Russia praises effectiveness of First Lady’s Angel of Hope
FIRST LADY Auxillia Mnangagwa’s Angel of Hope Foundation is the most effective and strongest partner the Russian Federation and Russian Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) would want to work with in issues to do with humanitarian cooperation, a top Russian diplomat has said.
Director of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation, Mr Evgeny A Primakov, who is leading a Russian delegation here, made the remarks when the delegation paid a courtesy call on the First Lady at her offices yesterday.
Russian Ambassador to Zimbabwe Mr Nikolai V Krasilnikov was part of the delegation.
The team also seized the opportunity to invite the mother of the nation to a forum slated for Moscow soon, a sign that her philanthropic efforts continue to receive international recognition.
Mr Primakov said most Russian NGOs would work with Angel of Hope Foundation directly in its humanitarian work and various specialties after being satisfied that the First Lady and her foundation’s dedication and commitment would yield positive results.
Mr Primakov highlighted that they were impressed by the First Lady’s hard work and hands-on approach in uplifting the lives of the underprivileged.
“We are very much thankful to her Excellency the First Lady of Zimbabwe regarding her support for the less privileged children coming to study in Russia under scholarships. There is need for support for the most talented disadvantaged children and Her Excellency supports these children coming from Zimbabwe to study in Russia for different specialities starting from healthcare to engineering and so on. We are happy that some of the beneficiaries of the scholarships came through the First Lady’s Angel of Hope Foundation,” he said.
“We have a number of NGOs in Russia willing to start their work in Zimbabwe supporting the Zimbabwean
community, the people of Zimbabwe from the people of Russia. Therefore, we would like to have a partnership with the Angel of Hope Foundation.
“Another thing we discussed in the meeting with Her Excellency is the rise in the number of students coming yearly to study in Russia from Zimbabwe. This year we have 80 students and hopefully next year there will be more,” he said.
A number of Russian NGOs, Mr Primakov emphasised, were willing to become partners of Angel of Hope in different fields of expertise in helping people and providing some materials and learning courses.
“We have plenty of fields of expertise and all these we would like to share hence there are a lot of things that we can do together with Angel of Hope Foundation. We were looking for effective players in humanitarian work and Angel of Hope Foundation is an effective partner. We see it as the strongest partner, so we are very much interested in partnering. We are expecting very positively that our joint projects will be a great story of success,” he said.
Russian Ambassador Mr Krasilnikov spoke glowingly of the meeting they held with Amai Mnangagwa.
He also highlighted how the First Lady’s visit to Russia recently for the Women’s forum strengthened prospects for a multifaceted humanitarian
cooperation between the two countries.
Amai Mnangagwa visited St Petersburg, Russia, in October last year and took part in the Third Eurasian Women’s Forum.
During the forum, she held a meeting with the speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Madam Valentina Matviyenko on the sidelines of the forum during which the two discussed the bi-lateral Cooperation between Zimbabwe and Russia.
They had a heart to heart woman talk whereby Madam Matviyenko also expressed keen interest in exploring partnerships with the Angel of Hope Foundation.
Ambassador Krasilnikov said; “This morning (yesterday) i had the privilege to introduce to the First Lady Her Excellency Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa the Russian delegation that came to Harare.
The head of delegation briefed the First lady about the prospects of our multifaceted humanitarian cooperation. We had a very deep and definitely fruitful discussion in this regard. The First Lady appreciated the support that my country has been providing to the republic of Zimbabwe over the years and it is very important that the First Lady Amai herself made a significant impact on the development of the humanitarian cooperation between
our two friendly states,” he said.
In her remarks, Amai Mnangagwa expressed gratitude to Russia for standing with Zimbabwe through thick and thin over the years.
She also praised the Russian ambassador for his humanitarian work around the country.
“I would like to thank the Ambassador because he works with my office and I also see what he does. I am happy that when I spoke to the Speaker of Parliament Madam Matviyenko, she encouraged that we should have this communication and this unity must continue and we should work handin-hand. You are a country that we bank on and you have done a lot for Zimbabwe. We would also want to thank you for companies from Russia that invested in our country,” she said.
The mother of the nation further invited more companies and business people from Russia to invest in Zimbabwe and scout for immense opportunities in the country.
As the Patron for Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, the First lady also extended invitation for tourists from Russia to
visit Zimbabwe which she said had so much amazing experiences to offer.
The First Lady praised the Russians for extending a helping hand to the local citizenry through scholarships and gave an overview of the work she does.
“Our students who benefited were 70 last year and have increased to 80 students and i am happy that you said the number will increase. Some of the academically gifted children from disadvantaged families who benefited came through the Angel of Hope Foundation,” she said.
She added; “Angel of Hope Foundation caters for the welfare and empowerment of women, children among other vulnerable groups. We have the elderly who cannot anymore be able to look after themselves hence the foundation comes in.
“We also have widows and widowers, who are at the heart of the foundation’s work. We do not leave anyone behind as we also cater for those in homes be it the elderly or children’s homes, those with disabilities including those with albinism. My foundation is not funded by the Government
thus i source for resources from the foundation’s partners and well wishers. I work very hard to ensure that we leave no one behind.”
The First Lady said her organisation is not selective as it takes everyone on board.
“I am a hands-on person. I go to every place even the most remote ones and see how they are doing and how they are living. When I come back I look at what I can do to alleviate their challenges and assist them. As the health ambassador, i also work with hospitals. I think there are areas we need assistance in our hospitals. There are certain equipment we are in need of like incubators for premature babies and cancer screening machines for our referral hospitals,” she said.
The Russian Federation offers scholarships from bachelors, specialist and masters level in the fields of medicine, science and high technology, among others.
A number of Zimbabwean students are learning at colleges and universities across the federal state, thanks to the sound relations between the two nations.