An electric atmosphere on Saturday enveloped the launch of First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa's week-long national girls' camp aimed at equipping children from all provinces with life skills for them to grow up into well mannered and responsible citizens.
The boot camp involves engaging, interacting and empowering girls who will be mentored by the First Lady and other qualified and experienced facilitators on several topics.
The camp will educate girls on how to overcome negative circumstances in life.
Girls in camp are drawn from all the country's provinces and are in Grades 4 to Grade 7. Activities lined up for them include sports, career guidance, grooming and deportment lessons. There will also be sessions under the Nhanga/Gota/Ixhiba programme where talent shows, traditional games, cooking, catering and baking among many other activities, will be held.
This is not the first time, Dr Mnangagwa is holding the retreat as she has previously done so due to her passion for empowering the girl child.
Devotion time was led by Overseer Rejoice Samundombe, the Girls Director for the Zimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa (ZAOGA), who was representing Apostle Dr Eunor Guti, who is away in South Africa for a major church conference.
Apostle Guti sent her apologies to the First Lady and dispatched the Overseer from South Africa and Pastor Carol Guti to represent her.
She also sent words of wisdom and encouragement to the children and thanked Amai Mnangagwa for inviting her to the camp.
Smiles were written all over the young girls' faces as the First Lady welcomed them, served them lunch and headed to the chapel for praise and worship as well as devotion.
Gospel musician Bethan Pasinawako-Ngolomi led the praise and worship.
The mother of the nation said all girls attending the camp were now her ambassadors and urged them to befriend one another, embrace the teachings and share with their peers who did not have the opportunity to attend the camp.
"All girls from all the provinces are going to be your friends. You will come together to solve puzzles as you play games and discuss challenges you face and that is the friendship I want you to start today. I want to thank the teachers you came with here. As you look at the teachers, do not be afraid because they have come as your aunties and we will say everything in their presence. All we are doing here is for this place and all you have to do is go back and teach others.
"You are now ambassadors of the First Lady. You are now my ambassadors and as you leave on your way back home you will be my ambassador who will tell the story of what you have learnt," the mother of the nation said to wild applause.
She stressed the importance of the camp to the children and advised them that numerous facilitators would train them.
"You will learn good things here and go out to tell your peers back home what you would have learnt. When you go back, I expect that you call all the girls from your school and tell them all so that those who remained behind will learn.
"We want to transform you as our girl child because you are important and you are like gold. You are important from family level, neighbours, community and country but it starts from here as to whether you know who you are and why you are here. You may be tired and worried as to why you are here, but you will learn who you are. Today, you just know your names but tomorrow it will be a different story," she said.
"As your mother, I want to see you all young girls grow up to be successful women equipped with technical and intellectual skills and for you to be morally upright.
"After this camp, I expect that each one of you will be First Lady's ambassador in your various provinces, schools and communities. Follow the teachings and keep them close to your hearts."
During devotion, Overseer Samundombe read Psalms 139 vs 14 which reads "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
She also read Ecclesiastes 11 vs 9: "You who are young, be happy while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth."
"My sisters, as girls we were fearfully wonderfully made. We are beautiful as we are and we compliment each other. We are glad we have Amai vane rudo vanotida tese. Therefore, be happy and embrace her teachings," she said.
The overseer implored the girls to dream big and not start delving into romantic relationships which affect their future.
She also shared her life history as a motivational factor.
"I was introduced as the girls director, that is a big position that I hold. I lead a lot of girls, I look after girls and many other things that I managed to achieve in life. But besides all those things that you see on me, let me tell you girls, I didn't start from here. I grew up in the rural areas. I grew up in Gokwe Chireya in the back of beyond. Back then we would sleep on the road waiting for the bus if we wanted to travel. But I dared to dream vasikana. I said to myself, I do not want to grow old here, I do not want to be married here in the rural areas because from kindergarten I would walk five kilometres to and from school. Imagine young children traversing those long distances but I walked that and did not die. This actually strengthened me and I started dreaming big.
I am saying never think the challenges you are facing today will kill you. Do not accept that these kill you, they actually give you strength," she said.
She told the girls that perseverance is key.
"I know how it feels to ask for shoes to attend a special event, but I dared to dream. Do not be buried in problems and challenges, dare to dream, dare to see big. See yourself in university, see yourself big. Our mother here did not just wake up to find things jet set. She had to refuse to be buried in hardships she faced growing up as a girl child. She knows how it feels going to school barefoot, travelling long distances going to school. She had to fight, she had to refuse to be pulled down, kuramba kuti handidi. Some go to the fields before going to school. You wake up at 4am and go to the fields where if it rains or temperatures get high you remain there weeding and I said I did not want to age doing that. Had I played with school I could have been impregnated at Form Four or Grade Seven and by now I would be a mother of seven. I would have been married at a tender age. I however, now have a choice to dress how I want and do as I please because I worked hard in school. If I did it from Gokwe, you can also do it," she said.
Overseer Samundombe chronicled the rigors of rural life which people needed to escape through working hard in school.
She asked the children to promise the First Lady that they would try their best.
The girls instructor said the time was not ripe for them to have boyfriends.
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"The boys some of you are dating are still asking for money to buy underwear from parents, so if you become a parent at that age, what will you eat, how will you feed your child. I know I am talking to young girls but this is the right generation. I am happy Amai chose Grades 4 to Grade 7 and this is the right age. In the olden days they would catch us after growing a bit but some would have experienced it and could not turn back. Apostle Baba Guti wrote a book called 'Girls fellowship'. On page 6 the book says a girl should not just think of being married, think big as a girl. See yourself as being a businesswoman. See yourself as an employer not an employee. See yourself buying your own house, see yourself buying your own plot, see yourself driving your own car. Marriage should find you moving on to better things. Marriage is not bad at all but it depends on who would have married you.
But if you marry early before you can make decisions you will encounter challenges that may affect you. Where in the rural areas where I grew up there are some young girls who ran away and got married at Grade Seven. Others went at Form Two. Where do you go at that age? If you write your Form Four and pass, do not end there, think big as a girl child. Think big. Do not just think that I will be married and have my own children, no, think big. It's possible for a girl child to have her own car and house. Do you hear that? Instead of seeing yourself with children. I am trying to kill that mentality of seeing yourself as a mother before the time is ripe," she said.
She said the children had great potential to excel.
"See yourself rich, with your own company. At your tender age in Grade Six or Seven, start seeing big things. See yourself as an employer with workers. We should thank Amai for bringing us together. God bless you," she said.
