Tendai Rupapa
DUST filled the air yesterday as hundreds of jubilant women from Harare Province broke into song and dance when First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa rolled out three projects, including the first of its kind urban transformational programme aimed at uplifting the marginalised and less fortunate through income generating projects.
Dr Mnangagwa officially opened a community garden equipped with drip irrigation to allow all-year-round production of crops and poultry project with 29 500 road runner chickens, some of which will remain for the Dzivaresekwa community project, while some will be divided among the districts of Harare.
Fowl runs to house the chickens are in the fenced garden.
As patron for Agriculture-for-She, the First Lady officially launched the programme for Harare and the same will cascade to all the country’s provinces.
She handed over inputs for women to start growing crops and urged them to participate in agricultural programmes to enhance food security and nutrition in Zimbabwe.
The mother of the nation also availed broiler chicks and feed for women, youths, the elderly, those with disabilities and widows as part of her nationwide empowerment programme.
Dr Mnangagwa, together with Ambassadors and spouses of diplomats accredited to Zimbabwe, planted tomatoes, cabbages and fruit trees in the community garden.
The guests attended the programme in support of the First Lady’s work and to have an appreciation of her philanthropic work. In her remarks, Dr Mnangagwa encouraged women to work hard for the success of the projects.
“I have come to work with you madzimai (women) and to give you dignity. We want women who are dignified in society who assist others. Let us guard these projects jealously and not let them be soiled by others. We do not want those who pull the project backwards,” she said.
The First Lady, who has a passion for the empowerment of women, youths, the elderly and other disadvantaged groups, said she engaged relevant stakeholders and came up with the programme to start community-based agro-business projects.
The project, she said, was in line with and complementary to Government efforts towards National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1) targeting food security and nutrition.
“I felt that the marginalised and less fortunate in our urban metropolitan areas should also be uplifted through project initiatives in order to alleviate the cost of living for their families.
“In light of this, I engaged relevant stakeholders and came up with the urban transformation programme in a bid to commence community-based agro-business projects,” she said.
“The goal is to improve food self-sufficiency at household level leaving no one and no place behind. The global pandemic of Covid-19 has affected economies both great and small globally.
“Unfortunately Zimbabwe has not been spared. As a result there has been an increased vulnerability to food and nutrition insecurity in Zimbabwe. Most small to medium enterprises suffered irrecoverable blows during the pandemic and many found themselves without a source of income.”
Both rural and urban households, the First Lady said, had been affected and this contributed to a decline in the standard of living across urban marginalised communities.
“The urban transformation programme seeks to alleviate these circumstances by creating agribusiness hubs to support long-term development within the community whilst also establishing market linkages and active participation from vulnerable groups in attaining food security,” she said.
“Each of the selected households will provide one able-bodied person who is fit to work to be assigned on the project.
“Each person working on the project will earn a reasonable monthly wage and all produce will be sold within the community and also to strategic partners who have pledged to support this programme.”
The First Lady said she was also launching another project called Agric-for-She in Harare and in all remaining nine provinces, making it a national project.
“The Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Resettlement approached me with this initiative aimed at empowering and facilitating women in agriculture.
“The ministry has set up a desk that looks into women’s involvement in agricultural production issues as they are equally capable contributors as their male counterparts not only to the agrarian sector but to the socio-economic development agenda of Zimbabwe as a whole,” she said.
“There is need to mainstream women in agricultural production with access to resources, skills training, processing and markets.
“This desk ensures that women are supported as they are key players in all agricultural value chains. It is a fact that women will drive agricultural transformation in Zimbabwe as they are the majority demographic group hence playing a pivotal role in the attainment of Vision 2030.”
The First Lady said she had also empowered another selected group of women and youth who were receiving a donation of chicks and feed that covers all cycles from starter to finisher to start their chicken rearing project.
“It is my expectation that this project will be fruitful and facilitate the development of other bigger projects. I am passionate about the upliftment of the underprivileged and vulnerable demographics which make up part of the general populace of Zimbabwe and will always strive to the best of my ability through help from friends and well-wishers to ensure that no one is left behind in alleviating the living standards of marginalised families within our communities,” she said.
