First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa was voted vice president of the Organisation
of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD) in recognition of her
philanthropic work and assistance to the less privileged in Zimbabwe.
She was appointed following an election during the ongoing
23rd OAFLAD’s General Assembly meeting which is running concurrently with the
African Union’s Extraordinary Summit.
According to the organisation’s constitution, elections are
held after every two years.
Amai Mnangagwa takes over from Margaret Kenyatta of Kenya
while former OAFLAD president, the First Lady of Burkina Faso, Adjoavi Sika
Kabore, was replaced by Congo Brazzaville’s First Lady Antoinette Sassou
Nguesso.
OAFLAD is an advocacy organisation where African First
Ladies seek to leverage their unique position to advocate for policies that
make health services accessible and laws that boost women and youth
empowerment.
In an interview after her appointment, an ecstatic Amai
Mnangagwa pledged to continue working hard for the development of Zimbabwe and
the continent at large.
She said her appointment was not an individual achievement
but for the whole country.
“I am happy that my colleague First Ladies entrusted me
with this position. I feel exalted and this is dedicated to all women (of
Zimbabwe),” she said.
She added: “The position that I got as OAFLAD’s vice
president is not for me alone but for the nation of Zimbabwe, particularly
women.
“All what it means is that the other African First Ladies
have faith and trust in me and I pledge to continue working hard for my nation
and the continent at large. The other First Ladies are looking forward to more
of my initiatives and programmes that I am conducting in Zimbabwe.
“The organisation’s main vision is to have a developed
Africa with healthy and empowered children, youth and women. Therefore, when my
fellow First Ladies talk of these issues concerning development, they will not
forget about our country Zimbabwe,” she explained.
Amai Mnangagwa said she will make sure that OAFLAD is known
across the globe so that people will have an appreciation of what it is about.
“We are the mothers of our nations hence we should show
commitment and working harder for our countries.
“I will also encourage other African First Ladies who are
not members of OAFLAD to join and make sure that they be part of us.
“This is a platform where we share ideas, thereby learning
from others and taking the experience back to our countries for the development
of our continent.”
In line with OAFLAD’s and her charity organisation Angel of
Hope Foundation’s vision, the First Lady is seized with the upliftment of
neglected communities.
She is a champion for inclusivity of these marginalised
communities in Zimbabwe and has since introduced sustainable projects for them.
She is of the vision that for any nation to prosper there
is need to develop extensively its human capital base.
Through her entrepreurial programme “Young Women in
Tourism”, she provided skills and training to several young girls from
disadvantaged backgrounds in the tourism sector in partnership with the
Zimbabwe Tourism Association and National Parks.
She is also working with chiefs’ wives on various projects
which are meant to uplift the lives of people in various communities.
As the country’s Health and Child Care Ambassador, the
First Lady has devoted most of her time to the health and well-being of the
nation with hundreds and thousands of people especially women benefiting from
her cancer awareness campaigns.
She said during the meetings the First Ladies called for
the scrapping of hospital fees for women in their countries who give birth
through Caesarean section, a proposal she said she would engage the Minister of
Health and Child Care so that it is presented to President Mnangagwa.
She added that the First Ladies unanimously also called for
the scrapping of charges for cancer patients. Herald
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