First Lady reaches out to Byo’s vulnerable
FIRST Lady Auxilia Mnangagwa has reached out to 1 000 vulnerable and less-privileged residents of Bulawayo mainly targeting orphans, the elderly and disabled persons by donating an assortment of groceries.
The First Lady, who is the patron of Angel of Hope Foundation, a non-profit making organisation, donated 10kg bags of mealiemeal, blankets, packets of sugar, tea leaves, bars of soap and bottles of cooking oil and sanitisers to each of the beneficiaries.
The donations were handed over to beneficiaries at 11 distribution centres in the city’s suburbs by Bulawayo Provincial Affairs Minister Judith Ncube.
First Lady Mnangagwa has embarked on a countrywide programme to raise awareness on Covid-19 and she is targeting mostly vulnerable members of the community.
She has stepped up efforts to prepare rural communities against the coronavirus through enhanced awareness programmes that emphasise on hygiene and social distancing.
The First Lady is the country’s Health Ambassador and has left no stone unturned in ensuring that people have access to vital information on how to protect themselves from the pandemic.
Bulawayo and Harare are the main hotspots of the deadly pandemic, which has so far claimed 80 lives in Zimbabwe and more than 4 000 infected. Globally, the death toll has surpassed the 700 000 mark.
In Bulawayo, Cowdray Park, Pumula, Emganwini, Lobengula and Nkulumane have been identified as the major hotspots.
Some of beneficiaries of the donated goods were all smiles upon receiving the food hampers during a handover ceremony at Nkulumane Hall yesterday.
Mr Petros Ncube (78) of Nkulumane 12 could not hide his joy as he came out of the hall soon after receiving his food hampers.
“This generosity is a reflection of true love and kindness by the First Lady and I am really humbled by her loving gesture. It shows that we have a mother who is aware of the plight of less-privileged members of society, which is why she chipped in and we are quite grateful,” he said.
Mr Mandivengerei Maisiri (73), a pensioner commended the First Lady for her gesture.
“I have no words with which to thank our First Lady for some wonderful works that we are witnessing. As a community of Bulawayo, we really appreciate this gesture and in donating these food hampers, she is not selective,” he said.
Ms Nomalanga Dube (77), a widower taking care of her two orphaned grandchildren showed off her packaged food hamper.
“I am so excited and as you can see I can’t hide this joy because of what our First Lady did to us. As a community, we will continue to treasure this gesture for as long as we live and as a mother of the nation she has led by example,” she said.
Ms Susan Gwatidzo (62) of Nketa suburb said: “We are thankful the First Lady has remembered us especially during this terrible time when the country is grappling with the coronavirus. We are praying to God so that He blesses her with many more years because of the role that she is playing in communities.”
Minister Ncube urged the elderly and vulnerable community members to observe health guidelines such as wearing of facemasks and observing social distancing in public places to curb the spread of Covid-19.
“I am very glad that our Government has taken bold steps to confront this pandemic. His Excellency has put lockdown measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 such as mandatory wearing of facemasks which should cover both mouth and nose and observing social distancing,” she said.
Minister Ncube urged people to avoid crowded places and appealed to people to desist from accepting relatives from other countries before they go through quarantine centres.
The Minister also commended the First Lady for her gesture, saying it will go a long way in addressing the plight of the elderly and vulnerable groups.
“As a province, we feel encouraged by what uMama, our First Lady is doing for us. Two months ago, she donated maize seed and a variety of vegetable seed for beneficiaries who include the disabled persons and orphans to start a community farming project in Magwegwe,” she said.—@mashnets