admin
Believed to have been born in 1910 in Buhera District in Manicaland Province, Gogo Kupfuwa is the first born in a family of 10 children, three girls and seven boysc.
Gogo Kupfuwa has seen and lived through two world wars and even participated in the liberation struggle of Zimbabwe.
She went to Nerutanga Primary School in Buhera where she excelled in Standard Six, equivalent to Form Two.
In those days education for girls was not easy as parents preferred to educate boys, but Gogo Kupfuwa defied that.
In an interview at her son, Mr Ambrose Kupfuwa’s house at 17 Jarvis Road in Queens Park West, Gogo Kupfuwa says her father, Mr Daka Chiduku, encouraged her to pursue her dreams of becoming a teacher.
“My father encouraged me to pursue my dreams, he used to bring books for me and even taught me how to read and write.
“During those days black people were not allowed to proceed to higher levels but allowed to teach their fellow colleagues, so I became a teacher from 1930 to 1933,” she said.
She laughed when she recalled beating up a man twice her age for not reading well in class.
In 1933, she was forced to leave the profession because of her marriage to Mr Takaza Kupfuwa.
“Black women were forced to leave their profession to become housewives by the white people,” she said.
Gogo Kupfuwa was blessed with 11 children, four sons and seven daughters.
“I had seven children with Takaza Kupfuwa, the first born being Ambrose Kupfuwa (79), Melbour (78), the late Junior and Jackson (76) who were twins, Esther (74), Clara (72) and Grace (67) who also passed away,” she said.
In 1951 she lost her husband and customarily married the younger brother, Mr David Kupfuwa, who later died in 1965.
“After the death of my husband I customarily married his younger brother in 1952 and we had twins Green and Collin (49), who both passed away, Edith (45) and Siphiwe (43), the last born, who also passed away.
“When my first husband passed away life became difficult for me as I was unemployed, so I began doing piece jobs like farming and selling to raise school fees,” she said.
During the liberation struggle she cooked for freedom fighters and said that was her noble deed to them.
“I cooked for the freedom fighters although we did that in fear of the Ian Smith army that was ruthless. I was happy when we got independence for we struggled so much, blood was shed to attain this freedom. I hope our grandchildren will treasure it,” she said.
Gogo Kupfiwa is a devout Christian who fellowships at the Anglican Church.
She loves to sing, dance and she was a leader of a choral musical group for many years.
“Every time I sing in church I do that whole heartedly and I usually dance because the Almighty has kept me alive for so many years. Today, I have 65 grandchildren and 95 great grandchildren because the Lord has shown mercy on me,” she said.
Her advice to youths is to respect the elders and live according to the Bible.
Speaking about her favourite food, Gogo enjoys peanuts and Mazoe orange crush.
Online Reporter