Tendai Rupapa in CHINGWIZI

AS she continues with her quest to mould morally upright children, First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa yesterday took her educative Nhanga/Gota/Ixhiba programme to Chingwizi where people who were moved to make way for the construction of Tugwi-Mukosi Dam in Masvingo Province were relocated, underlining her love for all the country’s citizenry despite distances involved.

Yesterday’s session was held at Gogo Juliet Rugodho’s homestead in Varaigwayi Village where Chingwizi boys and girls were given theoretical and practical skills lessons.

Girls were taught to prepare traditional dishes which have high nutritional value and medicinal properties.

They were also taught to grind grain on stone, pounding as well as winnowing by the First Lady and other women from the community.

Boys were taught to slaughter a goat and prepare it for the stewpot.

While girls were in the Nhanga with Amai Mnangagwa, legislator for Mwenezi West, Cde Priscilla Moyo and elderly women, boys were in the Gota with Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Ezra Chadzamira, traditional leaders and elderly men.

Dr Mnangagwa is leaving no stone unturned in a bid to instil good moral values among young people and find lasting solutions to societal ills.

The First Lady held wide-ranging discussions with the girls, teaching them what was expected of them and to treasure their education.

“We have entered the Nhanga to discuss our stories and issues as girls. What we learn here is for you to share with your peers who could not make it here.

“Grandmothers, we have come to teach our daughters manners because they are important to us. If they err, they embarrass us as their mothers and grandmothers. These children are the mothers of the future hence the need for them to grow up well-mannered, dressing well, speaking well and knowing household chores.

“When you learn I want you to form groups so that you go about teaching one another in schools and communities. Vanambuya ngatidzidzisei vana vedu good manners,” she said.

Mbuya Tsatsawani Tshuma decried that children of nowadays were rushing into romantic relationships before they had come of age.

“Nowadays young girls are rushing to sleep with boys before the time is ripe. When they fall pregnant, they abort and throw away the children. Our children have gone haywire and we are not sure whether this is because of phones where they spend much of their time on social media. If you call them for an errand, they come swiping their phones and ask what you want while holding their waists,” she said.

The First Lady weighed in, imploring the children to treasure their education.

“My daughters value your education and do not chase after two things that is books and boys. Your motto should be boys after books,” she said.

Gogo Ratidzo Chirumbwana said the children were not dressing properly even in the rural areas.

“These children are going to school with skin tights in the bag. Some do not even reach school, but they change midway and put on the skin tights. As we were growing up we knew that a skin tight is an inner garment and not what we are seeing today.

“We are chasing them with canes, while they are with boys muzvikwenzi. As we grew up, we would visit the elderly for training. You would carry a bundle of firewood to that elderly person’s house and she would automatically know that you would have come of age and requiring guidance.

“However, we are now old, but we hardly see anyone at our homesteads as some tell us that you are not my grandmother and you are backward,” she said.

Mbuya Juliet Rugodho said her homestead was near the road and she usually sees school girls in the company of boys, busy fondling one another.

“My house is near the road and I see these youngsters moving in two’s with boys fondling the girl’s breasts. I tried to counsel them, but they ended up giving me a nickname.

“They call me Mbuya Mhurayi because I scold children, some of them who are not even mine with the aim of moulding them so that they grow up morally upright. One boy threatened to beat me with a catapult so that I do not see things that do not concern me. Hanzi ndoda kupfura maziso iwayo nerhekeni anoona zvisinei nawo.

“The other problem is caused by us parents because we have no time to counsel our children. They finish school between 1pm and 2pm and get home at 7pm and you do not bother to ask.” “The next day the child will come back at 8pm until they no longer come back at all or come back pregnant. Some parents do not take kindly to their children being counselled by others and I even tell them that I saw your child in the bush with a boy and they then accuse me of spreading falsehoods about the child.

“We see used condoms around and disused illicit beer containers. I last witnessed a wedding at Tokwe Mukosi long back. How will these children wed if they expend time in the bushes and without manners? Varikutochatira muzvikwenzi vana vedu ava” she said.

The First Lady said such misdeeds needed to be avoided at all costs.

“It’s not good that as mothers we take offence when a child is counselled because it takes a village to raise a child. A child is yours alone while in the tummy and once born they belong to all of us. Let children be counselled so they can enter the right path.

“As a mother if your child is impregnated you will be the last one to know, but outsiders would have seen it before the child is impregnated and left with diseases naizvozvo vana ngavatsiurwe. If a child misbehaves, she soils the family name. Let us protect our girls, let us teach them the right path,” she said.

The First Lady also touched on menstrual hygiene.

She also encouraged the girls to perform household chores.

“Which household chores are you performing?”

She asked and received a lot of responses like cleaning dishes before going to bed, sweeping the yard and house and assisting parents in the garden.

“That is good, my children. You should never refuse to perform chores,” she said.

“What would you want to be when you grow up?” the First Lady asked whereupon the children singled out a number of professions like teacher, nurse and doctor.

“To achieve this you must work hard in school. If you are naughty and lack commitment, determination and hard work you will not fulfil your dreams,” she warned.

Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service Chaplin, Christine Phiri, weighed in advising the children to be well-mannered at all times.

“Today, I want to talk about trees of the wild. Do you know what it means when boys liken you to a wild fruit? What is the difference between a domestic and a wild fruit?” she asked.

In response, the children said a domestic fruit tree is watered and consumed mostly by the owners while the wild fruit is consumed by all and sundry who pass by.

“True, for a domestic tree you hear them saying do not consume the mangoes because they are not yet ripe but a mango in the wild which is not ripe is consumed by people with salt. Refuse to be treated like a wild fruit, be a special fruit and let your aunt get tokens as you are married in a proper manner,” she said.

A girl who was part of the group thanked the First Lady and the elderly women for their teachings saying many girls were getting involved in love relationships owing to peer pressure.

“Some will be coming to school with majiggies bought by their boyfriends. On the contrary, you will be having roasted grain in a plastic and feel embarrassed eating this and they promise to arrange a lover for you so that you also get niceties.

“We then yield to these relationships as a result of peer pressure, but today we learnt something great and we will keep the lessons close to our hearts. We want to be the doctors of tomorrow, teachers and lawyers. From today we are changing our manners Amai. We will not disappoint you,” she said.

An elderly man who was in the Gota, shared the teachings they gave to the boys.

“The kids are young and all of them are still in the gota. We need to take them through to manhood with good manners respecting the values of Ubuntu, areas to do with marriage, to live with the community and be responsible are some of the key issues we have to take the boys through. First we expect a child to be in the care of the mother, from the mother he is given a house to sleep called gota given to boys who haven’t slept with a woman, age back then was 26 years for a boy to become a man, not 15 and 17 years we are hearing of these days,” he said.

He also shared on how one goes about preparing for marriage.

“Involve your aunt when you have found a girl you intend to marry and give each other a love token. Long back they insisted on marrying from the close community because parents would understand the behaviour of the family you are getting married to,” he said.

Boys were urged to stay away from drugs, alcohol and also concentrate on their studies.

James Murinya thanked the First Lady for the educative programme.

“I am thankful to the First Lady for her educative programme where we were equipped with knowledge on various issues, including the need to assist our parents around the home. We were also warned against taking drugs which are resulting in mental challenges and even death among children of our age,” he said.

Similar sentiments were shared by Lovemore Tiki, a Form Four learner.

“We thank the First Lady for remembering us and bringing to us such important lessons which will help us to grow into responsible adults. We have been taught to slaughter a goat, something that I had never done before,” he said with happiness written all over his face. – Herald