DESPITE her advanced age, gogo Ketjane Diphofa still feels as strong and healthy as ever.
Gogo Ketjane turned 105 on Tuesday, 10 June, and attributes her longevity to good morals and healthy food such as morogo and home-made maize meal.
Over the next coming weeks, Daily Sun will shine the light on incredible elders SunReaders nominated for our Gogo and Mkhulu of the Year Competition.
The two winners, who stand a chance to win R5 000 and amazing prizes, will be awarded in July 2025.
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They will celebrate their victory with the Daily Sun team during a special Mandela Day event.
These are inspiring men and women who have touched lives, shared wisdom and stood as pillars of strength in their communities.
Gogo Ketjane is an example of strength through adversity.
Born and raised in Mphanama Village, Limpopo, gogo spent her life farming and looking after traditional leaders' livestock.
She's the only surviving child of the late Thebeng and Motulwe Tladi.
At 105, gogo Ketjane is still active and performs daily chores such as collecting wood, making fire and washing dishes.
She doesn't use a walking stick like other gogos her age.
With a large family, including seven children, 30 grandchildren and 41 great-grandchildren, gogo's life has been filled with both love and loss.
She reflected on the painful loss of her husband, Leshaka Diphofa, in 1972, which cut short her desire to have more kids.
She told Daily Sun it was not fashionable then for women to remarry after their husbands died and that's the reason she couldn't have more kids.
She said:
"I wanted to have more kids, seven was not enough. Unfortunately my husband died soon. During our time, it was not fashionable for a woman to remarry. I also didn't see the need to have a new man in my life. So my dream to have more kids was crushed."
Gogo Ketjane remembered her husband as someone who always brought gifts from work, which made her happy.
"He'd buy clothes for me and the kids every time he returned from work. That made me so happy," she said.
Gogo also shared some words of wisdom with young people on how to live a long and healthy life.
She said what keep her strong is pap and morogo, which they ate everyday growing up as there was no money and would buy meat from well-to-do families using bags of maize meal as currency.
"They must stop drinking alcohol like it's water. They must also stop their obsession with money because these two things lead them to kill one other like animals," she said.
One of gogo's grandkids, Malekane Makola, expressed gratitude for her long life.
"We are grateful that she's still around. She's active. If she's not collecting wood, she's washing dishes or taking a walk," he said.
