Maputo grandmother celebrates 111th birthday with family and friends

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Maputo grandmother celebrates 111th birthday with family and friends

3:00 CAT | 19 Jul 2016

O País / Muthiasse Valoi was born on 1905, July 16, in Chibuto, Gaza province

With average Mozambican life expectancy only 57 years, any birthday above that is cause for celebration. But Muthiasse Valoi, who turned 111 last Friday, has almost doubled it.

Muthiasse was born on July 16, 1905, in Chibuto, Gaza province, 111 years ago. Muthiasse being too tired for small talk, her 81-year-old son Alfredo Cuinica revealed the secret of her longevity to daily “O País”. “To live long, avoid addiction to alcohol and other drugs. It is not good,” he warned.

With experience crossing generations, grandma Muthiasse has accumulated more than a century’s-worth of glories and sorrows. One is the departure of her husband to South Africa in long-gone 1940, of whom no further news has been heard to this day. Hope that her husband would return faded over time, so that neither Muthiasse nor the children believe he is still alive. “If he is still alive, he will appear, but I doubt it,” said her tearful son.

But this was not the last bitter experience in Muthiasse’s life. In 1988, the civil war forced her to depart the land where she was born and bred, fleeing into Maputo.

These are landmarks that have marked Grandma Muthiasse’s long life. Among her family, she is thought of as a library, a rich compendium of stories that tell not only of a people, but of the life experiences that have inspired generations.

Fifty-year-old Helena Cuco, Muthiasse’s baptismal goddaughter, says she learned patience from Grandma Muthiasse. “I learned a lot about life from her,” she says.

Muthiasse Valoi bore five children, the oldest 84 years old and the youngest 66. She has 102 grandchildren, 78 great-grandchildren and 26 great-great-grandchildren, many of whom were presented last Saturday in Maputo province to help her celebration her birthday.

Among the myriad felicitations, just one, from one of her great-great-grandchilden. “Congratulations, Grandma Muthiasse! I just wish her health, and want to say I love her very much,” the youngster said.

Source: O País