Centenarian Fastania Mashigo with her daughter Meseriya Mashigo, grandson Thabo Mashigo, granddaughter Audrey Mashigo and great granddaughter Phenyo Mashigo in their Soshanguve home. Picture: Jacques Naude/African News Agency (ANA)
Pretoria - Turning 100 is rare, and deserves special recognition.
These are the sentiments of the family of Soshanguve’s Fastania Mashigo, who yesterday reached this milestone.
Born and raised in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, Mashigo moved to Soshanguve in 1996 to start a new life with her three children.
She said her secret to longevity was working hard and always maintaining a healthy diet, such as eating a lot of greens, such as spinach (morogo), unprocessed mealies and sugar beans. In addition to always being active, this has added to her longevity.
“I started working at a young age, because during our time we did not have access to proper education, especially if your parents were not working. That shaped me to become who I am today because I never depended on anyone in my life; I became independent at a young age,” she said.
Mashigo said she moved from Bushbuckridge in 1996 in search of a better life. She first settled in Bronkhorstspruit, where she lived for a while before making her way to Winterveld and then Soshanguve.
“I always liked farming growing up, so I continued to farm when I moved to Soshanguve and that is how I made a living,” Mashigo said.
She had cows, goats and chickens, which she sold and also slaughtered, and in that way never experienced poverty and was able to raise her children comfortably.
“One thing I liked was that my children always had food to carry when going to school, and they all managed to finish their schooling,” Mashigo proudly added.
She emphasised that life was easy back then, because one could make a living by farming, but things had changed and the world had become scary.
Even though old, Mashigo said she still enjoyed keeping her brain active by reading church books and going to church and interacting with others.
She said she had experienced many challenges, among them health problems, financial problems, dealing with loss, and loss of sight.
“I was once hit by lightning and my right leg was broken, forcing me to use crutches. It was a painful time in my life but I pushed on hard and attended all hospital sessions until I recovered,” Mashigo said.
She said that when her son died it was “a pain I will never forget in my life”.
Mashigo said once she lost her sight, life took a bad turn. However, she remained grateful that all the medication and operations performed on her helped her regain her sight.
Mashigo is left with two of her three children, and has two grandchildren as well as one great grandchild, for which she feels blessed.
“It is not easy to live this long, especially right now, but having to raise my grandchildren is the best thing ever. I would like to advise people out there to take care of themselves and exercise more, and eat vegetables because they are a source of life,” she said.
Pretoria News
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