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Article added on 01 April 2008
Extracts from Bulawayo Newsletter March 08
"Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art."
Eleanor Roosevelt, diplomat and writer (1884-1962)
INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS
As you will remember, 2007 was a very dry year and Bulawayo’s water situation became critical. The city’s water supply virtually dried up making life very difficult for us all. In response to this crisis, Bulawayo Help Network appealed to the British Embassy for help in addressing the needs of the retirement homes and they responded with great generosity.
We call this the Infrastructure Project and invited (Name deleted) to work with the retirement homes on the quotes and implementation of the various projects.
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We are most appreciative of the support from the British Embassy for the retirement homes in Bulawayo.
WHAT A SENIOR CITIZEN IS WORTH
Old folks are worth a fortune with silver in their hair, gold in their teeth, stones in their kidneys, lead in their feet and gas in their stomachs.
FOOD FOR HOMES COMMITTEE
As you will all know, the price slash in June 2007, resulted in massive shortages of basic food and household goods which continues to this day. (Name deleted) wonderfully continues to support many pensioners still living in their own homes with a monthly parcel but it became apparent that the retirement homes were facing severe shortages too. A FOOD FOR HOMES committee was set up under the energetic hand of (Name deleted) and which has already seen a marked improvement in the quality and quantity of food available to the residents. His team has successfully sourced donations and food stuffs for the homes. The Bulawayo Help Network is hugely grateful to this initiative which has so improved the situation.
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OLDER WOMEN
I have become a little older and a few changes have come into my life. In fact I have become a frivolous old gal – am seeing 6 gentlemen every day.
As soon as I wake up Will Power helps me to get out of bed. Then I pop in to see Johnny Loo. Charlie Cramp then arrives and claims a lot of my attention until Arthur Ritis shows up who is usually around all day. He doesn’t like to stay in one place for very long so he takes me from joint to joint.
After such a busy day, I am happy to fall into bed with Johnny Walker.
What a life! Oh Yes! And I’m also fighting with Al Zymer.
P.S. The Minister called the other day and said I should be thinking about the hereafter. “Oh I do,” I replied. “All the time, on my way home, in the parlour, upstairs, in the kitchen, or down in the basement, I keep saying to myself – NOW WHAT AM I HERE AFTER?”
OUR HEROIC PENSIONERS
(Name deleted) "MASTER GARDENER"
(Name deleted) was born in Crete in 1941. He came to Zimbabwe in August 1969 to visit his brother but the country and people won his heart and he decided to stay.
He found a job on the Railways and he worked in Bulawayo for 28 years. In 1979 he was diagnosed with severe spondylitis and he was sent on early retirement with a medical pension.
His pension was not enough to support himself and his family and he found it difficult to get another job, as his English was not good. So he decided to produce vegetables on his 3\4 acre plot. (Name deleted) made a reasonable living this way until 2005 when inflation ravaged the pensioners. His medical pension could not fund his life saving medication and today it doesn’t even buy a loaf of bread.
In spite of everything, he never gave up and continued to grow a great variety of vegetables, including lettuce, beans, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, English cucumbers, carrots, celery, green peppers, brinjals; all of excellent quality.
He manages to grow crops continuously on this small patch of land, using clever methods of rotation and natural fertilizers. Anyone who visits him will never go away empty handed and he refuses payment in cash. And so, because of his generosity, well wishers will pay him in kind, with seed, manure, or chemicals etc. He says one person gave him enough seed to last for five years which he kept in the fridge.
He uses empty milk packets to establish his seedlings and one day I found him sitting in his nursery, having filled his 600th packet with soil. He is always working in his garden and he is never without pain, which at this stage can only be relieved with morphine and cortisone and crutches.
(Name deleted) says that from 2005 onwards, he would not have been able to survive if were not for the assistance he has received from (Name deleted) and the Bulawayo Help Network. He is very grateful to these two organizations.
(Name deleted), we salute you. You are a great example to us all.
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