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Tendai Rupapa in NEW YORK

PLACING focus on women, girls and the underprivileged in societies is key to real, long-term and sustainable change, First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa has said.

She made the remarks at the world stage where she was accorded an opportunity to share the numerous life-changing empowerment projects she is undertaking in Zimbabwe on the side-lines of the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Amai Mnangagwa was among esteemed speakers including former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, high ranking UN officials and academics who all made presentations at the colourful event themed; Women, Technology and the SDGs: Reshaping the pathways to change.

Dr Mnangagwa said she felt honoured to be among many people committed to a common vision that sees a bright future for all women and empowering young girls with the tools for success.

“A vision that sees bringing technology to those girls and women who may not have had access to it so that they can be a part of our collective future. Simply put it, a vision that sees and brings into reality a future across all nations, those developed and still developing, that has women and men being given equal opportunity to study, work and impact the world in ways we have yet to imagine. 

“I, like all of you, believe that 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are all achievable if we collectively work hand-in-hand and we achieve our goals. I believe that by implementing the seventeen goals, we enrich our people, our nations and our world,” she said to applause.

The First Lady said much of what she wanted to share were examples of how Zimbabwe was achieving many of the SDGs.

Dr Mnangagwa said she had focused much of her attention and energy to the goals of ending poverty, abolishing hunger, guaranteeing good health and well-being along with gender equality.

“And in implementing these goals, I have of course put an emphasis on developing global partnerships to achieve success. Like many of you here today, I am a wife and a mother. 

“Yet before I was either, I was a young girl growing up in a country and a world dominated by men and with little opportunity for women to grow beyond their traditional roles. I am proud to say that the countries of today are not the same countries we grew up in. 

“I would like to use this opportunity to share with you much of what I am seeing in today’s life and my own personal efforts in the hope that those of us gathered here today can continue to ensure that the work we have all started continues to grow and impact women in every corner of our globe,” she said.

Four years ago, the First Lady said, she launched Angel of Hope Foundation in Zimbabwe to uplift the lives of disadvantaged children and other vulnerable members of society across the country. And the seventeen SDGs, she said, have helped provide a roadmap for her foundation.

“As First Lady of an African nation, I felt compelled to do everything I can, given my position and platform to make sure as a country and society we give young people, especially women and girls, the tools necessary to be productive members of their communities as well as a sense of entrepreneurship to help grow the economic well-being of their families and communities.

First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa addresses the Women, Technology and Sustainable Development Goals conference held on the sidelines of the 77th United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday.

“The Angel of Hope Foundation works both in partnership with private as well as public enterprises to see our common vision to fruition. 

“Even before I became First Lady, I noticed a gap between the knowledge learned during my school going time and the skills that are necessary in the real world. 

“So when I became First Lady, I sought to find public-private partnerships that could work to resolve this disparity. One such programme is the Seeds for the Future programme sponsored by Huawei. 

“The programme promotes a greater understanding and generates interest in the ICT sector. By donating ICT equipment to the University of Zimbabwe, our ICT students can learn and apply the latest technologies in ICT. This also allows our students to open their minds to the vast opportunities they can take advantage of for their own economic transformation. 

“Some of the skills our students have learned through the programme include Artificial Intelligence and cloud computing. These skills will translate directly into better futures for the students and our country.”

Another rewarding project she began in Zimbabwe, the First Lady said, consisted of the Angel of Hope Foundation partnering with the Matter Foundation which is based here in the United States.

“Thanks to the Matter Foundation, we were able to construct high-tech ICT hubs in several primary schools. We chose as one of the hubs a primary school made up mostly of orphans and underprivileged children who, in my opinion, are surely some of the worthiest children to receive such an innovative ICT learning hub. 

“The ICT hubs are equipped with iPads, MacBooks and desktop computers along with many other modern technological gadgets. The hubs are also equipped with high-speed internet in order to give these children access to information they want. The children will learn various computer and programming skills to help them achieve better grades in school and also coming up with good decisions for the future,” she said.

