Victoria Falls mourns Gogo Swelekile Maphosa, aged 111

GOGO Swelekile Maphosa could be the oldest person to die and be buried at the Victoria Falls cemetery after she passed on at the age of 111 last week.
She was due to turn 112 next month.
Gogo Maphosa arrived at the Chinotimba Old People’s Home in Victoria Falls in 1999 as a blind woman and since then has been an inmate at the Old People’s Home until her death on 28 October.

She was buried at the cemetery with a burial service led by Fr Oscar Bitu of the Roman Catholic Church as she was a devout Catholic.
Gogo Maphosa was the only surviving inmate from those that were at the home in the 1990s, after Sophia Kanama, died at the home aged 96 last month.
Living beyond 100 years is a precious gift, a rarity and a blessing that is enjoyed by a few globally.
In the modern era, the number of individuals reaching a century is scarce, a sharp contrast to the times depicted in the Bible when centenarians were many.
Methuselah, Noah’s grandfather, stood as a testament to extraordinary longevity, living for a staggering 969 years. The first human, Adam, destined for eternal life, saw his existence come to a close at the age of 930. The Bible talks of many people who lived for more than 100 years and these include Sarah, the wife of Abraham, who died at the age of 127 years.
In the heart of this narrative lies Gogo Maphosa, a venerable woman, born on December 12, 1912, in Tsholotsho, whose life carried an emotional ache of having no surviving family, relative or friend to have thrown a mound of soil into her grave.
Like the story of Jesus, who, away from her mother and siblings, said “My family are these people”, Gogo Maphosa’s relatives and family were the management, staff and inmates at the Chinotimba Old People’s Home and these are the people, joined by the general community in the resort city, Victoria Falls City Council, Roman Catholic Church, Seventh Day Adventist Church, tourism industry led by the Hospitality Association of Zimbabwe, Nyaradzo Funeral Services and some organisations carried the funeral on their shoulders to make sure she rests in peace.
What remains are memories of the energetic and no-nonsense Gogo Maphosa, who would swear to beat anyone who crossed her line in the home.
She will be remembered for her dedicated work despite her old age as she would tend the garden and clean the yard.
“She came in 1999 with a friend Elina Sibanda (late) and they were coming from Chikandakubi in Jambezi. She was blind and being led with a stick by Sibanda, and the two were Catholics in the Legion of Mary Guild,” said Mrs Eveline Nyathi-Chikuma, chairperson of the board that runs the Old People’s Home.
She said Gogo Maphosa was still energetic and her eyesight was good despite having suffered a limb fracture in 2018 and having been totally blind when she arrived at the home in 1999.
The Rotary Club of Victoria Falls which built an ablution block at the home, offered to help people with eyesight problems and Gogo Maphosa was one of the seven who were taken for eye operation in Zambia where she regained sight.
At the time of her death, she was the only surviving of the seven.
“She was always sweeping the yard and preferred using her palms instead of a broom. When she was still healthy, we used to have plenty of green mealies here as she was always working in the garden before baboons also invaded.
“She suffered a limb fracture in 2018 after she fell while coming from the bathroom and HAZ took her to Zambia for treatment where a plaster was put on her. We were not surprised when she removed it because she was dramatic. It was a miracle she survived on pain killers and in three weeks she was back to her chores sweeping the yard,” said Mrs Nyathi-Chikumba.
Although her ability to walk and stand had waned, even with dementia affecting her recollections, her determination had not faltered as she would push herself around on her buttocks just to sweep the yard.
The home is left with 10 inmates, eight of them men and two females.
The oldest is Mr Stephane Phiri, originally from Malawi who was born on 6 June 1931.
Her birthplace was Makokotsha in Tsholotsho and her father was Hlangulani.
She was once married to Amon of Sesheke in Zambia and then remarried in Jambezi as a second wife.
The names of her children were George, Nenge and Christopher who are all late.
The the Old People’s Home she was brought by the former Roman Catholic Bishop for Hwange, Bishop Emeritus Albert Serano, who brought her from Chikandakubi near Jambezi.
Chinotimba Old People’s Home was opened in the late 1970s and is run by the Chinotimba Association for the Destitute and Aged (Chada) supported by both the Victoria Falls City Council and the Social Welfare Department.
–@ncubeleon