adminLungile Tshuma Sunday Leisure Correspondent
IN a country where life expectancy is below 40 years, surpassing that age by more than 60 years is almost everyone’s wish. For it is human nature to dread death.
But Gogo Lawina Ngwenya of Railstein Old People’s Home along Masotsha Ndlovu Avenue in Bulawayo, has done just that. She has grown to the age of 111 years and is still praying for more.
To her, age is nothing but just a number.
She has witnessed most of the economic, social, environmental and political changes and can narrate them with ease.
“I still need more years,” she declared. “God loves me and this is a blessing from Him. This is the only reason why I have seen so many years.”
Her age tends to leave some people longing to know the recipe for such a long life. But she only posits that it was through giving herself to God that she has managed so many years. She offers nothing more.
She first married a Zambian who was working for the National Railway of Zimbabwe (NRZ) and moved to Zambia where she conceived two children who are both alive but living in Zambia.
“My first husband was from Zambia and he used to work for the Railways. After he retired from his work we relocated to Zambia where we stayed there for many years before he died and I had to come back to Zimbabwe.
“I came back home because I could not stay in Zambia. Moreso, I was still young and I had to do better things in my native country,” said the ever-smiling Gogo Ngwenya.
On her return, she got married and had five more children. Sadly, the husband died and none of her children is alive, only grandchildren are the ones who frequently pay her a visit. She has also lost count of the number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren she has.
Born in Mangwe on 8 August 1903, a third born in a family of five and the only surviving child in her family, Gogo Ngwenya’s brains are still as sharp as a tiger’s teeth.
She rarely scratches her head to recall some events, instead, she smiles and quickly responds.
With her thick voice and a few teeth, she still pronounces words very well.
Her sight is still good but her legs are giving her problems. She can’t walk and whenever she needs something she has to crawl.
Despite failing to walk, she can bathe herself and only needs assistance when she wants to wash her back. Even though she spends the rest of the day in her room, her jaws are still strong and she can chew meat.
“My favourite food is isitshwala and chicken. It is also delicious when I eat it with a bottle of Coca-Cola by the side. I might be old but I can still chew meat,” she said. “Yes! It’s uncommon but I am doing it and I will still be eating meat for the next coming years.”
Her heavily weathered skin is a sign of the journey she has travelled and the turbulent storms she has survived.
She called upon citizens, especially youths to fear God.
“These days, youths are the ones who are dying so easily and I guess it’s because they are not abiding by the bible. During our days we feared God and had a healthy diet of many fruits and healthy food, we managed to stay strong and healthy and this is the reason why we are still living.
“God is always with those who are righteous. He does not associate Himself with people of bad behaviour. I am what I am because of Him and perhaps because I have been loyal and faithful to my husbands,” said the light-skinned Gogo Ngwenya.
A Good Samaritan built her a house in her rural home in Mangwe but still it was not enough as she was too old and could not fend for herself.
“I almost died,” she said, looking down sorrowfully. “I was taken to hospital and that is where pastors from Salvation Army came and brought me here. From that day, I have been fit and healthy.
“Accidentally, I am also a Salvationist. I have been in this church since I was young. When I relocated to Zambia, I joined the Salvation branch in Lusaka and when I came back to Zimbabwe I went to Usher. I guess the reason why God made me to be a Salvationist is because He knew that at the end, they are the people who are going to take care of me.”
The Salvation Army officer in charge of the old people’s home, Evan Masvi, said the home is not for the Salvationists only but it also caters for all those who have nowhere to stay.
She also called on well-wishers to assist the old people’s home.
Online Reporter