The unsung heroes of Chitungwiza

By Prince Njagu

Old and frail women in the dormitory town of Chitungwiza have joined exertions through the fruit and vegetable selling cooperative in attempts to evade the strenuous effects of a crumbling economy.

The elderly women have single handedly endured the trials and tribulations of a fast dwindling economy; were they scrape for a living from monthly earnings of less than USD$50 which they make from the sale of fruit and vegetables.

The gogo’s who are too frail to support the weight of their bodies have engaged in the fruit and vegetable selling venture as a way to make ends meet.

As was indicated by David Phiri, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) sub-regional coordinator for Southern Africa and Zimbabwe; the elderly make a substantial contribution towards household food production and are burdened by the responsibilities of looking after families as the energetic youths are migrating to neighboring countries in search for greener pastures.

“Back in the days when I was still energetic; the economy was stable and I could stomach my daily needs single handedly; but now with my withered body and the continued economic sag I can barely feed my body but I have to sell vegetables so that I can feed my two grandchildren; their parents went to Zambia and it has been three years without a word from them,” said Gogo Silvia Matarutse.

Gogo Matarutse narrates how she and a group of elderly woman in the St Marys slum community have joined efforts to scavenge for a living from the fruit and vegetable selling business at ‘Chigovanyika’ shops.

The woman in her late 60s recounts how they used to go and seek part-time employment at the then booming industrial sites in the ‘Koni’ industrial area during the 1990s.

Sickness and old age has seen her frail legs failing to support her enormous body but she has to push and see herself through.

“I suffer from diabetes; but I cannot seek treatment since I have no medical cover and the little that I earn from the sale of the vegetables cannot cover for the medical expenses, “said one Gogo Patience Chimwendo.

The elderly women in this slum community are still a force to reckon and they depict the challenges being faced by the vast number of old women in Zimbabwe.

Though life has not been so kind on the elderly women, the ‘gogos’ have endured the pains of a painful motherhood and are still suffering even at old age.

“My husband left me immediately after the birth of our second child; I single handedly raised my children; sent them to school, clothed and fed them; but fate was not smiling on me, my children didn’t do so well in their studies and when they left to seek employment in South Africa in 2009 they have not returned home.

“At this age I am now burdened with the responsibility of looking after my grandchildren since we haven’t heard from their parents in a while now,” said Gogo Chimwendo.

According to Gogo Matarutse they used to get food aid on a monthly basis from USAIDS but the donations have stopped trickling in.

“This has been the scenario in the country in recent years; donors are pulling out their funding and are urging the people of Zimbabwe to act towards addressing the political situation in the country,” said an anonymous source at UNICEF.

Michelle Chifamba, a women activist said, “Patriarchy and traditional beliefs play a fundamental role in as far as the current predicament old women in the country and the legal frameworks do not effectively provide protection for women”.

Everyone in the community has a role to play towards the up-keep of the old; women in particular, as they are the custodians of our tradition and they bind families together by carrying the burden of nurturing families left behind by the youth who go to neighbouring countries seeking employment.

As stated in the constitution of Zimbabwe; people over the age of seventy years have the right— to receive reasonable care and assistance from their families and the State; to receive health care and medical assistance from the State; and to receive financial support by way of social security and welfare; so as to achieve the progressive realization of this right.

So it is the duty of the State and its citizenry to see towards the welfare of the elderly.