Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Gogo has Madiba at heart as she turns 100
KHABONINA Miriam Skhosana neatly straightens her yellow dress before she drapes a matching soft blanket around her legs to shield herself from the harsh cold.
As she gets comfortable on her bed, she props her Bible on her lap, adjusts her crisp white scarf and makes sure her woollen hat is in place.
It’s the eve of Skhosana’s 100th birthday party and she is counting down the hours until the morning when all her loved ones will come together to celebrate the big day.
“I feel like I just graduated, I feel like I passed school and like I just got my degree,” was the simple answer the great-grandmother gave when asked how she felt about reaching the milestone.
Apart from the prestige of reaching such an age, what makes Skhosana’s birthday even more special is that she was born in the same year and month as Nelson Mandela.
Madiba was born on July 18, 1918 and would have turned 100 on Wednesday.
Skhosana holds this simi- larity with the former statesman very close to her heart and has throughout her life tried to embody his values and ideals.
As a preacher’s wife, she got the opportunity to help churchgoers with their struggles.
“As someone who works in the church, you carry a lot from what people tell you, just like Mandela carried a lot during his life.”
Apart from her role at the church and with her own family and community, Skhosana does not believe that she fully replicated Mandela’s citizenry and longs to possess his mental strength. “I wish I was as mentally strong as him,” she said.
But Skhosana’s loved ones believe her presence in their lives has been invaluable and that she played a significant role in every member of the big family’s lives.
This was no easy task as she was the mother of 17 children, had about 38 grandchildren and 48 great-grandchildren.
They got a chance to thank her and celebrate her life with a party they threw for her at her Joburg home last weekend.
One of her grand-daughters, Bongi Mtshweni, said ahead of the festivities that about 200 guests were expected at the Diepkloof, Soweto, house to honour her grandmother.
“We will serve some of her favourite dishes and dance the night away because that is what she wants: she is a foodie who loves life,” said Mtshweni.
As Skhosana reflected on her life, she said she wanted to be remembered for always lending a hand to those in need. She said this, and spirituality, was the secret to her long life.
From a young age, Skhosana has consistently performed the role of the provider with the little that she had. She managed to support her parents, siblings and her children from the meagre salary she earned as a domestic worker.
Skhosana was born in Mpumalanga but moved to Joburg in 1942.
Even after her husband’s death in 1989, she managed to look after her family including her children, seven of whom have since passed away.
“There will be people who come to my party and say I helped send them and their parents to school. I did a lot of good things for people, they will remember me,” she said.
Despite the hardships, she has never been hospitalised. When she is gone, Skhosana wants her family and everyone she knows to continue fulfilling her life mission of helping mankind.