BY STYLE CORRESPONDENT
First lady Auxillia Mnangagwa has reignited the vibrancy of what a first lady can do, and that is to utilise her position to do philanthropic work.
While her efforts have been touted as an attempt to gain votes for President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ruling Zanu PF, her work has largely been people-centred, apolitical and non-partisan, something that has endeared her with some of the communities where she does her work.
Using her Angel of Hope Foundation, the first lady has conducted various initiatives meant to support vulnerable groups in society through providing access to healthcare, social services, education and economic empowerment initiatives with particular emphasis on women, youth and children.
The first lady’s philanthropic work through her Angel of Hope Foundation continues to inspire the nation, with a group of elderly women from Mudzimu Unoyera Apostolic sect donating groundnuts for onward distribution to the needy.
Only last week, the first lady provided a fully-equipped shelter for the patients, who would have come for long-term treatment of cancer and other ailments at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals in Harare.
Parirenyatwa spokesperson Linos Dhire said of the development: “We are happy that the first lady Amai Mnangagwa has offered us a decent and nice facility to accommodate desperate patients coming from outside the capital.”
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Last month, the first lady unveiled a Boer goat-rearing project for rural communities in Mashonaland East province. Earlier on, she facilitated the establishment of a health post offering outpatient, maternal and child health services
Apart from other duties, she has been holding interactive sessions with communities on the best ways to prevent Covid-19 and distributing face masks, sanitisers and food to the people.
Her interventions have been timely as the country is under lockdown to curb the deadly pandemic, which has killed thousands of people globally and pulled back the global economy by many factors.
This is work that in its small ways contributes to filling some of the gaps that still exist in social service provision.
What remains is that her work should give officials in government a pointer to prioritise social service delivery.
