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Tendai Rupapa in VICTORIA FALLS

FIRST Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa says she is humbled by the success of her first-of its-kind and oversubscribed meeting of African First Ladies and other stakeholders she hosted ahead of the 22nd edition of the International Conference on Aids and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) to be hosted by Zimbabwe this week.

The First Ladies’ interface in the resort town provided an opportunity for them to learn from each other’s experiences.

The meeting left lasting impressions in the minds of her guests who were treated to a sunset boat cruise on the mighty Zambezi River during which they saw crocodiles and hippos and enjoyed Zimbabwean music and traditional dances while tasting mouth-watering Zimbabwean food.

Amai Mnangagwa was commended by the guests for showcasing the country’s unique heritage, traditional cuisine and diverse attractions.

The morning, before their departure, the First Lady treated her counterparts to a high tea which was hosted at the falls whereupon the guests viewed the Victoria Falls, the Livingstone statue, the rain forest and later toured a crocodile farm.

Guests were served tea, coffee, cakes, pumpkins and sweet potatoes.

During the tour of the rainforest, they were shown some herbal plants by a tour guide including the bitter leaf which was said to cure various ailments.

They got a chance to sign the VIP comments book as they exited the falls, one of the seven natural wonders of the world.

First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa interacts with Zimbabwean women on a tour of Victoria Falls and commends them for promoting and enjoying domestic tourism. – Pictures: John Manzongo.

The previous night, they had enjoyed a traditional dinner.

Everything the guests ate from the starter to main course and dessert was purely Zimbabwean to promote gastronomy tourism and ensure guests benefitted from the food’s high nutritional value and medicinal properties.

Celebrated musician Sandra Ndebele and her team provided entertainment.

During their act, they mimicked music and dances from the countries that were represented, lighting up the event.

When they sang, the First Ladies would take to the dance floor with the group.

For Zimbabwe, the artiste performed a rendition of the song “Chitekete” by the legendary late Leonard Dembo, prompting Dr Mnangagwa and Team Zimbabwe to take to the dance floor.

Dr Mnangagwa ushered her guests to a warm Zimbabwean hospitality.

Sharing her experiences afterwards, Dr Mnangagwa who is famed for her high organisational skills could not hide her joy.

“We had the First Lady’s high level meeting where we had the First Ladies from Mozambique, Botswana and Nigeria, and we had representatives from Egypt, Burundi, Angola and Zambia. This kind of support to me is very important because it’s the first of its kind for us as First Ladies to meet on our own as mothers of nations to discuss and come up with what we want to do in our respective countries. 

“This support also came with the hierarchy from the United Nations family. All of them and all of our donors and our development partners, all of them throughout the world were here. We have some who came from as far as Geneva, Switzerland, to attend this event. We had a congratulatory message from the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and his deputy. This was a highly attended meeting and what we want to do in our countries is what we were discussing including ending HIV and Aids in our children so that we have children who are born without HIV,” she said.

Herself a trained hospitality industry practitioner, Dr Mnangagwa shed light on the tourism activities done by the guests and the traditional food.

“I took my sisters on a boat cruise where they saw crocodiles, hippos. They saw the demarcation between Zambia and Zimbabwe in the Zambezi River and the no man’s island. They asked a lot of questions as some of them it was their first time to come to Zimbabwe which is great to them. They liked the cruise as it brought us more closely to each other in a non-formal setup. 

“This is what I wanted to see happening because in most cases, as First Ladies, we do meetings and quickly disperse, but it was different this time, we so bonded. If we continue to have these kinds of meetings and visit each other’s countries, we will do more, we get to know more and we encourage each other to do more for our people.

“So I think as Zimbabwe we have done well,” she said. 

Guests too were thrilled and shared their appreciation.

Nigerian First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu congratulated Dr Mnangagwa for the successful programme.

Nigerian First Lady Sen Oluremi Tinubu dances to Nigerian music performed by Sandra Ndebele at a welcome dinner hosted by First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa on the sidelines of the 22nd ICASA conference in Victoria Falls.

“I just want to say congratulations to the First Lady of Zimbabwe Amai Mnangagwa. The event she organized was really a great one. The energy that she put into it is quite productive. I came in because I am a new First Lady so I am more like their baby so I have to come and learn and see what I can apply in my country. It is good to learn some best practices and I would say she has really done well. 

“I am impressed by what she has done and I am inspired by what she has done and how she cares for her people. I wish Zimbabwe well. This is a great event; I love your country. I also loved the food. I see we have the same food of sorghum, but only prepared differently. I enjoyed the meals,” she said.

Mrs Tinubu hailed the ICASA conference as educative.

“The conference was educative. Nigeria being the most populous country in Africa, it’s really hard on us despite that we are working hard. Nigeria is doing all we can but it’s now that I realise that we need to involve communities more. 

“I love the theme for the World Aids Day that said ‘Let communities lead’ and I think this is what I want to take back home. We need to increase advocacy, remove stigma and shame. 

“We have come a long way with HIV, it’s not just sweeping it under the rug because it will affect the next generation of young people, so when I go back home we need to hype up the campaign through advocacy. We will sit down and see what best message we can send to get people to be tested and not to be ashamed,” she said.

Botswana First Lady Neo Masisi described Dr Mnangagwa’s programme as amazing.

