on ukumbire rugerero kuna Mwari kuti I received a donation from someone and I was supposed to use that donation for the purpose it was intended and what did I do?

“I stole. I stole something that did not belong to me.”

Amai Mugabe said it was unfortunate that some charity organisations were holding on to children even if they did not have the capacity to look after them.

She said such homes wanted to use the children as a trump card for the purposes of accessing donations.

Amai Mugabe said at one point her efforts to get more vulnerable children from other homes were met with resistance.

Amai Mugabe said as the First Lady, she had some privileges that could enable her to look after more less privileged people.

“Ndakambokumbira vana inini kuma homes kuti imimi muri kuchengeta vana chete your job is just to look after the children for them to be safe but inini ndiri kutora vana ndichivaita vangu so ndinombotora vana kuma homes kuti vauye. Veduwe tinoziva kuti kana vasvika 18 years muchavati vaende ini ndange ndichikumbira kuti mundipe vana ndivachengete ndivaite vangu asi unoona vamwe vanhu vachiramba. Vanoramba vamwe vacho mahomes nekutyi vanenge vachida kuti vataurire madonors kuti vana vakawanda. Tine vana vakawanda kuti also vagokwanisa kutibatsira but let us not look at that. Kana tichiita zvinhu nenzira iyoyo it’s wrong. It’s very wrong kuti tiite zvinhu tichidaro. Mukaunza mwana pano handisi kuti imi hamugoni kuchengeta but obviously ndakati ini kune an adage inoti more bless oblige inotaura kuti high position brings obligation as well as privileges. Being the First Lady of the nation ndine maprivileges andinawo ekuti vanhu vano truster. They can trust me with their hard earned resources and I ensure that I put them to good use. Saka ndinenge ndichiti ndipei vana. Ndiri kukumbirai ndipei vana but handidi vana vanozivikanwa kuti vana vanhingi ndinoda vana vaye vasina maconnections ndovatora zvangu ndovachengeta ndakazvipira because kuramba nevana you are depriving them of a better future.”

Amai Mugabe dedicated her philanthropic work to God saying she was not seeking fame through charity.

She said charity work was difficult to run unlike a business where one could easily go and borrow a loan from the bank.

Amai Mugabe also took a swipe at certain sections of the private media that were always negative about her work.

”Everyday unoona zvakanyorwa Mai Mugabe vaita zvakati zvakashata,” she said.

“Ndikati okay kana munhu wenyama ari kuona kuti ndiri kuita zvakashata asi Mwari vari kuona otherwise. That is why muchiona inini I am proud and smile. When I see those headlines I smile. Nekuti ini hazvina kumbopinda munzira mangu so that I lose focus kuti ini Mwari ndine basa handisweri ndichipedza nguva kunoita zvisina basa. Ndakabvumidzwa naMwari kuve muState House. (President) Mugabe akavhurwa maziso naMwari kuti ndivepo. Mabasa aMwari. Ndapinda ipapo ndataura kuti inounza maprivileges nemaobligations. It is a huge obligation kuchengeta vana kudai.”

The ceremony was also attended by Senate president Edna Madzongwe, Public Services, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Prisica Mupfumira who is also the Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Acting Minister, Mashonaland Central and Masvingo Ministers of State Advocate Martin Dinha and Cde Shuvai Mahofa, members of the Zanu-PF Women’s League, Unity Apostolic Church archbishop Charity Mwale and Prophet Magaya’s wife Tendai among other dignitaries.

Archbishop Mwale described Amai Mugabe’s work as a calling from God.

“This is not an ordinary job,” said Archbishop Mwale.

“You should have an anointing from God for you to be able to undertake such mammoth tasks.