First Lady charms kids ahead of World Children’s Day commemorations

Tendai Rupapa 

Games, merriment and friendly discourse were the order of the day as First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa interacted with hundreds of children from Zimbabwe and other parts of Southern Africa ahead of Regional World Children’s Day commemorations which will be officially opened by President Mnangagwa in Victoria Falls tomorrow.

As more than 300 children were teeing off in a golf tournament which the First Lady hosted at the Elephant Hills Hotel golf course, Amai Mnangagwa joined them much to their delight.

They hugged and interacted with the First Lady in scenes that captured the imagination of the world, showing her boundless love for the young ones.

The World Children’s Day, which takes place each year on November 20, marks the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959 as well as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1989.

This year’s commemorations are running under the theme, “Educate and skill an African child for posterity”.

The First Lady, who has a passion for the welfare of children, will later in the day host a special Gota/Nhanga/Ixhiba Session for the children as well as a dinner.

During her exchanges with the children, Dr Mnangagwa emphasised the need for them to be disciplined and prayerful.

You should be disciplined in all you do and as a mother I will pray for you. A mother’s prayer means a lot, it protects you wherever you go. I wish you all the best my children and I want you to make friends among yourselves,” she said as the children clapped their hands in amusement.

The children were so delighted to interact with the mother of the nation.

Francine Mwale from Zambia could not hide her amusement.

“Once more this year, we have an amazing opportunity to be at the regional commemoration of World Children’s Day and on this day, we were graced with the presence of the First Lady of Zimbabwe Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa.

“She is a free, wonderful person who is jovial towards children. We are greatly impressed by her love and the way she interacted with us, and more importantly, she found time to give us some words of advice and encouragement as a mother,” she said.

Mesthya Monteiro from Mozambique, said: “I am very happy to be here attending this event. It was great meeting the First Lady of Zimbabwe, Amai. I had the opportunity to get some advice from her as well as meeting my peers from other countries.”

Thero Rabotlhale from Botswana said he was charmed by the First Lady.

“I have arrived in Victoria Falls for the regional World Children’s Day commemorations here in Zimbabwe. We met the mother of the nation of Zimbabwe. She is a loving and beautiful woman. Amai is someone who is kind and very warm-spirited to be around. Myself, I am proud to call her my mother. We are here with other children from various countries and we are sharing our experiences,” he said.

Joshua Emmanuel from Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa Children’s Home of Zimbabwe also showered the First Lady with praises.

“I wish to thank the First Lady for looking after us and I am in Form Six after I performed well in Form Four and I will certainly go forward through her assistance. At home, there are some of us who are soon leaving for Russia through scholarships courtesy of our mother and we look forward to also joining the programme when I complete my advanced studies.

“I am happy that today we have met our age mates from other countries as one people. We played golf with her as she gave us words of encouragement. We shall have a Gota/Nhanga/Ixhiba session because we have similar cultures as Africa,” he said.

A learner from Namibia said: “I am so happy that I got this opportunity to be here in Zimbabwe, which is a very beautiful country. As African children, we are sharing ideas which we will put to good use. This is my first time in Victoria Falls and I am so excited to be here.”

Kalisto Malunga of Malawi shared similar views.

“I am here in Zimbabwe to commemorate World Children’s Day. It has been a great experience for me upon seeing the First Lady of Zimbabwe Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa being with us here. She has passion towards the welfare of us children. Zimbabwe is great, with amazing people. It has been an amazing experience,” he said.

The children, who are at primary and secondary school level, hugged the First Lady in scenes that captured the imagination of the world, showing her boundless love for the young ones. – Herald