Gogo’s life changes for the better
AN 82 year-old woman in the Modjadjiskloof area would soon eat pasta instead of pap after an MEC decided to open her heart and her wallet to change the gogo's life for the better.
Alex Matlala
LIMPOPO – AN 82 year-old woman in the Modjadjiskloof area would soon eat pasta instead of pap after an MEC decided to open her heart and her wallet to change the gogo’s life for the better.
The MEC for cooperative governance, housing and traditional affairs (Coghsta), Makoma Makhurupetsa, did not only add value to the gogo’s life, but also put a roof over her head.
According to Makhurupetsa, the gogo, Florina Morongwa Ramalekana of Sekgosese gaMamaila outside Modjadjiskloof, lived in a dilapidated mud house. Ramalekana is the mother of the late freedom fighter and former leader of Umkonto we Sizwe (MK) in Angola. He was shot and killed in 1990 by police in gaMaphalle village during a scuffle after police suspected he was harbouring ATM bombs.
“Following the protracted torrential rains that fell in the area, Ramalekana had to move from one neighbour to another when the leaking roof of her house became a river.
“Because some of us are able to change trash into treasure, I remember the proverb ‘It takes two parents to give birth to a child, but the whole community to raise the same child’,” says Makhurupetsa who too was born and raised in Bolobedu just outside Tzaneen.
“Out of the goodwill of the Heavenly Father, our pleas fell on the right ears and we managed to build the gogo a house worth nearly R100 000. The house comprises a kitchen, two bedrooms, a dining room and a bathroom fitted with a toilet. We will further furnish the house and officially hand the house over to the gogo on 28 July.”
Speaking to CV on Monday, Ramalekana was overwhelmed by joy.
“Thanks to Makhurupetsa and her team for giving me a reason to be alive. If I die today, I will die peacefully and join my ancestors with dignity because the blood and tears of my son had not been in vain. His fight for freedom has not gone unnoticed. I will forever be grateful to him because this house will not only be a roof over my head while I am still alive, but it will give shelter to my grandchildren and great-grandchildren for years to come,” she said with a smile.
