One on One with 101 years old Mairos Chitundu Nkomwa
One on One with 101 years old Mairos Chitundu Nkomwa
March 4, 2023
Our News Correspondent Monitor Beloved Ncube, recently met one of Zimbabwe’s oldest man, who is now 101 years. She managed to convince him on the secret to his long living and he unleashed all. Here is what the oldest blessed man said.
My name is Mairos Chitundu Nkomwa, I was born on 22 February 1922 in Mozambique. I am a Christian. I was married to Donoria Mwanza Nkomwa who passed on in year 2005.
Nkomwa is the father that took care of me, Chitundu is my biological father. The secret for long life for all these years is God’s will, I can’t comment much.
God’s grace is upon me and I am thankful. Type of food that I like is zvicherwa zvemusango and the most matamba. Dried wild fruits. I spent my entire life working in farms and mines. Later I relocated and settled in Guruve-kachuta where I spent my entire life to this age. I have been in the care of my children after the death of my wife.
Mapfunde is the first food that I knew. I was blessed with 13 kids my first child was born in 1952. My favourite relative is January Chitundu but he is late now, I liked him because he was my biological brother.
I didn’t go to school because there were no schools by then in Mozambique, we saw schools by the then Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, when we came in Zimbabwe there were only two schools and we were from Mozambique in 1945.
Advice to the youths, kurarama kwako nekuzvichengeta wega upenyu hwako, kuzvibata zvakaipa unowira kumoto, kutya zvakaipa kutya kuwira mugomba and uchararama. Kwete kungowira pese pese kunge ishwa ikaona pane moto pasi yobva yatsva yofirapo
Kuzvibata iwewe pane zvakaipa fanike bhaibheri rinoti usaite chakaipa, akatiudza mwari, kuti cherochakaipa chachisingade mwari usauraye usabe usachiite upombwe. Zvinhu zvitatu izvi, mwari zvine mhiko pamberi pake,
Chechipiri kudza baba vako namai vako vakakubereka, unotuka baba namai ngaafe, mhiko iyoyo and izvozvo ndo zvakatipa kuti tirarame uye kutya chakaipa, kuzvichengeta wega mwari nepaanokubatsira.
Nhasi ndiri ku Gwanda kumba kwa Pick muzukuru wangu mwana wamwanasikana wangu inini, ndakachengetwa na Pick ndiye akati uyayi tigare tese ndikuchengetei sekuru nekuti machembera.
History, Pick mwana akaberekwa akatambudza vanhu, asi ini ndega ndini ndakamuda mwana uyu nekuti uyu mwana chero akamira so inini ndichamuchengeta.
Mwari akandipira simba nekufunga kuti haungarasi mwana arimupenyu nendava yacho iyoyi. Ndikamuchengeta Pick kusvikira akura pa size yekuti aende kuchikoro,ndakataura nababa vake kuti mwana anoda kuenda kuchikoro vakati aah aah imi murikundishupa and Pick aende kuchikoro akanyora bwanji. Imimi ngati mufuna kuti Pick aende kuchikoro muendesei ndimi. Moda kuti mari yanditi ndichiuisa kuti aende kuchikoro muchidya imimi, ndosaka murikuti aende kuchikoro. anononyora sei, izvozvo andidi kuzvinzwa.
Pick akashupika mwana uyu kurwara mezi kusvikira kumakumbo mupaka kumusoro mose. Ini naadzimai tasimbirira chikoro, chipatara dokotera achitiona kufikira Pick wapora and wakwanisa kuti angakwanisa kuenda kuchikoro.
Dokotera akati sekuru mwana uyu ngaeende kuchikoro inini ndikati uyu mwana wamukwasha andingamuendese kuchikoro nekuti baba vake varipo. Akati baba vemwana uyu atisikumuziva isusu tinoziva imimi naadzimai venyu nekuti ndimi vatakaona maiuya kuno namwana uyu kuchipatara tichikubatsirai nemwana uyu pamaronda aanga anawo kusvikira kumakumbo mupaka kumusoro, kusvikira apora.
Then we sat down with my wife and we decided to take the kid to school, then we got assistance for him to go to Jairos Jiri. They said they will help me so that I can take him to Mvurwi. The doctor called Mvurwi and explained our situation, we were asked to come.
We went there and they promised to write a letter to Harare to refer us. They told us to go back home.
Later on, the letter came requesting for us and the requirements for the kid to be enrolled at Jairos Jiri. I told his father and he said that he is not getting involved. I asked him to at least buy a blanket and he said this Jairos Jiri thing was your idea so you will buy the blanket.
I said its fine then I purchased all the requirements. When the time came, the word was sent saying that we are needed at Jairos Jiri.
People threatened that I was going to get arrested for travelling with my son in-law’s child when his father was not there. I said its okay let me be arrested, we then headed to Harare and slept at Waterfalls.
We then came back to Mbare the next morning and I didn’t know where Jairos Jiri was located, I held his hand as we walked asking for directions at Mbare. We got the directions and as we were walking we met a woman who stopped us and asked where I was going with the kid and I said Jairos Jiri.
She encouraged me to take him there for he has a disability but if he gets access to education he was going to take care of me in future. I asked her why she said that and she told me she had a child with a disability whom she took to Jairos Jiri and now she was a tailor taking care of her mother.
Her child was a wheelchair user, “at least yours can walk”, she said. She then gave me $5 to buy my grandson a drink.
Despite the challenges I faced in life, I’m thankful, the rejected stone Pick Nkomwa is now caring for me. I heard he is also looking after other children with disabilities and I say long live to my grandson Pick.
