By A Correspondent- First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa has called on the 100 girls that participated in her inaugural National Girls Boot Camp in Harare this week to be ambassadors who spread the theme of hard work, unity, love and the spirit of entrepreneurship among their peers in their respective provinces.

The girls were from the country’s 10 provinces.

Speaking during the closing ceremony of the camp at Lake Chivero yesterday, Mnangagwa said the event was a platform to engage and impart life skills to the girl child.

“We are gathered here to bid each other farewell,” she said.

“I want to thank all of you for the good behaviour you exhibited as I did not hear of any complaints of misbehaving. Keep up the good behaviour wherever you go.

“As I said during the official opening, that you have become provincial ambassadors for the First Lady, I expect you to go and influence others to learn from you.”

Mnangagwa said following the success of the inaugural event, the national boot camp would be an annual event, adding that the next episode will be more exciting.

“During this week’s stay in this camp, you had built some relationships, however, true friendship should not be affected by distance,” she said.

“You were staying as a mixed group such that someone from Masvingo was sharing a room with a colleague from Matabeleland, this was deliberately done so that you learn to quickly adapt to situations and be able to interact.

In life you will face such situations as you will be moving from place to place in search of your needs. The next episode of the boot camp will be much better and more interesting.”

Mnangagwa told the girls to remain focused.

“To you our girls, our pride, you came, you saw, you heard, you interacted and you made friends. As you go back to your destinations, remember to focus on the good things that you experienced, for it is the good things that will help you in shaping your future.”

The Angel of Hope Foundation patron thanked teachers who accompanied the girls and ZimParks for hosting them.

She also thanked other partners who made the camp a memorable event. The girls walked away with an assortment of foodstuffs and other goodies.

“These foodstuffs, I want you to go and give to your parents, and grandmothers who are my friends and pass my gratitude to them for entrusting me with you for the whole week,” said Amai Mnangagwa.

The secondary school pupils are also set to benefit from the First Lady’s scholarship programme starting next year.

The boot camp involved engaging, interacting and empowering the girls who got advice and teachings on several topics from qualified and experienced facilitators.

On sports day, they interacted with the Zimbabwe national netball team, the Gems, who shared with them their life testimonies.

The boot camp was life-changing for the girls, who learnt life lessons from Mnangagwa’s humility. One of the girls, Tadzai Ndlovu (15) from Machakata School in Gokwe, said it was her first time to be in Harare and thanked the First Lady for the opportunity.

She said she learnt a lot, especially from the Zimbabwe Republic Police Victim Friendly Unit, adding that she was going to educate other girls in her village about their rights and how to go about it if they were infringed.

The First Lady is passionate about women empowerment and recently several young women from disadvantaged backgrounds received certificates after undergoing a special training programme in tourism and hospitality, courtesy of Mnangagwa.

Mnangagwa facilitated the skills mentorship programme through her charity organisation Angel of Hope Foundation, whose main focus is to uplift lives of disadvantaged children and other vulnerable members of society.

The skills they received during the tourism training programme will empower and capacitate the young ladies to be self-reliant.-StateMedia