Chronicle Editor
Tafadzwa Chibukwa, Features Reporter
THEIR afternoons do not revolve around chasing the warmth of the sun’s rays or following the shade of trees while crocheting doilies.
Instead, they have dedicated their time to shaking off all aches and pains that come with old age by kicking a ball and running around a soccer pitch.
The Magogo Magogo soccer team, a community project comprising elderly women from Entumbane suburb in Bulawayo has taken the community by storm and continues to defy the odds, proving that old age is not a hindrance to keeping fit.
At first, the idea of kicking a ball around at their age sounded absolutely baloney but as time went on, more ladies started flocking in to join the community movement.
In the realm of retirement where they had been introduced to a life they had not been used to as many spent their days sweating it off, fending for their families, the soccer team provides an opportunity to be active again.
Many were constantly glued to their TV screens while a few spent their days cleaning their houses and did not get the time to walk about or stretch their limbs.
After noticing this trend, Pastor Richard Moyo of Across the Jordan Pentecostal Ministries saw it fit to round up the golden girls for the initiative.
“As a church leader and someone who is also retired, I related to many of the things that the elderly in my church were complaining about. I also realised that for some, it was hard to even go to church because their bodies were initially tired.
I suggested that to keep fit, and at the same time socialise, all elders and people over 50 should come and join the initiative,” said Pastor Moyo.
Having started off as a church programme for the benefit of church members, the project, which initially had a low uptake, has grown in leaps and bounds and has since courted the interest of many in the community.
Pastor Moyo said it is mostly the grannies who were co-operative as they came in their numbers in a bid to keep fit.
“When we started in 2019, only a few people came and most of them were old ladies. We were then distracted by the Covid-19 lockdown, but this year we decided to resume. We started our training sessions and as time went on, more people started joining.
What made people join in their numbers was because of the feedback that they would get from their neighbours or friends who would have come for the training sessions,” said Pastor Moyo.
It was after careful consideration that church members suggested that the initiative be opened up to the community.
Pastor Moyo said after opening up the project to the community, he was approached by a family friend who informed him of an international grannies’ soccer tournament that has been taking place from Sunday and ends today in Limpopo Province, South Africa.
The tournament is being hosted by Mama Beka and Vakhegula Vakhegula Football Club.
Entumbane’s Magogo Magogo grannies team currently comprises 66 grannies who wake up every Monday, Tuesday and Saturday to go for soccer sessions.
When a Chronicle news crew visited one of their training sessions in Entumbane recently, they were energetic and enthusiastic.
For people who had been left with no choice but to spend their days indoors, some stressed, bothered and overthinking, they seemed to be very happy on the pitch.
They rejoiced with their newly discovered cure for boredom.
The oldest among the active grannies, 78-year-old Mrs Maggie Phiri, was running around the field energetically, as if she were a young daring teenager. She said she was glad to be part of such an initiative.
“We are so happy here. If only the programme had been introduced earlier, we would have started keeping fit a long time ago. This initiative is quite helpful to us as old people in the community because we are keeping fit through it.
I can testify that before I started, I used to have pains in my body and movement was starting to prove difficult but ever since I started exercising with the grannies, I have been very fit and have no more pains at all,” said Mrs Phiri.
Mrs Jesta Ncube (76) said the initiative has kept her active and she can forget about all her problems and get some fresh air.
“We really appreciate this initiative. It is brilliant because it is impacting us a lot. Instead of spending the day at home, forced to overthink, we are getting some air.
As old folks, we are limited to short distances hence we can’t travel far to meet our friends, but this initiative has given us a chance to meet again and socialise as people who understand each other,” she said.
Mrs Constance Moyo said she believes they are ready as a team to go and face other grannies in social tournaments.
“Since we started our training sessions a few months ago, we have greatly improved and we have gained much confidence to face our opponents. We were facing challenges acquiring passports but most ladies in the team now have their passports and are ready to go and compete,” she said.
Research shows that older adults, both male and female, can benefit from regular physical activity. The loss of strength and stamina attributed to aging is in part caused by reduced physical activity.
“Inactivity increases with age. By age 75, about one in three men and one in two women engage in no physical activity. Among adults aged 65 and older, walking and gardening or yard work are, by far, the most popular physical activities.”
Social support from family and friends has been consistently and positively related to regular physical activity.
According to research, physical activity helps maintain the ability to live independently and reduces the risk of falling and fracturing bones.
It reduces the risk of dying from coronary heart disease and of developing high blood pressure, colon cancer, and diabetes. It can help reduce blood pressure in some people with hypertension. It also helps people with chronic, disabling conditions improve their stamina and muscle strength.
Physical activity is also said to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression and fosters improvements in mood and feelings of well-being.
It helps maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints as well as control joint swelling and pain associated with arthritis.
Communities are encouraged to provide community-based physical activity programmes that offer aerobic, strengthening, and flexibility components specifically designed for older adults.
Facilities for physical activity should also accommodate and encourage participation by older adults.
“Encourage health care providers to talk routinely to their older adult patients about incorporating physical activity into their lives and plan community activities that include opportunities for older adults to be physically active,” according to an authority in healthy living. -@Sagepapie14
Online Reporter