By Lubalethu Ndlovu
The City of Bulawayo is once again calling out senior residents who are 100 years and above to be part of this year’s centenarian celebrations.
Every year, the council makes the call to honour its elderly residents and joins the world in October 1 to celebrate the International Day of Older Persons worldwide.
The local authority has already extended an invitation to residents to submit names and contact details of people who fall in that category so they could be honored.
Bulawayo City Council Senior Public Relations Officer, Nesisa Mpofu, told CITE this was a day to look forward to in honour of senior residents who have imparted history and lessons to younger generations.
“Council has in the past, celebrated and acknowledged the elderly, as they have a wealth of information, wisdom, and knowledge,” she said.
Mpofu highlighted that residents who wished their relatives to take part must make sure they submit details of the elderly community to BCC on or before September 23, 2019.
“We are working on celebrating the centenarians for 2019 and we are inviting the Bulawayo residents and community to help us identify any centenarian resident in Bulawayo,” she said
This initiative has been going on since 2017, where BCC in partnership with Bulawayo Shoebox Project and residents of Bulawayo acknowledge the existence of centenarians in the City by spending time with them.
“Council recognises that life is a gift and we want to celebrate that,” said Mpofu.
In 2017, 15 centenarians came forward to celebrate the day and 19 centenarians came forward in 2018 with ages ranging from 100 to 114 in both years.
