Gauteng’s Social Development MEC visits a local gogo
Gogo Kgoete was born in 1920 on this day in the former Transvaal in a place called Ga-Sekororo near Tzaneen, in present day Limpopo.
As part of commemorating Mandela Day, Gauteng Department of Social Development observed the day by hosting a birthday celebration for Diepkloof centenarian, Gogo Maria Khanyisa Kgoete (103).
Gogo Kgoete was born in 1920 on this day in the former Transvaal in a place called Ga-Sekororo near Tzaneen, in present day Limpopo.
The mother of nine children, and grandmother of 26 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren, says she always looks forward to her birthday every year as she shares it with one of her greatest heroes, the late Nelson Mandela.
The healthy and vivacious great grandmother attributes her many years of living and longevity to hardworking, walking and eating healthy.
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Speaking about her diet, she said one of the important things that she has to add is portions from her small garden from her home.
“Despite my age, I always make time to go out and look at my garden. This also gives me time to enjoy the sun and to chat with neighbours,” Gogo Kgoete said.
Speaking at the birthday celebration, MEC Mbali Hlophe congratulated Gogo Kgoete on her 103th birthday and said society must look after the aged as they hold a collective memory of who we are as a nation.
“Getting to this age means a well lived and documented life history. Every parent is a blessing to a child and to have a parent aged 103 in our midst is a blessing beyond measure.
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“We need to support all efforts to keep the elderly healthy and well looked after. We saw with the late Nelson Mandela that the elderly are a jewel in our nation, and with other similarly old veterans like Tambo, Sisulu and so on, we saw how they birthed our democracy,” MEC Hlophe said.
Gogo and her family moved to Johannesburg in 1957, resided in Alexandra, and unfortunately they were forcefully removed by Group Areas Act between 1960 and 1961 to Diepkloof where she is currently residing.
