Come across a woman who has lived longer

Living a long life is a dream that many people wish and pray for, but fail to attain. It simply disappears into thin air like mist. And though many people believe that living across generations is a result of fate, others are of the view that it is God granted, while some pin their hopes on a better lifestyle. In search for answers, the ‘Sunday News’ crew drove all the way to Mbezi Temboni, in the outskirts of Dar es Salaam City centre where they landed at the door of one Miriam Kapinga. Upon knocking at the door and while expecting to be greeted by someone who has what the Swahili say, “has eaten a lot of salt,” the team was greeted by an averagely aged woman, who is dark in complexion. A brief moment of silence gripped the place before the smiling woman, the crew later identified as the 69 year-old Miriam, said, ‘Karibu’ while motioning for the ‘Sunday News’ team to get in. After removing shoes as is the tradition in most homes in Dar es Salaam, the team entered the neatly arranged and decorated sitting room. In that room, was an old lady who was peacefully seated on one of the sofas and upon seeing her, optimism gripped the team as evidence of the existence of long life in humans was right in front of them. What baffled the crew’s minds was that the lady was holding a litre of drinking water; she was slowly sipping to show that she had all the time in the world. Ms Miriam, however, since she knew the crew’s purpose of the visit, quickly introduces the lady to TSN staff saying, “This is my mom, she is called Antonia Komba. ” After brief introductions, the seemingly jovial Antonia smiled, some- thing that made some wrinkles on her face to temporarily disappear. Though the wrinkles are a clear evidence of her age, she is still fit and her eyes are perfect to the extent that she does not use spectacles. It did not take long before the ‘Sunday News’ learnt that Ms Komba had, last week, celebrated 100 years of baptism. Her daughter, Miriam, elaborates that though Bibi Antonio’s actual age is not known, since there was no official document that indicates her birthday, she is definitely above 100 years old as the family estimated her age basing on the time she was baptised at Matembo in Mbinga District of Ruvuma Region, when she was a girl of not less than 10 years old. As if to confirm it, Bibi Antonia insists, “This is not my birthday. I have celebrated 100 years since I was baptised. And I was baptised while I was a girl,” she said. According to a Roman Church document in their possession, the widowed Bibi Antonio was baptised on the 12th of March, 1918, hence on Monday, last week, she celebrated a century of Christian life, at Mavurunza Catholic Church in Dar es Salaam. But her face suddenly changed when she recalled that she misses her beloved husband, Galus Kapinga who passed away in 1981, at the age of 89. 

The list also includes her relatives and friends who died some years ago and the mother of nine including Miriam says, “For real this is God’s love to me. I trust him from the time I was baptised. I can tell you that if you want to live longer, just be faithful to your God.” She is what she eats Besides pointing out the spiritual factor as a contributing factor to her long life, the grandmother of more than 30 grandchildren attributed it to the kind of foods she eats. “I don’t drink soda or any other industrial made drinks. Also, I don’t eat red meat; I take only fish and chicken and I make sure that I drink not less than three litres of water every day,” the woman says. Furthermore, Bibi Antonio says, she don’t drink tea in the morning and instead, she takes porridge while her favourite food is ‘ugali’ and vegetables. She said when she got pregnant for the first time, she was a regular sickling and headaches were a major problem to her and the reasons behind the sicknesses were never established since health services during the colonial era were poor. “I didn’t think that I would attain this age. After a long time of suffering, it was later diagnosed that I had high blood pressure,” she added. From there onwards, she narrates, I didn’t take red meat and industrial drinks and her family grew in that manner. She advises married couples to avoid adulterous lives since it is a factor that brings various diseases into the family, causing death to young people in the country. Miriam, 69, a retired teacher, described her mother as a disciplined and hardworking woman, who managed to raise her family even after the demise of her husband, nearly 40 years ago. Despite her age, Bibi Antonia’s daughter adds, “She wakes up at 6am and pray to God, before taking a bath and sometimes prepare her porridge. She also cleans environment and can walk to church. She is really active,” Miriam says. Explaining Antonia’s life, the Dar es Salaam’s Roman Catholic Mavurunza Parish Priest, Fr Xavery Kassage, said that the old lady is a committed Christian who adheres to God’s commandments, a factor that has contributed to her happier life. Nyerere loved us Antonia’s husband worked with the Germany and British governments, but later turned to be first President of the then Tanganyika, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere’s friend due to his hardworking, explains the old woman. She says her family coffee farm in Mbinga was a role model to other farmers, something that pushed Mwalimu to visit the family twice