Decades of experience and still going strong
WENDY Ackerman is one of the most influential women in South Africa. Politely asked her age, her response was a coy “over 65”.
The philanthropist sees great value in working beyond the mandatory retirement age.
“Working and taking an active interest in our people’s wellbeing has always been a passion of mine and will remain so,” she said.
Ackerman balanced raising four children while working with her husband, Raymond, when he started Pick n Pay.
“Work keeps me active and allows me to continue to add value to the business.
“For people who have decades of experience, it’s a chance to keep contributing to the company both through hard work and by passing on institutional memory and our value system to new people.”
She is still actively involved in the Ackerman Family Education Trust.
“I have never wanted to be a name at the bottom of a cheque. I believe in getting involved and rolling up my sleeves,” she said. “Working keeps you active and involved with the world. As long as I have value to offer, I will be at my desk. I have only praise for those who continue to work and make a contribution to society, whether through business or community service.”
Cancer survivor Lillian Dube, 68, an actress since the early 1980s, started working at 17 and had a myriad of jobs, including being a hospital clerk and tea girl, to provide for her widowed mother.
“I enjoy working and I am born of and raised by women who wake up at the crack of dawn to prepare food for their husbands to take to the field,” said the granny, who is known for her roles in, among others,
Cry, the Beloved Country and Soul City.
“I wake up at five and not after five, every morning!” She said younger generations should develop a culture of working for themselves. “And I believe practice makes perfect,” she said.
Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi still “struggles” with the idea of retirement and admits that it has been years since his last holiday.
The man who has been appointed acting president of South Africa no less than 22 times since 1994, relaxes to choral music after a hectic day. He believes prayer and thanksgiving keep him energised.
“I often smile when I read Psalm 23: ‘He makes me lie down in green pastures.’ I think I sometimes need to be made to lie down, because left to my own devices, I don’t take time off.”
Several things help him through a hectic schedule. “I’m a diabetic and I’ve followed a strict diet for decades. For me, food is fuel and medicine. It helps that I happen to enjoy a good salmon and salad.”
Miriam Makeba, songbird and struggle icon who became the first African to win a Grammy award, died on the job at 76 after collapsing during a performance at the Volturno in Italy on November 9 2008.
Her family said in a statement that she often said: “I will sing until the last day of my life.”