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Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Chronicle Reporter

JUST when she thought her baby minding days were over, Gogo Nelly Mazhe (65) has to look after her three-month-old great grandson while her granddaughter who is doing Advanced Level attends school.

She has to feed the baby, bathe it, put it to sleep and all other duties carried out by a mother of a new born baby, except breastfeeding.

Sometimes she has to take her three-month-old great grandson with her to her work station at water kiosk in Spitzkop North Extension in Gwanda.

She also takes her great grandson with her to conduct piece jobs to fend for her family.

This is not the only responsibility that she has as she also has to look after three other great grandchildren who are in primary school.

The task might seem like an uphill climb and her body might be failing her but the love for her grandchildren keeps Gogo Mazhe going.

This is the responsibility that many grannies face.

Some are left to look after their grandchildren and great grandchildren after their mothers die, abandon them or go to work, among other reasons.

Of late, with teenage pregnancies on the rise some grannies are left to look after little ones as their mothers go back to school or seek employment.

Ideally, it is the desire of every woman to see their daughters grow up and start their own families.

This also gives the old women an opportunity to breathe a sigh of relief knowing that after many years of raising their children, their full-time baby minding days are over.

Their duty will now be to entertain their grandchildren and great grandchildren occasionally during visits.

The full-time baby minding journey however, continues for people like Gogo Mazhe.

“I have four great grandchildren that I’m staying with and I have to make sure that they are fed and go to school.

The smallest is three months old.

Her mother is doing her A-level and during the day the baby remains with me.

I have to bathe him, feed him, put him to sleep and all other responsibilities of a mother of a new born.

When his mother comes home from school she breastfeeds him but I still have to help her with the baby since she will be having school work,” said Gogo Mazhe.

“Two of my other grandchildren are in Grade 4 and their mother passed away, so they became my responsibility at a tender age.

The other one lost her mother soon after delivery and I immediately took her in.

My other grandchild is three years old and luckily her mother is still alive.

She is the one who assists me in fending for the children.”

Gogo Mazhe said although at times it was taxing as she was now of old age, she enjoyed looking after her great grandchildren.

She said while she would love to take a back seat when it came to household chores and baby minding in order to rest, she had no choice.

Ms Lubelihle Moyo (54) from Nhwali area in Gwanda is looking after her grandchild aged one-year-old.

She also stays with her orphaned grandchildren aged 12 and 15-years-old.

She said the mother of her grandchild is aged 17 and she is working in Gwanda Town as a domestic worker.

Ms Moyo said her daughter became pregnant at the age of 15 and the father denied responsibility.

She said she did not have any other option but to look after her daughter and grandchild.

Ms Moyo said her daughter decided to look for employment, to fend for her child.

“My daughter left her six month old baby and went to town to look for a job as a domestic worker.

I remained behind and assumed the role of being a mother to my grandchild.

There was no other way to go about it because she had to fend for her baby.

I’m not well as I have a problem with my leg so I couldn’t go out to work.

My other two grandchildren are being supported by their paternal family which has helped ease the burden no me,” she said.

Gogo Catherine Masotsha (64) from Spitzkop North Suburb in Gwanda said she was looking after her seven great grandchildren aged between two and 16-years-old.

She said four of her grandchildren are her mentally challenged 35-year-old daughter’s kids.

Gogo Masotsha said her 16-year-old grandchild now had a child and it was her responsibility to ensure that the baby was taken care off.

She said she performs piece jobs in order to fend for her family.

Gogo Masotsha said she sometimes performs piece jobs at a school where her great grandchildren learn, to raise money for their school fees.

“It’s really taxing having to look after so many children at my age but I have no other option as these children are my responsibility.

I try all in my means and strength to put food on the table for them.

“Yes, it’s every woman’s dream to raise her children and see them move out to be independent and self-sustaining so that in turn they can look after them but that’s not always the case.

Even at a late stage these children still need us as grannies of their children,” she said. – @DubeMatutu.