Gogo Rosalia Kodisang turns 100
The pensioner said her secret to a long life is following a healthy diet.
Kwatsaduza – The Kodisang family celebrated the centenary birthday of gogo Rosalia Kodisang on Saturday.
Sonqoba Simunye Men’s Burial Club organised the celebration. Friends and neighbours who came to share their well wishes joined them.
The pensioner grew up in Charterston in Nigel and is one of six siblings still alive. She married Sedi Kodisang, the church pastor, and they had 12 children.
Rosalia’s daughter, Angelina Mamakgowa, is her only child still alive. The gogo has 15 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.
Speaking to African Reporter, the pensioner said her secret to a long life has been following a healthy diet since she was a young woman.
“We grew up eating fruit, which includes wild fruit, vegetables from our gardens and milk from the goats and cows.
“We only ate meat on special occasions and moderately, unlike today’s generation, whose daily meals have meat.”
The pensioner said they used to walk long distances to access services, visit neighbours, and collect water from the streams. That was part of their exercise.
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“We lived by the teaching from the Bible, especially, to respect our elders, father and mother, so to be blessed with a long life and to love thy neighbour as thyself,” she said.
The chairperson of Sonqoba Simunye Men’s Burial Club, Andy Mpye, said they decided to celebrate the pensioner’s life because it is not every day that somebody turns 100.
“On this day, congratulations are not enough. She deserves at least a parade in her honour because 100 years is an astonishing achievement.
“As world populations and life expectancy continue to increase, the number of centenarians is expected to increase substantially in the 21st century, and because of that, we embarked on a process to identify other centenarians,” he said.
