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Tendai Rupapa-Senior Reporter

FIRST Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa took her educative Gota/Nhanga/Ixhiba programme to the populous St Mary’s suburb of Chitungwiza at the invitation of the community, reinforcing her commitment not to leave anyone behind in her initiatives.

So oversubscribed was yesterday’s event that those who failed to fit in the venue due to Covid-19 restrictions could be seen following proceedings from outside as they did not want to miss the golden opportunity to see the mother of the nation and to tap into her wise counsel.

People marvelled to see the First Lady humbly going about her duties in the dusty streets of St Mary’s, showing that she is indeed a mother for all.

Amai’s visit to the suburb comes at a time when most communities were literally crying over drug abuse in youths as well as teen pregnancies and prostitution, among other cases of immorality.

Most of the challenges have been attributed to the dilution of local culture by Western influences through television and social media.

With the girls in the Nhanga was the First Lady and elderly women, while boys were being taught in the Gota by elderly men from the community.

Amai Mnangagwa said it was her wish to ensure that youths countrywide grew up morally upright.

“We have come so that our children grow up morally upright,” she said.

“When we teach you here, you must share what you would have learnt with others so that the information spreads.” 

An elderly lady who was part of the teachings, Gogo Maria Munhangaupi, emphasised the need for young girls to strive to do good all the time.

“If you fail to maintain good morals at your mother’s house, it means your marriage will not last because you will get into other people’s families with bad manners,” she said.

“You must not answer back when assigned to perform household chores by your mother as if you expect her to do everything while you are seated watching television or fidgeting with your cellphone. Some wake up like rabbits without caring to make the bed you would have slept on.” 

Gogo Josephine Musungo shared similar sentiments and said a girl must not allow men to fondle her willy nilly.

“Girls, do you know that you are golden? We all know that gold is expensive and cannot be found by any Tom, Dick and Harry,” she said. 

“Do not let men touch your bodies, instead treasure your bodies because we want to be given beasts as a token of appreciation (Mombe yechimanda which is given to the mother of a virgin bride).” 

Amai Mnangagwa weighed in saying: “My children you have come to be taught manners. But when taught this, do not leave your education to rush and get married. We are just preparing you for tomorrow so that your future becomes bright. 

“Learn to say NO to sexual advances by men. We want you to bring degrees home. Do you know what sexual relationships bring?”

The responses she got were many and varied as some girls pointed to pregnancies, diseases and dropping out of school.

The First Lady asked the diseases that were caused by unprotected sex and the children mentioned HIV and AIDS, sexually transmitted infections and sexually transmitted diseases.

“Once you fall pregnant, you end school midway and even if you go back to school after giving birth, things will no longer be the same because your concentration will be divided between the child and education,” said the First Lady. 

“Most boys run away the moment you fall pregnant and leave you the challenge of raising the child alone. Also, do you know that children’s mischief causes friction between parents in the home?” 

First Lady spoke candidly against peer pressure.

“My children, I want you to be satisfied with your background and we say no to those who want to copy others,” she said. 

“You will change your family background if you value your education and look after your parents in future. 

“The choice is yours, my children. This age you have reached you must decide the path you want to take. Make your decisions wisely.” 

Gogo Miriam Mubayi told the First Lady that there was a surge in abuse cases involving close relatives.

“Amai, issues of sexual abuse of children by relatives are on the increase,” she said. 

“Today, I want to teach the children to speak out whenever abused. Tell the teacher or neighbour so that you are accompanied to the police. Even if its your father, brother or uncle, do not be threatened. Speak out so that you get help.”

One child asked: “If it’s the father abusing me, if I tell my mother the case is swept under the carpet saying once the father is arrested you must get away from here. So what do we do?”

The First Lady responded and told the children about her 575 toll free and advised the children to call the number and report the abuse so that they quickly get help.

Ndomutenda Musunga said it was her wish to spread information to others all over on what they had been taught.

