The Sunday Mail
Tendai Manzvanzvike Divine Appoitnments
HER national identity card says she was born in the Buhera District in Manicaland Province on March 5, 1923. But, Mbuya (Gogo) Ndakadyeyi Madziturira (née Mutepfe) does not look 93. Last week, her family, led by her only son, Pastor Joshua Madziturira, who is the Director of International Conferences with Zaoga FIF, held a belated birthday bash for her at their rural home in the Chinhenga resettlement area, under Chief Cyprian Marowa in Rusape. The family looked at Biblical characters that honoured their parents.
Tendai Manzvanzvike ((TM), spoke with Mbuya Madziturira (MM) on the eve of the birthday celebrations, and how she felt as her family glorified God through her long life and what she does to stay fit and in such great shape.
TM: You must be the envy of a lot of people. People must surely be asking you how you raised your children, especially your son who will celebrate your long life at such a time as this – drought and economic challenges.
MM: Indeed munhu waMwari they do, and they also tell me how fortunate I am to have a son and daughter-in-law who care about me this much. All my children and grandchildren in fact. But I tell them that these are children whom I raised under very challenging conditions – abject poverty. I used to tell my son not to get involved in wayard things. l would say to him usadaro mwananguwe-e, desist from that my child. My thinking was that if he got into trouble, what would I do, since we were such a poor family? When he was going to school, I also advised him to avoid getting himself into trouble. There was a time when he went to herd cattle for a certain family, to earn a living, and I advised him to behave himself. Sometimes, he came to tell me that he hadn’t been paid. I would still tell him not to worry, and not to pursue the matter. At one point he was called by a certain family to remove stumps from their field, and I told him that even if they did not pay him, he should not worry, for God knows.
TM: People might wonder why because you needed that little money he was working for?
MM: Yes, but that motherly advice paid off. Looking back now, I realise that God heard my prayers. He is now married to a woman whose mother looks like she also raised her the way I raised him. She is a wonderful woman. I have nothing against her munhu waMwari. These children are taking care of me very well. I never dreamt that I would one day sit on a sofa like this. As the children were growing up, we slept on the floor. When there was drought, and Buhera was like that, we would get piece-meal jobs in other people’s fields. The pastor then was too young to work in the fields, but the other children when their father was still alive could.
TM: When did you get married, and how many children do you have?
MM: Ah, when it comes to dates, I don’t know. I never went to school. But, I had eleven children – six are still alive and five passed on. The pastor is the only boy I have now. As for marriage, I was given away in marriage as a young girl (kuputsirwa/kuzvarirwa). T
TM: Why?
MM: Poverty! My father said the family could not starve when he had a young daughter, so I was given away to a man who could help the family with food.
TM: Do you know how old you were then?
MM: No, because I don’t even know my date of birth! So I won’t lie to you, because if people want proof, I won’t be able to produce it. Since I had been married off, it was no longer possible for me to go to school. But as for my children, I had to do piece-meal jobs to send them to school.
TM: Your son is a pastor. Does it mean that you came from a family of Christian believers?
MM: I fellowshipped in the Johanne Marange Apostolic church, and had all my children while I was still a member of that church.
TM: Was your husband also a believer?
MM: He was not, although he allowed me to go to church. But he was a member of a sect called Chibarirwe, which allowed people to drink, smoke and worship ancestral spirits. At one point, we joined him, but he later said he did not want to force me into his beliefs so I could go back to my church if I wanted to.
TM: And how did you leave Johanne Marange Apostolic church to join Zaoga?
MM: A preacher called (Abedinico) Gadzikwa came to our area while we were still in Buhera. The children went to his crusades each time he came, and they converted. I stayed on in the Apostolic church, and attended services on Saturdays. Now pastor was going to church on Sundays. My conscience was convicted – for it was not good that I went to church on Saturdays, and he went on Sundays. It created tension, because I would tell him not to work in my field on Saturdays, although he had his own. The problem between us however was that one had the cattle for draught power, while the other had the plough, and we would deny each other the resources because of the prayer days. Eventually, I converted, and became a Zaoga member. This is where I am up to now, and we now worship together with the exception of the girls, who are married, and are members of other churches.
TM: You are actually telling us an important part of your life. As people celebrate your gift of long life, tell us what the plans are for your birthday on August 20. Have they told you what they planned?
MM: You mean the celebrations?
TM: Yes? Tell us what you know about the big day.
MM: There has been a lot of preparation, and all the children and grandchildren have contributed so much. I have seen that most of the foodstuff has already been put together, the cake included.
TM: Have they invited other people – non-family members?
MM: Ah, hundreds of people are coming; some from as far as Harare, Masvingo and Gokwe – believers and non-believers alike. (Pastor says about 800 people, including church leaders, members of other churches and schools had been invited. The Air Force band would provide entertainment.) I will be taken to spend the night at a hotel in Rusape, chokwadi munhu waMwari!
TM: What does this mean to you?
MM: It never occurred to me that I would have children who would do such wonderful things for me. I never imagined it, and neither did I know that I would have grandchildren, but now my children have their own children. Thus, I am filled with so much joy. They transformed my life, because when they brought me to Harare two years ago, they built stone houses for me in the village. No more grass thatching. They built me a beautiful home, and if you come to Chinhenga, you will agree with me. But, I can’t wait for the big day, because I am so happy.
TM: If you are given an opportunity to speak, what will you tell the guests?
MM: I will say Amen! Today I am very happy about this gathering where my children saw it fit to remember me and the long life that God has given me. I am very grateful, and would also want to thank you all for coming to be part of the celebrations. I also thank God for the children he blessed me with, children who realised the importance of honouring their mother. I struggled to raise them after their father died in 1970. So this can only be the hand of God working through them. What they have done is historic, because it’s my first time to be honoured like this. God has always been with me. When we moved from Buhera to Chinhenga, I was allocated this piece of land (five hectares). I say, thus far God has taken me with this life span. I never knew I could live this long and still be strong and fit. But, I see that all this is God’s doing. (She ululates, joy unspeakable written all over her glowing face.)
TM: So, it’s true that God is good all the time?
MM: Indeed Mwari wakanaka munhu waMwari! This has also proved the importance of a prayerful life. I tell myself that if I had led a worldly life, I would probably never have lived this long. But I always turned to God to guide me and my children.
TM: Are there people who have followed your path of living a Christian life?
MM: This party will be a test case for many, and I hope they will copy it.
TM: What are your final remarks, to young people especially, whose life expectancy is diminishing?
MM: They must realise that alcohol and all those things they take incapacitates them from being disciplined and being responsible. If I took alcohol, do you think I would still be alive? People must go to church. This is what I tell my grandchildren – to live prayerful lives.
TM: Mbuya, thank you for your time and wise words.
MM: (Ululates and sings): Kubata kwenyu kunoshamisa Jehovha/Nokuti muri mutsvene!
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