First Lady salutes women for seeking cancer screening

Tendai Rupapa

Health Ambassador First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa yesterday received a moving testimony of a woman who narrowly escaped death, thanks to her ultra-modern mobile hospital and the effectiveness of her nationwide breast and cervical cancer screening programmes.

Amai Mnangagwa ushered in a new era in breast cancer screening when she availed her Angel of Hope Foundation’s mobile hospital with mammography equipment to the public for free services to patients. She first took it to Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare and later to other provinces starting with the rural areas.

The mobile hospital and clinic are presently stationed at the Ministry of Health and Child Care stand where visitors to the Zimbabwe Agricultural Show are flocking for free breast and cervical cancer screening till the last day of the show.

Mrs Priscilla Makombe told the First Lady and her entourage at the Harare Agricultural Show that her relative Mrs Adeline Chihute, was alive because of the mother of the nation’s life-saving awareness campaigns and her free cancer screening initiative.

Mrs Chihute’s cancer had reached stage three and she was lucky to be alive after being screened in the AOH’s mobile hospital which was offering services at Parirenyatwa Hospital.

Showing the First Lady a picture of the bedridden Mrs Chihute before the help, Mrs Makombe said; “Amai, this woman is living because of you. The cancer had reached stage three and she had lost hope. Most people in the rural areas are reluctant to visit hospitals, hence they die in silence, but Amai you are saying no to this through your awareness campaigns and free cancer screening services. Amai, we have been following your works with keen interest. When we heard that you had availed your foundation’s mobile hospital and clinic, we rushed to Parirenyatwa group of hospitals where the buses were stationed. Mrs Chihute got into the bus for screening and mammogram tests. She was attended to free of charge and the doctor said the case was urgent and referred us to the hospital where she was treated.

“She received blood transfusion and was operated on. Her health was restored and is now living happily with her children. We thank you heartily Amai. We are very privileged to have you as our mother here in Zimbabwe. We are so happy with your programme which is assisting womenfolk. God bless you,” Mrs Makombe said.

Mrs Chiedza Bondwe shared a similar story.

“I had lost all hope until I heard about the First Lady’s programme on television. I was examined when she brought her mobile clinic and bus to Mudzi and I am now on treatment. Spotting cancer at an early stage saves lives because cancer that’s diagnosed at an early stage, is more likely to be treated successfully. Now I can work for the good of my family without any hassles,” she said.

The story dovetailed with that of Mrs Monica Biriwasha of Domboshava.

“I just do not know how best I can thank our mother for the love that she is showing to the nation. We were trading witchcraft accusations with relatives without understanding that cancer was eating into us. Now, through our mother’s benevolence we can just visit her mobile hospital and clinic to be examined and commence treatment. May the good Lord continue doing wonders for our mother,” she said.

Dr Mnangagwa applauded the women who were having health checks for leading by example, saying a healthy woman has enough energy to work and attend to all the challenges of her home.

The First Lady and her entourage, which comprised Colonel Miniyothabo-Chiwenga the wife to Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga, proceeded to the hall housing Ministry of Health and Child Care where she toured various stands including, Oncology services, eye care, traditional medicine, mental health services, HIV services, dental services and pregnancy scanning.

The same hall housed Mozambicans who were showcasing their traditional foods, fruits and seed varieties.

“This is coffee and tea from Mozambique Amai, we are trying to compete with Tanganda,” the Mozambican representative said in jest and the First Lady jokingly remarked: “We wait and see, you won’t beat us.”

The representative showed the mother of the nation macadamia nuts, sorghum meal, sweet potatoes, baobab powder and many other produce from her motherland. The First Lady asked; “So what are you doing to introduce this to families in Mozambique? We see these in the shops but we want these to be consumed in the household by everyone because this is healthy food which should be embraced.” Dr Mnangagwa said and the people manning the stand thanked her for her recommendation.

The First Lady also came face-to-face with the success stories of Zimbabwean women who are farming under the Agric4She programme for which Amai Mnangagwa is the patron.

Under Agric4She, women are trained and given inputs as a form of empowerment to transform the agricultural sector, contribute to food security starting from household level and realise income from their farming ventures.

Mrs Telboline Machaya (62) from Chikomba said she was doing extremely well in farming.

“We have gardens in our communities where we were trained by our mother under Agric4She. We also rear fish and do beekeeping. In Chikomba we are blessed and we are doing mukando or fushai which we were also taught by Amai so that we serve money and do other projects,” she said.

Mrs Angela Mbuyisa (61) from Matabeleland North Province was bubbling with confidence.

“We grow maize, millet and sorghum and we were taught by Amai to grow these crops for the benefit of our families so that our children do not go hungry and we sell surplus to the Grain Marketing Board. Our children are going to school through farming proceeds. We use our own hands to eke out a living. Our traditional grains help us to consume indigenous dishes which build bodies. The crops thrive in adverse conditions,” she said.

The entourage also visited the Seed Co stand where Mrs Beauty Magiya gave the First Lady a glimpse into various seed varieties they had and how they are sown to optimise yields.

After the tour, Dr Mnangagwa said she was pleased with what she had seen, given that the women had managed to produce something despite receiving low rainfall.

“I am so pleased that women are doing well despite the fact that we had a poor rainfall season. These women are showcasing that which they produced despite the challenges and they will not go hungry. These women have zeal to succeed and with Agric4She they will go far. Matabeleland is represented here just like other provinces to showcase what they achieved with respect to Agric4She. A mother defines her children and the home for a household to be healthy and lively. We were also being told by experts what they are supposed to do to attain good yields and I am so happy with the projects that these women are doing through the Agric4She programme. On health, I toured the Health and Child Care stand where I saw many women being screened for breast and cervical cancer. The women are determined not to leave without being screened as they were suffering without knowing that which was eating them. They said they were accusing one another of witchcraft and now they do not know what to say after being told they had cancer. They have asked me to visit their communities and make them get along well. This is the kind of life that was there where they did not see eye to eye thinking so and so bewitched them. A mother accepts everything and resolves disputes and I will visit them and encourage them to get screened for cancer. If a woman is healthy, she can then look after her family. I was happy with the crops I saw here at Seed Co stand,” she said. – Herald