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As at February 5 2011 there are seven recorded super centenarians in the world, with oldest being Besse Cooper, an American woman aged 114 years. But Ambuya Maribha Ndoro of Mkoba Village 14 high-density suburb, whose first born child was born in 1921, could prove to be older than Cooper.
According to her national identity card, Ambuya Ndoro was born in 1912, but the geriatric insists she was born before that, having witnessed some incidents that happened as far back as the early 1900s.

If her ID card was accurate, Ambuya Ndoro would have been nine years old when she had her first child. Rough calculations by our correspondent put her age at about 115, a year older than Cooper.
According to Ambuya Ndoro, she only settled for that date of birth because she did not know when exactly she was born. We caught up with Ambuya Ndoro at her last born daughter’s home in Mkoba Village 14 on Friday last week and she shared some of her experiences which date back as far as 1905, a sign that she might be older than what is stated on her national identity card.

According to Ambuya Ndoro, she witnessed the commissioning of Vungwi Primary School in Shurugwi district. The school was commissioned in 1905 and by then Ambuya Ndoro says she had attained school-going age. The date of the commissioning of the school was cross-checked with records at the Ministry of Education, Arts, Sports and Culture. Ambuya Ndoro said although she did not get a chance to attend school at Vungwi, her age-mates had already started going to school at the time the primary school was commissioned.
“Ndakachiona chikoro cheVungwi chichivhurwa ndatova chisikana chatoti kurei. Vamwe vangu vanga votoinda kuchikoro panguva iyoyo.” (I witnessed the commissioning of Vungwi Primary School when I was already a girl of school-going age. Some of my age-mates were already attending school at that time,”) said Ambuya Ndoro, who failed to attend school because her family had moved to Tugwi area in Shurugwi, which is far from where the school was.

Considering that back then people used to go to school late, estimations show that Ambuya Ndoro could at least have been 10 years old when Vungwi Primary School was commissioned.
To further vindicate Ambuya Ndoro’s story, the geriatric says she got married in 1920 and had her first born daughter in 1921, while the last born of her five children was born in 1953.
Her first born daughter, Elizerbeth Marira (90), stays in Gokwe’s Manoti area, while her last born, Nelly Marira, is staying with her in Mkoba.

Her other three children are late. Ambuya Ndoro also claims to have witnessed the infamous influenza and smallpox outbreaks of the mid-1900s. She also claims to have witnessed the recruitment of soldiers from the country for the First World War in the period between 1914 and 1918 and at that time she was already a full-grown woman ready for marriage.

She also has problems with her legs and spends most of the day seated as she can no longer walk unaided. Ambuya Ndoro appealed to well-wishers to help her with medication for the ailments she is suffering from. When asked the secret to her longevity, Ambuya Ndoro said her diet has helped her to maintain a healthy and long life. She said the use of natural remedies to treat illnesses also ensured that she lived longer.

“Takakura tichidya zvikafu zvatairima. Sugar ndakatanga kuidya ndatova nevana vangu, taingodya michero yemusango. Tikarwara tairapwa neruredzo chairwo.” (We grew up eating the crops that we grew. I only started eating foods such as sugar when I was already married and had my children. We used to eat wild berries. When we fell sick we used natural remedies to cure ourselves),” Ambuya Ndoro said.
Sadly for Ambuya Ndoro, she may fail to be recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as a super centenarian as she might not meet the requirements of gerontology specialists.
A person is considered a super centenarian if he or she is 110 years or more old, supported by three documents submitted in a standard process and has been validated by an international body of gerontology.
The oldest verified person ever was Jean Ailment, a French woman who died in 1997 at the age of 122 years and 164 days.-Sunday News