“Amai, we want to be the future leaders, we want to be good mothers in future, but we cannot achieve this if we destroy our future through mischief,” she said. 

“Thank you Amai for bringing this programme to us.” 

The children were taught menstrual hygiene and also advised to use Internet wisely for educational purposes, not adopting alien cultures.

They were also urged to dress properly.

Gogo Esnath Makovere thanked the First Lady for stepping in to help in teaching children who had grown wayward.

“We thank you for coming so that we assist each other in teaching our children who have lost morals,” she said. 

“Your programme is important to us as a nation because it helps restore our morals. 

“As grandmothers, we must admit that we had left our positions and children had no one to train them. We thank you Amai for your love and ensuring that the nation does not go in ruin.” 

Sekuru Goodwell Mafuratidze, who was one of the elders teaching boys in the Gota, said the First Lady’s programme had given a great lesson to members of his community.

“This has been a great lesson because these boys did not know even how to slaughter a goat or even how to handle the knife, yet men are responsible for slaughtering goats. 

“Children had lost morals as they were taking elicit brews, but through this programme people are learning,” he said.

He said sexual immorality was on the increase in communities and they would carry forward the programme so that youths grow up morally upright.

In her address to the community, the First Lady said she was happy to have been invited to help in counselling children.

“I am happy that you invited me here in St Mary’s so that we sit down and discuss with our children together,” she said.

“What some children are doing is embarrassing. Girls can no longer dress properly and are putting on skimpy apparel while boys are going about wearing the whole wardrobe, 10 trousers.

“Both boys and girls are now also abusing drugs and have lost morals. Girls are falling pregnant at tender ages and this causes health challenges because their bodies will still be tender. The girls are rushing to the houses of boys and they are leaving their education midway and they are in fact proposing love to men. 

“Most girls are leaving their education midway because of pregnancies. In the olden days there was the Gota/Nhanga/Ixhiba where children were taught to grow up morally upright. 

“In the Nhanga the children said a lot of things that they no longer have time with their parents and partly blamed us parents for their mischief. 

“This is being raised by all children countrywide and that is why I introduced Nharirire yeMusha so that we discuss as parents reminding each other about our roles in the family.

“Do these children know our identity as a country, our way of dressing and food? We have to embrace our tradition and it is us who can do that. I was happy to see children here preparing our traditional foods. 

“It is good to catch them young, teaching them while still young. Nowadays we are troubled by Covid-19, but before this what ailments were there?” she asked. 

In response, people said diabetes, hypertension and HIV, among other diseases.

The First Lady urged people to continue taking their medicines and to eat healthy foods so that it works well with the medication.

She asked people the traditional foods they wanted and people said black jack and sorghum sadza, sadza and okra, cowpeas with peanut butter and millet sadza, rupiza, and pumpkin leaves.

Amai Mnangagwa also spoke candidly against domestic violence.

“As parents, let us talk about domestic violence because even if we teach children in the Nhanga and Gota yet their parents fight everyday it’s useless. Who is starting the violence?” she asked. 

One woman said men were responsible because of girlfriends who even called them in their presence, sparking violence.

But a man refuted this.

He said: “Women start this because whenever there is no money in the home, the noise is endless. Some of these women do not want to work, they expect us men to do everything in the home. They must use their hands and start projects so that we assist each other in raising the family.”

The First Lady told the meeting about her 575 hotline and urged them to use it and report violence and abuse.

She further urged couples to live in peace and let love lead.

The First Lady urged women to do income-generating projects and encouraged them to form groups and use the Women’s Bank and Youth Bank to secure loans to start projects.

She said she would allow them to benefit through short courses being offered through Angel of Hope Foundation and Zimbabwe Open University partnership.

For their practical lessons, girls cooked traditional foods while boys were taught how to slaughter and skin a goat.

The children who participated were given certificates and made ambassadors. They also received food hampers and toiletries. 

In addition, girls were given reusable sanitary pads which the First Lady is sewing. The elderly who taught the children were also given food hampers and toiletries.