Despite being 70 years old, a local car guard and domestic worker has vowed to continue working and had no plans to retire.
Juliet Mmakola drew a proverbial line in the sand saying she would not retire as she was still feeling strong.
“As long as I am strong and healthy, I do not have any reason to retire,” Mmakola told Rekord.
A big deciding factor behind this was her financial situation.
“I have a total of six grandchildren that I have to look after as well as myself. If I stop working we will all go hungry.”
She said out of her four children one passed away and left behind three grandchildren and the others had also children but were not permanently employed.
“My other children do piece jobs here and there making life difficult for us all.”
She said together with her remaining children, they contributed to ensure that the little ones did not go to bed on an empty stomach.
But ultimately, Mmakola said she enjoyed doing the work which she said helped keep her healthy.
“When visiting the clinic for health check-ups, the health professionals tell me to keep my body active to prevent various diseases.”
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She said, since she was a hard worker, it was easier for her to keep working hard in order to keep her body fit.
“I often work as a car guard and only work as a domestic worker two days a week,”
She said she grew up working as a domestic worker and she was proud of her latest job as a car guard.
“The youth should not allow poverty and hunger to determine their future during tough economic times such as now.
“It is important for the youth to come together and come up with solutions for the high unemployment rate and poverty instead of continually abusing alcohol and drugs.”
She said the youth was the future and she had faith in them.
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