Dr Mnangagwa a mentor, hard worker, says Batswana First Lady . . . Mrs Masisi keen to learn from her
BATSWANA First Lady Mrs Neo Jane Masisi, who arrived in Zimbabwe yesterday on a three-day working visit, has described her counterpart, Agric4She patron First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa, as a mentor and women empowerment champion whose programmes she intends to replicate in her home country.
She brought along a high-powered delegation comprising women to learn more about the Agric4She concept and train others back home.
The Agric4She programme, Mrs Masisi said, brings the culture of working in families.
Her visit to Zimbabwe brings to fruition Dr Mnangagwa’s regular call for First Ladies to visit one another, share notes and experiences on various subjects.
The visit provides a platform for the two First Ladies to share best practices, explore potential collaborations and exchange experiences in agriculture and women empowerment.
It also enables Amai Mnangagwa to showcase the philanthropic works she is doing to empower mainly women and youth through her initiatives.
Mrs Masisi’s first stop was a courtesy call on President Mnangagwa at State House after which she described her meeting with the President as brief and appreciable.
“The meeting was very brief. As you know in our culture when you come into somebody’s territory, whether a chief or Head of State, you come and pay your courtesies, so it was just to say greetings I am in your territory. I was also sent with warm regards and gratitude from his younger brother, Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi, and I am looking forward to the few days that I will spend here with Amai. Thank you so much for the warm welcome, I appreciate,” she said curtly.
Mrs Masisi showed great appreciation of her Zimbabwean counterpart’s call for regular visits among First Ladies.
“I think it is a very, very good idea because you learn from each other and because we are so similar Africa really is one and was meant to be one so as we visit each other, we cement relationships, we learn a lot and we just move our continent forward.
“That is why I am here. This is the first time actually I am visiting a First Lady on a working visit and I am so happy that it is right here in Zimbabwe, our neighbours. And as I said, I am so excited about the programme ahead that I will have with Amai and you must know that you are very lucky to have Amai as your First Lady. She is a mentor to many of us as you know she has been a legislator and gone through many other offices and functions. So she is a mentor and mother also to some of us, not only a sister,” she said.
Dr Mnangagwa took her counterpart and her delegation on a tour of breath-taking Agric4She projects she inspired as part of her empowerment initiatives.
The delegation was taken on a tour of Mrs Plaxedes Chifokoyo’s Chardley Farm in Marondera Rural.
The farm, which is run by Mrs Chifokoyo as the director and her husband as the manager, produces maize, traditional grains, groundnuts, cowpeas, beans and boasts an orchard with an assortment of fruit trees.
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