Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
A BULAWAYO woman who recently turned 100 years has bemoaned moral decay among youths, saying children should have self-respect and respect for elders for them to live longer.
Mrs Elizabeth Sifelani Phiri was born on November 8, 1919, at Empandeni Catholic Mission in Plumtree where her father Mr Nhlamba Charles Mpofu was a catechist.
She said she at some point lived with two of Ndebele King Lobengula’s son’s, Makhulambila and Mqatshelwa, who were being taken care of at Empandeni Old People’s Home.
At 100, Mrs Phri who bore 10 children, two of them still alive, can still do household chores and walks without a walking stick. She lives with her grandchildren who threw her a birthday party in Bulawayo’s Southwold suburb recently.
Mrs Phiri said she has never in her life tasted alcohol and was admitted to hospital once in 2012.
“I don’t know how I have managed to live this long but I believe it’s all around how I grew up. My secret to long life starts with respecting your parents. I also valued my life as a girl and never tasted alcohol or smoked. I grew up in church and until today I still go to church although I left the Catholic Church when I got married,” she said.
“I can still see clearly and walk short distances, and I have never used a walking stick. As I was growing up, I was never a hospital regular. I remember the only time I got admitted to hospital was in 2012 and I believe this is because we grew up eating healthy traditional foods which people no longer want nowadays.”
Mrs Phiri said girls nowadays cannot be compared to girls during her time.
“Sometimes I’m pained when I look at how children, especially girls, live nowadays. Life is different now. When we were growing up, we didn’t have many friends. My only friends were church mates and you would never see us idle because there was work to do at home. Each time you would find us working at home. During the dry season we would gather firewood enough to take us through the rainy season.
“Girls must avoid having many friends and desist from being idle as this is the time they start losing their pride and respect. Children should learn to respect their parents and the elderly. Anyone the age of your parent is a parent and we should treat them with respect and also help them in life,” she said.
Mrs Phiri said her first marriage to Mr Robert Ngugama who was originally from Shurugwi and worked in Empandeni taught her many lessons about life as he was abusive.
In total she had 10 children, 33 grandchildren, 57 great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.
She had her first child in 1949 while her last child was born in 1970.
“My father was a catechist at Empandeni Mission where I learnt up to Standard 1 which is equivalent to Grade 3 today because there was a belief that girls should not go to school. I remember two of Lobengula’s sons Makhulambila and Mqatshelwa who were very old and stayed at Empandeni Mission. One of them died when we were still at the mission and the other died when we had moved to Brunapeg.
“I stayed at home helping my parents with household chores until I got married to Robert Ngugama who was an extension services worker in Empandeni. We built our home in his home area in Shurugwi before he was transferred to Filabusi upon which he married another woman who conceived before me. She had three children before I had my first born. We separated after we had four children,” narrated Mrs Phiri.
She recalled how her husband lied to her that somebody had died in Plumtree, her rural home, as he sought ways of sending her away.
“I was staying with his parents when he sent a letter telling me that there was a funeral at home in Plumtree. His parents accompanied me to board a bus to Plumtree and when I got to Bulawayo my brothers were shocked to hear that as no one had died.
“As I was still in Bulawayo, he sent another letter where he stated that I should not return to his home because he no longer loved me. He divorced us at the same time with the other wife who he also sent packing as he married a third wife. Unfortunately, I didn’t see the letter and as I went back to our home in Shurugwi, he sent a message that I should not enter his homestead. I stayed with his parents and when he came, he beat me up before assaulting his sister and parents accusing them of allowing me back to his home,” said Mrs Phiri.
She said she only left after the intervention of Headman Ndanga as the marriage turned violent.
“I went back to Bulawayo and my elder brother accompanied me to my in-laws after which we went to Headman Ndanga. That’s when my husband told everyone that he no longer loved me and the chief wrote a letter which I took to my parents as confirmation that I was officially divorced,” said Mrs Phiri.
She later found a job at the National Railways of Zimbabwe in Bulawayo where she met Mr Blighton Phiri, a Malawian who was employed by the same company.
The two later got married and had six children.
They moved to Jambezi in Hwange District where they built a homestead after Mr Phiri retired from work.
“I didn’t join politics but I remember about Joshua Nkomo and how he started the National Democratic Party before moving to Zapu. I remember the Gukurahundi disturbances and how we lost some relatives in Brunapeg. I remember isikhongwane (swarm of locust) in 1936 which destroyed crops and authorities had to spray everywhere to destroy the eggs. We also harvested several bags of the locusts for food. I also recall the worst drought in 1947 when crops dried at knee level and we would walk to Botswana to buy food. Sasigigela endlini ngalowo mnyaka ngoba indlala yayitshisa,” recalled Mrs Phiri.
One of her granddaughters, Ms Patience Phiri said her grandmother can still do household chores like washing the dishes, clothes and cleaning the house.
“At some point, I was sick and she was the one taking care of me. She would bath me and cook,” she said.
Ms Phiri’s younger sister Mrs Loveness Sibanda described her as a prayerful woman who has managed to keep the family united. – @ncubeleon
Online Reporter