Imagine turning 102 years old and still being able to contribute to South Africa’s 20 years of democracy.
Honeydew resident Kate Cloete celebrated her 102nd birthday and cast a significant vote on 7 May.
Cloete lived before, during and after the Apartheid era and told her descendants about how South Africa has changed from a grey, separated country to a rainbow nation where everyone has equal rights and the opportunity to freely cast their vote.
Although Cloete is unable to speak due to illness, she got up on voting day and exercised her democratic right.
Cloete was born on 1912 just outside Cape Town on a farm where her father used to work.
Her granddaughter Margaret Schoeman told Roodepoort Northsider about how her grandmother used to live on the farm.
“Back then there was no electricity, there were no taps with running water, and people had to live without these luxuries that we regard as necessities. My grandmother always told us how she had to walk down to the dam to get water and her mother taught her how to make her clothes.”
When Cloete turned 17 years old, she married Robert Cloete and moved to the outskirts of the former Transvaal.
Schoeman further explained that her grandfather, who is now deceased, used to help people out in Johannesburg by fixing whatever needed repairing.
“He was a handyman and he looked after my grandmother while she raised her children. She was always home looking after the children and it was customary to woman in those days to stay home and look after the children and maintain the household.”
She explained that Cloete’s husband passed away in a motor accident when she was only 30-years-old.
“This is when her life changed as she had to look after herself. She was not a skilled woman, but she used her knitting skills and started to make dresses for weddings, and she also repaired people’s clothes that had seen better days.”
Cloete was always keen on standing up for what she believes in and according to Schoeman, she still watches the news every night after 7de Laan and is clued up with what is happening in the world around her.
“When it was time to register for voting, she was adamant to register and make her voice heard. We had to load her into our van with her wheelchair and take her to go and register at our closest voting station at Boskop Primary.”
Schoeman spoke about how her grandmother was fidgety on voting day and was eager to get to the voting station on time.
“We arrived at the station at about 8am and did not even have to wait in a line as the officials took us through to the voting booths. It took us about 15 minutes to complete the process, and my grandmother was shining after she had voted and could not stop smiling.
Schoeman said she could see the pride in her mother’s eyes.
