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Mukudzei Chingwere in BULAWAYO

VICE President Dr Constantino Chiwenga has called on men to be exemplary to their families and take responsibility for the welfare and needs of their children.

The Vice President said this when he spoke at the Roman Catholic Church’s St Joseph’s Guild National Congress at St Augustine’s High School in Bulawayo yesterday.

St Joseph’s Guild is one of the largest faith-based men’s conventions which strives to foster a perfect life anchored in Christianity among its members.

This year’s congress ran under the theme, “Expand the Space of your Tent”, which gave the VP an opportunity to speak extensively about the family institution which he said is very close to his heart.

VP Chiwenga’s remarks come at a time when societal ills like drug and substance abuse are threatening to tear away the moral and social fabric, especially among the youthful generation.

He challenged men that it is their responsibility, quoting verses from the Bible, to lead their families with love, and presence and take them where they want them and God to be.

“As fathers in our families, we are heads of our households and have responsibilities to fend for, care, love and be available for our families. Availability and love is what we owe each other in families,” said VP Chiwenga. 

“I exhort you to lead an exemplary life by imparting good moral values to our children. 

“In giving us children, God has entrusted us with a great responsibility, in that we are not only bearers of children, but more importantly, care for and nurture children. 

“Therefore, we have a duty to train them to be free and responsible persons. I must hasten to say that we need to give our children some freedom, but we must also be conscious of what they do. I urge you to take responsibility for the education of our children, both in terms of the resources they need and what they learn. 

“We are all aware that charity begins at home. Faith is learnt in our homes, where it is grown, shared and strengthened. I do not doubt that our Lord Jesus Christ received and learnt his faith from his parents, with whom he grew accustomed to the Jewish practices. 

“The synagogue and the Temple would not have been foreign to him because these were the places he frequently visited with his parents.

“Therefore, closeness to our families is not an invention of society but has its roots in the holy scriptures. 

“The family as many have said, is a privileged setting where from a very tender age we learn to give and receive love. We need to be conscious that our vocation as families comes from God. 

“For, it is God who created man and woman for love and invited them to an intimate communion of life and love in marriage,” said VP Chiwenga. 

He said it is evident that the fundamental task of family is to serve lives, and also challenged fathers to play a critical role in ending family conflicts.

The Vice President implored congregants to draw lessons from African cultural values, where the role of the elderly is the upbringing of children, maintenance of the extended family and the communal spirit and encouraging harmonious living amongst parents, children and grandparents.

The VP’s family donated US$20,000 towards the modernisation of St Augustine’s College in Bulawayo into a fully-fledged boarding school.

Chair of the National Catholic Council of the Laity and the National Catholic Youth Council, Bishop Raymond Mupandasekwa, led the mass and also emphasised the importance of the family institution.

Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Bulawayo Metropolitan Province, Judith Ncube, attended the mass and other senior Government officials. The Archbishop of Bulawayo, the host of the 2024 St Joseph Guild National Congress, Archbishop Alex Thomas, also emphasised the importance of upholding the role of the family.