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Nqobile Tshili in Binga

MORE than 60 years ago, Sister Gladys Mupeta, a young girl at the time, told her parents she wanted to be a nun.

Little did she know that later in her teenage life, she would ultimately realise her childhood dream of becoming a Roman Catholic nun.

Sr Mupeta (67) has been a nun for 49 years after committing herself to celibacy at the age 18 years soon after completing high school.

Her journey after taking the vows of chastity coupled with a passion for service, fired her call to religious life.

In an interview yesterday, Sr Mupeta recalled how she turned down several suitors who sought her hand in marriage.

In some instances, admirers, in their quest to win her heart, went a step further by approaching her father with the hope that he would convince his daughter to change her mind.

Sr Mupeta said she has no regrets for choosing that path in life. But what makes Sr Mupeta even more special is her love for helping others, particularly children among other vulnerable groups.

She is the sister-in-charge of the Roman Catholic run Sunrise Children’s Home in Binga District, an organisation that looks after 15 orphans.

Despite choosing a life of celibacy, the sexagenarian with a heart of gold, is a mother to the neglected children that she is taking care of.

The news crew caught up with Sr Mupeta while she was on her way to taking the children for extra lessons.

“I have rejected so many suitors and I remember one of them even went to an extent of directly approaching my father behind my back so that he could chip in, which is strange in our culture as Zimbabweans,” she said.

Grinning with a twinkle in her eye, Sr Mupeta said her father summoned her and asked her whether she knew the man.

“I told my father that I knew the suitor but I had made up my mind to be a nun, which is why I turned him down. I am 67 years old now, but those features of strikingly beautiful woman are still visible. You can imagine how I looked when I was still young,” she said jokingly.

Sr Mupeta who comes from Gokwe District in the Midlands, said there were also priests and nuns in her family.

“My parents told me that when I was a little girl, my father would ask me what I wanted to be later in life. In my response, they said I indicated that I wanted to be a nun,” she said.

Sr Mupeta said she was inspired by her aunt, who is also a nun.

“She would occasionally visit our home and my uncle was also a priest. My cousin and nephew also decided to become priests and it appears it is a family tradition,” she said.

After completing high school, she secretly told her mother that she wanted to be a nun much to her chagrin.

“Now, I’m 67 and I have never regretted this religious life. By the grace of God, my wish is to live a longer life so that I continue serving my Lord,” said Sr Mupeta.

Turning to her humanitarian call, Sr Mupeta said some of the children that she is looking after address her as mother because of the motherly love that she gives them.

She has over the years developed a strong bond with the minors having started working at the children’s home in 2019.

Sunrise Children’s Home, which was established in 2012, provides shelter to abused, abandoned, or neglected children. The vulnerable children are also trained in life skills such as gardening and poultry.

Sr Mupeta said the Department of Social Welfare is responsible for selecting children to be accommodated at their shelter.

“We don’t just pick these children willy nilly. In fact, we only take the children that would have come through the Department of Social Welfare, which would have done the assessment process,” she said.

The children who are kept at Sunrise Children’s Home are aged between three and 18 years and most of them are orphans while others are abandoned children.

The children are drawn from Matabeleland North province.

“We take care of the children until they reach the age of 18 years. Most of them come from Binga while others come from selected districts that include Nkayi, Lupane and Hwange districts. At the moment we have 15 children,” said Sr Mupeta.

She said the children are taught family values of ubuntu and they also make sure  that they are constantly in touch with their relatives back home so that they don’t forget their roots.

Sr Mupeta said water challenge is affecting their gardening projects and they are appealing for an additional bulk water tank.

The children are also taken for extra lessons so that they can catch up with their peers.

“We take our children for extra lessons given that they are from different backgrounds,” said Sr Mupeta.

She said one of the children was placed in a special class but when she took him for extra lessons, his performance improved tremendously.–@nqotshili