“This is really, really amazing and it actually goes to show how hard working the First Lady of Zimbabwe is. I definitely want to come back here again. Zimbabwe is so amazing; you have so many hidden treasures.

“The hospitality we received was amazing. Amai herself is a very amazing person and very welcoming. We really enjoyed the traditional cuisine, visit to the majestic Victoria Falls, the boat cruise, and the high tea. It was well organised and we enjoyed our stay. Thanks to my sister Amai Mnangagwa,” she said.

UNAIDS executive director, Ms Winnie Byanyima, said she was thrilled to be in Zimbabwe, a country she said had made remarkable progress in fighting HIV/Aids.

“I came here to celebrate, to mark World Aids Day here in Zimbabwe and support the First Lady’s programme. Zimbabwe is a leader in fighting HIV/Aids. It’s one of the countries making the fastest progress against Aids. It’s because of its leadership. 

“The First Lady Her Excellency Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa is also doing well in engaging communities. My team here in Zimbabwe supports her programmes. She is out there fighting mother to child transmission. She is out there fighting gender-based violence, involving men also. She is doing all the right things to protect the girl child. She warmly welcomed me here in Zimbabwe because it’s my first time to meet her. I have been so impressed by the work that she is doing like promoting Zimbabwean cuisine and even starting a competition for our African cuisine in the SADC region and she is now going all over Africa. 

“She is doing the right thing because when we eat our own food, wear our own clothes, admire our own art, we give jobs to our young people. They produce, they are creative and the creative industries have the most opportunities for our young people. She is really a strong pan Africanist and a I am so pleased to have met her,” she said

Ms Byanyima added that she was delighted by the hospitality she received.

“We got to taste delicious Zimbabwean food. I drank that sorghum drink (maheu). It’s like our own drink in Uganda, it is delicious and served in a five-star hotel; it was amazing. 

“Then I got to eat what I was told is called madora or mopane delicacy. We don’t have such in Uganda but I couldn’t avoid tasting it. It’s delicious and then I also ate kapenta that is so nice. So really, I have had a wonderful time here and I am impressed that local food, local products are being promoted, thanks to Amai Mnangagwa,” she said. 

Mozambican First Lady Mrs Isaura Nyusi dances to Mozambican songs performed by Sandra Ndebele at a welcome dinner hosted by First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa on the sidelines of the 22nd ICASA conference in Victoria Falls.

Engineer Nevine Osman, the secretary-general of the Egyptian National Council for Motherhood and Childhood representing the First Lady of Egypt, sang praises to Dr Mnangagwa for hosting the exclusive, top-drawer event. 

“I thank the First Lady of Zimbabwe for hosting the big event and inviting her sisters who are members of the Organisation of African First Ladies for Development. It is a pleasure to come and represent our First Lady of Egypt. 

“She would have loved to come and join this event but she is sending her best wishes. Because of the elections, she could not make it. The organisation, the hospitality, the very decent welcoming we received from the First Lady of Zimbabwe is very remarkable and much appreciated. 

“The interaction during the session which I attended and presented our paper in was very well organised and very comprehensive. It gave the floor for all the members and all the participants to take part in the discussion. As for the hospitality, it was very nice to enjoy a non-formal outing where the First Ladies gave us the chance to have an informal discussion about all our countries,” he said.

Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister, Barbara Rwodzi, praised the First Lady for hosting the event which she said boded well for the tourism industry.

She said the health indaba, which attracted participants from across the world, has been a game-changer in tourism development.

“The First Ladies high-level meeting took place here in Victoria Falls following the ICASA convention that is taking place in Harare. The First Lady hosted seven other First Ladies and representatives which has never happened ever since ICASA started. 

“And for us as Tourism ministry, we are very happy and very proud of our First Lady that what she has introduced and initiated for gastronomy tourism is now coming to fruition whereby every food that has been served during this meeting is Zimbabwean food, be it lunch, be it dinner, there is Zimbabwean food that has been served from the starter, to the main course and dessert, courtesy of the First Lady.

“She has been recognised recently as we all know by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) for the work that she has done in Africa to bring up gastronomy tourism at a higher level and Zimbabwe is shining about it across the continent. And today we have showcased what the First Lady has introduced to the country, what the First Lady has done to the tourism sector in the country,” she said. 

Minister Rwodzi said Dr Mnangagwa had helped boost the country’s gastronomy and MICE tourism. 

First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa and Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry Barbra Rwodzi dance to Zimbabwean songs being sang by Sandra Ndebele at a welcome dinner the First Lady hosted for her counterparts on the sidelines of the 22nd ICASA Conference in Victoria Falls.

Meetings, incentives conferences and exhibitions tourism (MICE tourism) is a type of tourism in which large groups, usually planned well in advance, are brought together. 

“Recently, there has been an industry trend toward using the term ‘meetings industry to avoid confusion from the acronym.

“On top of the gastronomy tourism that she has promoted she has also promoted mice tourism. Business meetings, this has been a business meeting since yesterday to today going forward to tomorrow where the main event is starting so that is mice tourism for us as two different clusters that she has promoted during this event so we are very proud, we are very happy that we have set a tone and a trajectory for the new strategy for tourism that we are going to drive being initiated by our patron for tourism Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa,” she said.