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Tendai Rupapa Senior Reporter

PARENTS must lead by example and inculcate in their children, the values of cleanliness to keep diseases at bay, patron of the environment First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa has said.

The First Lady, who is also the Zanu-PF National Secretary for the Environment, said children needed to copy the good traits of their parents to build a solid foundation for the future.

The mother of the nation made the remarks during a clean-up exercise at Zanu PF headquarters in Harare alongside other officials, including the party’s National Political Commissar, Cde Mike Bimha, in observance of the National Clean-up Day which is marked on the first Friday of every month.

President Mnangagwa has declared a National Clean-up Day on the first Friday of every month to promote cleanliness in the country.

Clean environments, Amai Mnangagwa said, start with people within homes, communities, workplaces, districts and indeed the whole country through regular clean-ups.

Dr Mnangagwa and her team could be seen sweeping, collecting litter and placing it in dustbins.

She spoke on the need to maintain hygiene, saying this was critical to ward off diseases like cholera, which is wreaking havoc in some parts of the country.

“Women define homes because everything about the household and the family starts with the mother. The mother is the one who teaches and gives children direction. She is the one who teaches children to work and know what is supposed to be done in the morning, afternoon and sunset. Therefore, women must follow good hygiene practices,” she said.

“We do not forget the girl child. Our daughter must know and copy the good that her mother does. We will be building a solid foundation for our daughter’s future. At the moment, we are facing challenges because of cholera. These are the kinds of diseases that we can prevent without visiting a hospital.

“Cholera is caused by dirty surroundings and a mother must stand firm from the household going outside. We are seeing heaps of garbage everywhere. When we enter some homes now, we do not have anywhere to step on or even put our heads because of disorder. It is therefore, my word of encouragement, especially mothers, to put in place good laws that help mould our children and protect them even in our absence as they will be following the right things you taught them.”

Dr Mnangagwa has been actively involved in clean-ups and has been instrumental in promoting the reduction, reuse and recycling campaign in a development that has resulted in the creation of jobs for people who pick litter and turn it into money.

There are countless people who, through the intervention and assistance of the First Lady, are now involved in recycling litter to make artefacts that are even exported outside the country.

She also launched a first-of-its-kind underground and colour-coded facility for disposing of litter which is odourless, secure and has high aesthetic appeal.

The First Lady is also a signatory to the zero waste approach which seeks to maximize recycling, minimize waste, reduce consumption and ensure that products are made to be reused, repaired or recycled back into nature or the marketplace.