Kensington’s oldest resident,
Aunty Dinah Fourie, celebrated her 101st birthday yesterday.
AS SHE woke on her 101st birthday yesterday, the first thing Aunty Dinah Fourie did was kneel and say a prayer to thank God for sparing her for so many years.
Kensington’s oldest resident celebrated the milestone with friends and staff, at the Kensington Home for the Aged.
Aunty Dinah’s only surviving child, also Dinah and aged in her 70s, was unable to visit her mother yesterday, as she was in hospital recovering from a hip surgery.
“Tomorrow is not guaranteed to any of us, it’s important to thank your maker for your life,” Aunty Dinah said.
In her 101 years, Aunty Dinah has seen and done everything she wanted to. There’s nothing more on her bucket list, she said.
“The roads aren’t safe, it’s not safe outside. It’s best to stay inside,” she said. Aunty Dinah grew up in the small town of Greyton and, even though she’s lived in the Mother City for more than 40 years, she “will never consider herself a Capetonian”.
“Life in Greyton was simple but required a lot of hard work.
“We had our own fruit and vegetable garden, growing many types of foods.
“When I arrived in Cape Town, I could not get myself to buy food by the kilo. We had always just picked from the garden,” Aunty Dinah said.
The old age home celebrated Aunty Dinah’s birthday with cake, and the Happy Birthday song echoed through the hall more than once.
Aunty Dinah attributed outliving her husband and two sons, to the hardships and struggles she endured as a young woman.
“Everything we went through, even during the Group Areas Act, made me strong,” Aunty Dinah said.