…an Independence Day Special (Psalm 90:10, NKJV)
The days of our lives are seventy years; And if by reason of strength they are eighty years, Yet their boast is only labour and sorrow; For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
Mochudi native, Ruth Mateke Ratsatsi, is on the farthest side of the grace years alluded to in the above scripture.
Voice Woman learnt of the centenarian when Canada-based Bonnie Ratsatsi – my former schoolmate – shared pictures of her gran’s hundred and sixth birthday celebration in March.
Yours Truly then arranged to celebrate the senior, possibly oldest living citizen, for this Independence Day special (Apparently, in the UK, the monarch sends congratulations card greetings to citizens on their 100th birthday, I learn this from my travelling companion, Dr Keiphe Setlhatlhanyo, who recently graduated with a PhD from Leeds University…ahem, wish our government were as thoughtful!).
We arrive to find the centenarian all spruced up, looking upbeat in a formal two-piece and matching hat. Her daughter, 70-year-old Povy Motlatsi Mekgwe, who’s surely inherited her mum’s good genes as she herself looks a decade younger, offers us a drink before disappearing back into the kitchen.
As we exchange pleasantries, Mma Ratsatsi’s 3-year-old great-grandson plays happily nearby. For 106-year-old granny, living this long has been both a privilege and a pain.
This mother-of-6 daughters, 4 of whom she has outlived, was born in… “1-9-1-8,” she spells it out slowly, as if to make certain I heard her clearly.
It takes me by surprise how alert and relatively healthy she is; I had not expected her memory to be this sharp. Born to Mogotsi and Maselwana Tsheole, Ratsatsi says she began school pretty late, “At 8 years old, at Molapong.
We were taught by older women like Mme Mma Wacha, learning traditional skills like go iteela ha hatshe and go kgapha (mud hut construction skills).
We also learnt Setswana spelling then read books such as Meleso.
“Later, we were introduced to the English language. After Molapong, I then proceeded to National School and passed Form 3 then applied for a nursing course in Pretoria as my elder sister worked in Johannesburg at the time,” she explains, adding that unfortunately she traced her steps back home shortly thereafter as she wasn’t accepted.
“I then got a temporary job teaching Form 1 classes at my alma mater, eventually returning to my first love, sewing.”
Indeed, a sought-after seamstress, farmer, and skilful singer, the cheery centenarian shares her earliest memories, her fragile voice feeble and faltering.
“I was a chorister in a choir named Highlanders,” she recounts, and breaks into song, ‘Morena o a nthekolola’…“Once, a fellow worshipper expressed her wish to inherit my voice when I depart this life, and I asked how that was possible,” she remembers with a slight chuckle, and continues…
“We travelled far and wide, led by Greg Ruele, who organised choir competitions as far as Otse, Lobatse, Kanye and Mahalapye, singing a song titled ‘Sobalandela’ or ‘I Want to Drink Some Water’. All of them are gone: Sebaleng, Muckberry and Mary Kopong, were some of my closest friends in the choir.”
Having lived a life that’s stretched longer than most means she’s endured the wear and tear of life; her milky, way worn eyes lost sight a few years ago and, despite wrinkles typical of senescence, she doesn’t look a day older than 90.
She says she is a tad bit unsteady on her feet, however, so much so that she has not attended church in a while.
“Which is not a problem as the church does come to me occasionally,” adds the devout Dutch Reformed Church member baptised in 1932.
Ratsatsi lost her husband in 1974 and admits she cannot quite recall the exact year they were joined in holy matrimony.
“It’s hard to remember because it was uncommon to keep track of times/years in rural Botswana in those days; we only tied dates to seasons and major events.
I learnt to be independent, working day and night at the machine to provide for my children.
I’d learnt from observing my mother, who herself was a distinguished tailor, well-respected for making beautiful wedding gowns.
I was fascinated with flower prints, which inspired me to cut out certain patterns.
I’d go on to design school uniforms for Molefhi Secondary School – under the tutelage of one Mrs Muller, a Caucasian woman who taught me needlework in school – the school has kept the pattern to date.
Molefhi Secondary, led by Principal Maine, former late Ombudsman, Lethebe Maine’s father, commissioned me to design the uniforms for 6 full years.
Mr Maine entrusted me with the responsibility of selecting the fabric and colour of the uniform.
That was circa 1968 if my memory serves me well.
The school would bring students for measurements in groups of 10 until I had taken measurements of all pupils,” she explains, adding she went on to make tracksuits for Lesedi Primary and Moselewapula Junior Schools in Gaborone until retirement, with the assistance of government scheme, FAP, which enabled her to cast the net wider to include men’s short-sleeved shirts.
Ratsatsi credits her longevity to obeying the Word of God and counting her blessings, advising Batswana to follow the Ten Commandments, “Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you”.
I believe I have been blessed with a good life: a beautiful marriage, loving children and lots of grandchildren.
I was partly raised by my nana thus inherited her ploughing field.
I had 5 siblings; I used to miss them greatly, but not anymore, the last one passed 18 years back.
In March next year, I’ll be 107, maybe I’ll be a supercentenarian!
It’s all God’s will.
Though I feel aches and pains every so often, which is normal for my age, I am fairly healthy.
Though I’m blind, I have no problem finding my way around,” she says proudly.
Finding great joy in reminiscing about pre-independence Botswana, Mma Ratsatsi says life was blissful, “We enjoyed a fulfilling subsistence lifestyle; which was way better than today’s modern life.
In those days, I’d hire ploughing beasts for 25t a hectare.
Government would later assist; we would in turn sell our harvest back to the government through the Marketing Board at P12 a sack of sorghum; that was a lot of money!”
Indeed, a delightful time as she smiles at the memory, well, until I ask for her opinion on the 58th anniversary of the country’s independence, and the upcoming elections.
Her countenance changing for the first time as she shares her misgivings, “I was a proud democrat but the democratic party is not what it used to be.
The first 3 presidents led satisfactorily.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Ian Khama and Masisi; they’ve destroyed the legacy of our beloved country.
Currently, the state of our democracy leaves a lot to be desired; presidents are now above the law, the law applies to us not them!”