EDITOR – I FIND the hype and excitement we have over Western traditions very disturbing.
What I find saddening is that soon after these ‘Days’ we forget about the things and people we celebrate.
I found the cartoon that showed the two situations of a mother on Mother’s Day and the day after very revealing.
On Mother’s Day, the mother is surrounded by her children taking selfies and probably posting them on various social media platforms but soon after the day, the mother is all alone.
In Africa, we have never needed a day to celebrate our mothers just as we don’t need a specific day to celebrate God.
Everyday is a mother’s day for they are the backbone of our society. Without them we are literally lost.
A mother in our culture is not the woman who carried me for nine months.
It is every woman who has nurtured me.
It is the next door woman who has made sure that we are safe.
Mainini, tete namaiguru, vanotichengetedza nekutiraira, vachitidzidzisa tsika nemagariro akanaka.
Everyday is mother’s day for all the time we show appreciation to these very important people shaping and moulding our lives.
The Western concept of celebrating mothers is just too commercial.
Those without resources to ‘spoil’ their mothers are made to feel like they do not really love them.
Emphasis is put on doing ‘at least something’; it doesn’t matter how small, so goes the argument.
But our appreciation for our mothers stems from deep down.
Mazuva ose tinoda nekudada nanamai vedu.

Tinotenda Taruvinga,
Bindura