Dr Mnangagwa implored the beneficiaries, who included women and youth, to grab the opportunity with both hands and run with it.
“It is my hope that all what we have gathered here for you today will not die in vain, but that you will work had till fruition.
“It is very easy to be part of the genesis of an initiative but the challenge comes in maintaining that which we would have begun. All success comes from hard work and dedication.
“Let us be women and youth of substance who will set up an example as a beacon of hope for the communities we live in,” she said.
The First Lady spoke out candidly against elders who were selling drugs to young people.
“It is very unfortunate that we have mothers who are supposed to be nurturers, but are now selling drugs to young boys and girls in the community, thus fuelling alcohol, drug and substance abuse.
“I would like to take this opportunity and say to the women that we are all mothers, we should have a heart.
“There are other clean ways to earn income that does not include destroying the future of this country because children are the future. Today I have launched alternative means of survival, let us change our ways madzimai,” she said.
The First Lady encouraged youths to use their time wisely.
“We are living in an age where initiative and finesse are the major contributors to success globally. These days we now have programmes such as entrepreneurship and project management being taught in tertiary institutions.
“This is because of the shift in global economies due to issues such as the Covid-19 pandemic which affected almost every country in the world. In other words, an egalitarian approach is needed for development and projects are a guaranteed source of income,” she said.
She said women and youth should not look down on themselves as they are equally important contributors to rebuilding the nation.
“It is up to us to take it upon ourselves and join others in casting their bricks to building a better Zimbabwe. To our development partners namely the World Food Programme, thank you for accepting this initiative to work closely with my office in transforming and touching the lives of marginalised communities,” she said.
Representing the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Prof Obert Jiri commended the First Lady for her efforts in uplifting women through agriculture.
He said Dr Mnangagwa is a pillar in the agriculture sector who leads by example.
Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni said; “Our mother has done so well for us as women. As a ministry today we have come to support our mother, the First Lady who is doing all in her mighty to alleviate poverty in women. We would also provide the necessary skills training to women who will be participating in the programme.”
Country director for the World Food Programme in Zimbabwe Ms Francesca Erdelmann also applauded the First Lady.
“As we gather here at the launch of the Urban Transformation Programme, we applaud the efforts taken by the First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa. We are confident that the programme will bring about the desired outcomes in building the resilience of the urban vulnerable households,” she said.
Malawian Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mwayiwayo Polepole said he was honoured to attend yesterday’s programme.
“It is indeed a great honour that we are part of the initiative that the First Lady is doing,” he said. “Being an African, we all know that if you educate a woman you educate the whole nation. Just seeing that the First Lady is moving in that direction promoting women and even doing agricultural activities, simple things like raising chickens and growing tomatoes, it’s a great honour and I feel this is the direction we all have to take. The First Lady is leading in uplifting the lives of people in underprivileged areas.
“I also liked the agric-for-she for making sure that if we are involving women in programmes we are assured of success. We are grateful that the First Lady invited us and that was great. As Africa we need to move in that direction of agriculture. She is so hardworking that I sometimes ask myself where she is getting all this strength. Her passion amazes me when assisting the vulnerable.”
The wife to Mozambican ambassador to Zimbabwe Eugenia Luisa Filipe Lucio praised the First Lady for her empowerment projects which were improving the lives of the people countrywide.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa for inviting us to come and participate in these projects. As the spouses of the African diplomats we are here to learn from mhamha’s wisdom. She is the one who guides us. We hope she continues doing what she is doing because she helps everybody, she cares for everybody. She feels what people feel. She is really a great mother. For us it is a great honour to be with her, to work with her, to be part of her. We wish all people of Zimbabwe the best,” she said.
A beneficiary Mrs Felistus Chimbende said she fully backed the work done by the First Lady.
“We rally behind the work done by the First Lady to encourage women to work hard and use their hands. She advances women empowerment because women run households and if we work hard it will be good for us. I thank her for all the projects she has initiated for us,” she said.
This dovetailed with the words give by Mrs Rumbidzai Chigwiro.
“We are joyful for the work being done by our mother. She does good for everyone without being selective. We promise to work hard for the success of these projects. We love our hard working mother,” she said.