The Sunday Mail
Theseus Shambare
“Congratulations, you are now a parent.”
These are the sort of words every person wants to hear as they grow up.
Joy and dreams of life with a child, and even grandchildren, are what many people wish for.
But it is not always rosy, as death has a way of robbing us of happiness.
The pain seems to double if it is a parent burying a child.
The story of 78-year-old John Gaustino from Epworth sums it all up.
Gaustino has experienced the joys of fatherhood and the pain of losing children.
While his peers are celebrating old age with their children, grandchildren and even great grandchildren, it is a different story altogether for him.
He sees nothing to rejoice about life as misfortunes seem to be trailing him.
Decades ago, Gaustino got married and was blessed with six adorable children. However, soon after that, the grim reaper snatched his wife. As if that was not enough, he got retrenched around the same time, and had to endure single parenting with no stable income.
His eldest son was then due to write his Ordinary Level examinations.
“I had to make a sacrifice. I sold the house I owned in Mabvuku and relocated to my second house in Epworth so that I could raise school fees for my children. Vending was my only available option. I would sell airtime and sweets, among other things, to put food on the table,” narrated Gaustino.
Unlike most men, Gaustino never remarried. He decided to focus on his children.
“I would wake up very early in the morning, do household chores such as cleaning and cooking, and make sure the youngest of my children was bathed. I would then see the children off to school. Many people pressured me to find a woman to marry. I resisted. I did not want my children to be subjected to ill-treatment, which is commonly associated with stepmothers,” he explained.
The love he had for the family left neighbours green with envy.
“You would feel jealous on looking at such a happy family, a loving man, even without a woman in his life. His children were his wealth. He would do everything possible to make sure they were happy,” said Evelyn Jonga, one of Gaustino’s neighbours.
“You would see him helping them with schoolwork and sometimes playing social games,” added another neighbour who only identified himself as Nyakonda.
Gaustino narrated some of his happy moments with his children.
“I was elated, extremely happy, when I was invited to a prize-giving ceremony. My daughter was top in Mathematics. Everything seemed to be on course and I imagined my daughter one day being an engineer. It looked set as I always paid my children’s fees. I prioritised their education,” said Gaustino.
The children were always happy as the father had filled the gap left by their mother.
Tragedy
The family’s happiness was once again disturbed after Gaustino’s little son succumbed to meningitis. And the grim reaper seemed not ready to rest after the unfortunate incident. Death haunted the family for the next five years as four more of Gaustino’s children mysteriously died. He is now left with one surviving daughter, whom he claims hardly visits him.
If fate had acted otherwise, the children would probably be taking turns to look after their aged father, who sacrificed everything for them. However, that is not the case.
“She is married and lives in Chitungwiza, near Chikwanha area,” Gaustino reluctantly responded to a question concerning the whereabouts of his daughter.
Efforts by The Sunday Mail Society to get in touch with the daughter were in vain. With no one to look after him, life has turned sour for the 78-year-old.
Begging has become his daily routine.
“I like rice and bread. If you can find that for me, I will be happy,” he told this writer while sitting at the entrance of his dilapidated two-roomed house.
“Some help me with food, but others chase me away from their homes. There are yet others who now consider me a nuisance and quickly shut their doors when they see me approach their homes.”
Due to old age, Gaustino can no longer work to put food on the table. Similarly, he can hardly prepare a decent meal for himself.
Amnesia is also affecting him.
The situation gets worse as he has no other relative to take care of him. This unfortunate turn of events is not limited to Gaustino.
Several aged people have had to endure terrible phases in their last days. In most cases, death has led to such terrible circumstances.
According to the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Zimbabwe has at least 1 200 000 elderly people, which is about 10 percent of the total population.
Support
Serenity Mind Centre mental health specialist and psychiatrist, Dr Anesu Chinoperekwei, reckons Gaustino’s case is not isolated.
She said such circumstances need to be properly assessed.
“In order to help this man, there is need for a full assessment, both physical and psychological. If he has been living alone for too long, there is one huge possibility that he might be suffering from nutrient deficiency. There is also a possibility that he has not been taking his chronic medication, if any, and there is also room that he may have developed other illnesses as a result of having no one to take care of him,” said Dr Chinoperekwei.
Most elderly people are at increased risk of depression due to neglect or loss of their loved ones, she added.
She said help was crucial at this stage.
“When depression is left untreated, it can progress to psychotic depression and one will start wandering on the streets. With this age as well, there is room for dementia.”
She said dementia can arise due to chronic illnesses like hypertension and diabetes.
“If he has been drinking a lot of alcohol, it is possible that he may have developed a type of Korsakoff dementia or psychosis,” said Dr Chinoperekwei.
Families that cannot afford to take care of their elderly ones or check them into old people’s homes have left this vulnerable group exposed to the harsh side of life.
Section 70 of the Constitution states that people aged 70 and above have a right to receive reasonable care and assistance from their families and the State.
Mr Totamirepi Tirivavi — deputy director of Family and Social Protection in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare — said Government is making sure that senior citizens are taken care of through several initiatives.
“The Government is doing all it can to cater for elderly people in Zimbabwe. Actually, in terms of the Older Persons Act, anyone above the age of 65 is considered an elderly person and is entitled to some of the benefits from the Government. We prioritise households with elderly persons when we do food mitigation programmes and urban cash crop cereal programmes,” said Mr Tirivavi.
A harmonised cash transfer, he said, is also available, with public assistance and sustainable livelihoods programmes conducted in the communities, under which they receive money.
“In Zimbabwe, we have a total of 40 registered old people’s homes. Currently, the Government is supporting 33 institutions with payment of per capita grants and we hope that soon, we will also take on board those which are privately owned. We really know it is not easy to run these institutions and there will be need for Government to cushion them,” he added.
For homeless elderly people or the lonely, Mr Tirivavi said the Government does assessments on the individual in question and offers appropriate assistance.
