Immigration Department donates sanitarywear to AOH
. . .pays tribute to First Lady for philanthropic works
LACK of access to good menstrual health and hygiene is a nightmare for girls and this exposes them to infections and a general lack of confidence.
During their menstrual cycles, most girls from humble backgrounds miss school and often resort to harmful alternatives which expose them to skin rashes and diseases.
However, in her interventions to promote good menstrual health for all, Health and Child care ambassador First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa through her Angel of Hope Foundation, donated sewing machines and consumables like cloths, needles and threads for girls in humble communities to sew reusable sanitary pads.
The programme, which has since spread to all four corners of the country, including in marginalised communities, saw the First Lady traversing the country for engagements with girls and women of all age groups, in the process capturing the attention of the public.
The programme touched many hearts, with many individuals and corporates showing interest in partnering with her.
Yesterday, the Department of Immigration, led by its chief director Ms Respect Gono, visited the First Lady with a donation of sanitary pads to her Angel of Hope Foundation for onward distribution to the needy.
The donation will boost the already running programmes being undertaken by Amai Mnangagwa through her foundation to cushion vulnerable families.
Amai Mnangagwa has left no stone unturned in ensuring that disadvantaged groups have access to improved healthcare facilities.
Angel of Hope Foundation is not Government funded, does not have a pool of resources but relies on various working partners and wellwishers to satisfy the needs of citizens across social classes.
They sat down with the mother of the nation for a sisterly talk on various issues affecting women.
Amai Mnangagwa gave a short history of how she founded the Angel of Hope Foundation, its mandate and where it is now.
“Our coming Your Excellency comes against the background of the philanmental thropic work that we have seen you doing across the country as you rightfully put it.
“We have seen and admired your work. We have seen you receiving accolades around the globe and we are so proud of you. As fellow women, we sit down and say there is our Amai. We really appreciate the work that you have done and are still doing,” Ms Gono said.
“As the Department of Immigration,” she continued, “we receive several gifts as part of the business community’s corporate social responsibility and part of these donations happen to be sanitary wear for our bathrooms, for our wellness. However, we realised that we are getting so much of these and we then said there is Angel of Hope Foundation which needs a helping hand.” In her acceptance remarks, Dr Mnangagwa expressed gratitude to the Department of Immigration for its gesture and said no gift was either too small or too big for her foundation.
“Thank you very much for this donation and it will go a long way in helping our girls. In the foundation, there is nothing small because that thing by the end of the day is going to save somebody in Binga, Manicaland, Matabeleland, everywhere in the country,” she said.
“We take everything we do not look down upon anything given to us. About the pads that you have given us, we visit hospitals that do not have enough to cater for all patients. As a mother, I try very much to give whatever I have. I give even the newly-born kids, to those mothers who have not yet given birth, those who have given birth I also go with something to add to what they have. I also give some food in hospitals as well and what you have brought is mostly now required in hospitals and schools,” she said.
Amai Mnangagwa, who has a passion for the empowerment of women and girls, shared how she was disturbed by reports of girls missing school and other critical assignments due to a lack of sanitary wear.
“In schools, mostly remote areas, we have a problem that our girl child sometimes misses school during her menses and this affects their concentration in class,” she said.
“We are saying we cannot have our girl child missing school because she is on her menses. I came up with a project where I gave out sewing machines and all consumables and I taught these girls how to make reusable pads. We have a group of young girls in Chitungwiza that is doing very well making reusable pads. They even expanded to making clothes. These are young girls and last year they invited me to come and see what they had done.
“They had made so many pads and clothes. They said Mhamha, some of us do not have anything at all so we made them pads, dresses, shirts, shorts and skirts. That is a group of school-going children but they thought of the less privileged. The children can identify themselves and carry these things to school and put them in each other’s bags. Your coming in I do not take it lightly, you have helped me a lot. Girls, what you have done for me today is special. When I see you, I see you as my sisters who have come to help me,” she said with a smile.
Mrs Leslie Mary Chakawuya, the Regional Immigration officer in charge of Harare, said as a person who was raised in a humble background, she fully understood the impact of the First Lady’s interventions and programmes.
“The reason why we are here today is that we have come to hand over this donation to our mother because we see her traversing around the country, visiting vulnerable communities and families giving them an assortment of donations. We are people who grew up in such communities and we understand and fully appreciate the work that is being done by our mother,” she said.
“We said as the Department of Immigration, in our small way, we can lend our mother of the nation a helping hand and give out these pads to benefit communities from the country. We appreciate the work that she does all around and we saw it fit to play a good role in this good work.”