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First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa

Noah Pito Herald Correspondent
First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa yesterday visited Hurungwe Children’s Home where she had an opportunity to interact with children from six other children’s homes in the province. The First Lady, who was received by Minister of State for Mashonaland West Provincial Affairs Webster Shamu, Members of Parliament and traditional leaders, said she could not visit Mashonaland West earlier due to a tight schedule.

The First Lady, who donated foodstuffs and non-food items to the home, said her passion for children emanated from being a mother and grandmother and not from being the First Lady. She bemoaned the abandonment of children which she said was common even beyond our borders, adding that among the prominent causes in Zimbabwe was HIV/Aids which was the number one culprit in robbing children of their parents.

She said every child was born of parents, meaning that “No child was nobody’s child”. She said although abandoned children were taken to children’s homes, these were not the best environments to raise children because they had challenges of their own.

“Having children’s homes is not ideal, but it gives hope as children are accommodated,” she said.

She said in other cases, children were abandoned because of disability and mental challenges. In his welcoming speech, Minister Shamu hailed First Lady Mnangagwa for her humility which he said was the source of the positive results she had exhibited in the short period she had assumed the position of First Lady.

Minister Shamu lauded her for being the first First Lady to visit the area with such a programme.