Fungai Lupande Herald Reporter
Over 800 children of war veterans will on Friday travel to Chimoio National Shrine in Mozambique where thousands of freedom fighters perished during the liberation struggle.The visit is part of preparations for the this year’s independence celebrations.
The Children of Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association national secretary-general, Cde Joseph Mutezo, said the visit was to honour thousands of Zimbabwean liberation war fighters who lost their lives after an attack by Rhodesian soldiers. “The visit is in honour of our fallen heroes who perished in the 1977 Chimoio massacre and for historical reasons. As descendants of liberation fighters, it is of paramount importance that we celebrate our history. We want to give the children of war veterans a real feel of the site and how our fathers bore the brunt of the liberation war,” he said.
The association’s secretary for information and publicity, Mr Sympathy Pasipanodya, applauded the Ministry of Welfare Services for War Veterans, War Collaborators, Political Detainees and Restrictees for the support and assistance.
“All is set for the trip and 10 buses will be heading for Chimoio. The trip is free of charge and we want to thank all Ministries for logistical support.
“Over 3 000 freedom fighters and war collaborators who lost their lives in the Chimoio massacre left behind a legacy which is forever a part of our history. We will also have another trip to Zambia in August before the Heroes celebrations.
“We will be visiting freedom camps in Zambia as a way of conscientising the children to guard our heritage jealously,” said Pasipanodya.
Cde Mutezo, who is also contesting in the primary elections for Kuwadzana constituency, said he benefited a lot from His Excellency President Mugabe’s policies and he was ready to serve the community.
“I was born in Kuwadzana and I feel I have a duty to develop the community. I benefited a lot from President Mugabe’s policies, especially as a war veteran’s child and this is a way of appreciating his education policy.
“I will be working with youths and women in projects to develop the constituency into a business hive like Glen View and Machipisa, bringing livelihood to the people,” he said.