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Tendai Rupapa Senior Reporter

THE Government of India and its people have donated 950 sewing machines to First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa’s Angel of Hope Foundation in a development tailored to empower local women through skills training and employment creation thus boosting their earnings.

Speaking at the handover of the machines to the First Lady at Zimbabwe House yesterday, India’s Minister of State for External and Parliamentary Affairs Mr Vellamvelly Muraleedharan paid tribute to the first lady for her philanthropic works which he said he followed with keen interest.

The mother of the nation, who is the country’s health ambassador, is training women and girls in various parts of the country to sew reusable sanitary pads for the benefit of vulnerable groups that cannot access disposable sanitary pads.

Recently in Chitungwiza, Dr Mnangagwa donated sewing machines, material and all other accessories to youths following a training in reusable pads making by Angel of Hope.

Apart from fostering skills transfer, the project has also largely helped curb cases of juvenile delinquency as the girls are now gainfully engaged with little idle time. 

The project also helps improve menstrual hygiene, helping some girls who had resorted to managing menstrual flow using unhygienic methods.

Besides sanitary making, the girls in Chitungwiza are also sewing clothes for the benefit of disadvantaged children in their communities. 

First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa and Indian Minister of State for External Affair and Parliamentary Affairs Vellamalli Muraleedharan operate one of the sewing machines donated by Indian Government to Angel of Hope Foundation at Zimbabwe House yesterday

The First Lady is also donating sewing machines to schools countrywide and offering reusable pad making training to the school children so that no pupil misses school during their menstrual cycle owing to lack of pads.

In Kanyemba, Doma community, the mother of the nation also introduced various projects including sewing project and donated sewing machines and other accessories through her foundation as a way of spearheading transformation of the previously marginalised community.

She provided expertise to the women needed to keep the project running and be able to sustain themselves and their families.

Yesterday, Mr Muraleedharan handed over a symbolic machine to Dr Mnangagwa, saying the rest would be shipped in soon.

“Today I am happy to be here to present 950 sewing machines which will be of use for you in the Angel of Hope Foundation. I have heard a lot about your activities regarding the production and distribution of sanitary pads for women. I also heard that you recently visited India and I hope you had a very good stay. Even though you couldn’t travel much, you were in Delhi attending the GD Goenka University conferment of the doctorate on you. Zimbabwe and India have warm cordial relations,” he said.

Mr Muraleedharan said there were many Indian investments in Zimbabwe and Indians here were being looked after well by the Government of Zimbabwe.

He said he was scheduled to meet stakeholders in health, energy, water distribution and irrigation, among various sectors to enhance bilateral relations between Zimbabwe and India. 

“In trade and investment we look forward to the further strengthening of our relationship, even during the period of Covid-19 we would partner with Zimbabwe be it on medicine and vaccines. I have brought one machine which I want to symbolically hand over to you and the rest of the machines will be shipped to you by this month end and we hope it will reach here by August,” the minister said. 

In response, the First Lady extended a warm welcome to Mr Muraleedharan and his delegation and expressed gratitude for the sewing machines.

First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa, Indian Minister of State for External and Parliamentary Affairs Vellamalli Muraleedharan and Indian Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Vijay Khanduja look at one of the sewing machines donated by Indian Government to Angel of Hope Foundation at Zimbabwe House yesterday. — Pictures: John Manzongo

“I want to welcome you warmly to Zimbabwe and that you came at a time when it is cold. This is our winter. I know India is not cold this time. I want to thank India in so many ways. Firstly, I want to thank India on behalf of GD Goenka University which conferred an honorary degree to me for the philanthropic work. That is a big honour to me because when you are doing things you do not know that people will be watching. I respect and also thank the university and also the government of India.

“Coming to Zimbabwe as an ambassador of health, I want to thank the Government of India for helping us when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out which saw our Government and as a people start receiving this dosage for our people to curb this disease. It also states that the relationship between Zimbabwe and India is a longstanding friendship and we would want to continue in that atmosphere and further ties and also that all the meetings that we had, I hope and trust that they should come to fruition and that’s how development can come in countries and more especially in our country which is a developing country we need a lot of friends and a lot of partners to help us grow our country,” she said.

Dr Mnangagwa said the machines could not have come at any better time as they would help her immensely in her empowerment programmes.

“The machines that you have brought are going to do a lot of work helping me in the way I discharge my duties. There is a lot of need in the country and sanitary ware to women is what we call a woman. We are training rural and urban women and also school girls who have already started the sewing project and they have got a targeted group,” she said with happiness written all over her face.