Another initiative she was extremely proud of, the First Lady said, was the partnership between the Angel of Hope Foundation and the Zimbabwe Open University.

“The initiative offers free higher education to women across all ten provinces in Zimbabwe including women in the Female Open Prison system. These life-changing courses offered in various disciplines, with a focus on ICT, give women across the country access to education that they never had before.”

“Total transformation for quality education, and especially gender equality in education, involves both the reconstruction of educational institutions and the use of education in restructuring society.

“I believe, as I know you do, that education is a flame that burns bright for a lifetime. We must light this flame of change in the lives of girls and the underprivileged because those who benefit will never slide backwards but only go forward,” she said.

“Of course, as all of you know, education and empowerment are just a few of the SDGs. Health and well-being are another important goal we share and is most important in nations such as Zimbabwe,” Dr Mnangagwa said.

As Zimbabwe’s Health and Child Care Ambassador, Dr Mnangagwa said she was committed to universal and adequate healthcare in Zimbabwe with a focus on disadvantaged communities and women. 

She said she had started programmes such as free cervical and breast cancer screening for women to achieve early detection as well as encouraging men to go for periodic checks.

Quality of life for our citizens, she said, also means quality healthcare such as detecting diseases early, so that they can be treated early.

“Another area of good health and well-being that many developing nations share is access to good drinking water. Clean water is the most basic foundation to good health and a challenge which many of us face not just in Africa, but in many other countries around the world. 

“One of the initiatives the Angel of Hope Foundation in partnership with the Church of Latter Day Saints has started is the drilling of boreholes in some of our most rural regions. By simply offering access to clean water, we transform the lives of children in ways that cannot be imagined. The crops are healthier, the people are healthier and prosperity flows wherever the clean water flows.”

As Zimbabwe’s patron of the environment, the First Lady said countries had unique challenges peculiar to them.

“Some of you have to deal with large carbon footprints due to industry, others have to deal with issues such as pollution seeping into the groundwater. One of the challenges we face in many African nations is the issue of waste management. 

“In Zimbabwe, I have undertaken to start a nationwide educational programme regarding recycling. But instead of making recycling only about “saving the environment”, we have implemented a program to encourage waste collection and recycling as a means of a source of income. 

Delegates listen to First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa’s address during the Women, Technology and Sustainable Development Goals conference held on the sidelines of the 77th United Nations General Assembly in New York on Friday.

“By doing so, we now have thousands of people across the country taking advantage of the program so that while they are earning an income, they are simultaneously cleaning and protecting the environment.

“I don’t have to overstate how important this is, because as you know, we can educate our children, we can employ our women, we can deliver quality healthcare to areas that never had it before. 

“Additionally, we have started an afforestation program targeting tobacco farmers, who depend on wood to cure their tobacco. For every tree cut down, two more trees are planted as a way of replenishing the environment. If we don’t protect nature and our environment, none of these initiatives will matter,” she said.

The First Lady said she had shared successes, not out of a desire for personal recognition, but rather with the hope that they can inspire others to seek similar successes in their own countries.

“As I have stated many times, only when we act as a global community towards achieving all 17 goals will we find success. Especially when we place our focus on women, girls and the underprivileged in our societies, we will begin to see real, long-term, and sustainable change. I want to thank you for this opportunity to speak to you and I look forward to the mutual cooperation that comes out of such gatherings. May God bless all of us.”

Dr Samir Saran, president of the Observer Research Foundation which invited the First Lady to speak as a way of inspiring others said; “This is the occasion where we have invited the first lady to speak to this gathering in New York on the side-lines of the UNGA because this is focused on the vulnerable groups of the excluded groups of women and children and the First Lady is a champion of each of these constituencies. 

“Her work in Zimbabwe is outstanding and we wanted her to share her experiences to inspire others and create their own ambitions and aspirations at home. She came and addressed a gathering that had eminent speakers, the former Prime Minister of New Zealand Helen Clark, a number of high-ranking UN officials and she was clearly bringing a very unique perspective to the gathering. A country from the south, a country that is rising, a country that is both aware of the challenges and determined to respond to them,” he said emphatically.