Local gogo honoured for remarkable 100th birthday

An auspicious banquet marked the occasion to celebrate the centenarian of Alina Hlabatau who recently reached the remarkable age of 100 over the weekend.

The soft spoken elderly lady who was born on January 24, 1924 showed everyone present that she was still young in spirit as she joined in song and celebrations.

“It is a happy day. The lord has blessed and I thank him for his grace to be at this age, the Lord has loved me happily.

“My children gave me this blanket and I feel a sense of strength,” an elated Hlabatau told Urban News.

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She said it was the teachings of God that granted her a long life.

“It is the teaching of God and abiding in him. I also pray for myself, and the children and ask God to give us his strength and wisdom. These are the same teachings that I passed on to my children and grandchildren.”

Hlabatau who hails from Lesotho resided in Alexander with her late husband and children before the family relocated to Meadowlands during the 50s.

Despite being frail and fragile, she is still able to take care of herself and do basic uptaking around the house.

One of her five surviving children, Elizabeth, who could not hold back her tears paid homage to her mother, thanking her for the role she plays. She said she was proud and joyful to see her mother reach a milestone.

“Looking after her has been a blessing. I have given my years to care for her and I do it with ease and love because she is not a difficult person.

“We have a lot of conversations together and many of those I hold dearly. She is still strong and is not on any life threatening medications, we hope the lord will keep her for more years,” she shared.

The St Martin DePoress Catholic Church led the monumental occasion with a blessing ceremony. She has been a dedicated member of the Orlando West branch since childhood.

Hlabatau’s daughter, Belina said her mother has been a God fearing woman who loved the Bible and being in church.

“The biggest wish of our mother was to be in the house of the lord for the last time and wear her beloved purple church regalia and have the pastors bless her.

“She has been saying that she is tired and can feel that she is ready to depart from this world, we are glad we were able to grant her that wish.”

The family celebrated the matriarch for being the pillar of the family and the church and further lauded her as a woman of great humility, respect and integrity.

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“She has always preached about respect and instilled values that we have passed on to our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

That is why we wanted to do this while she is still here with us and can see it with her own eyes.

“She raised us under extreme conditions, when we didn’t have food she would work across to the open veld and pick out wild leaves so we could not go to bed hungry,” David Hlabatau recalled.