Gogo a champion to all
"My aim is to give them unconditional love. Their needs are catered for as we also provide them with food every day, excluding weekends".
KABOKWENI – Nursing was Gogo Charlotte Mtetwa’s calling. This was proven in 1994 when she retired from Themba Hospital and became the mother of her community.
Mtetwa didn’t believe that when you were old, you should stay at home and enjoy life.
Instead she decided to share the little she had with needy people and established a home-based care centre called Phaphamani, encouraging the community to stand up against the imminent spread of HIV/Aids.
“I was offered an opportunity to go to Israel by my church to participate in HIV/Aids programmes. With the experience and knowledge that I had gained, I decided to retire and spend my time taking care of needy people in my community,” explained Mtetwa.
She added that looking after disadvan-taged children would erase the word “street kids” as some of the people ended up living in the streets because they couldn’t cope with the situation at home.
“My aim is to give them unconditional love. Their needs are catered for as we also provide them with food every day, excluding weekends.
“I was touched when I heard that a certain elderly person went to bed with nothing to eat. That is why the centre not only focuses on children, we also cater for elderly people who can’t cope for themselves. We have TB patients who we visit daily to make sure that they eat and take their medication,” she said.
Mpumalanga News learnt that Mtetwa was not only only dependent on donations by local business, but had established a garden where she grew vegetables for people and also to sell to the community to raise funds for the centre.
“When you are a woman, don’t rest on your laurels, but do something worthwhile because whatever little you do makes a difference in someone’s life,” she concluded.
